On Bonnie's Lagenlook thread, a couple of people commented that they didn't like the look and found it unflattering. I had to ponder this, because I get comments like this occasionally too and always have.  In college, a group of us stayed at a friend's mother's house for the weekend.  Her mom was a proper Southern belle, and she was horrified at our uniform of army surplus jackets and thrifted men's Levis.  She dragged us to Loehmanns and tried to stuff us into fluffy dresses; her specific words were: "Why on earth do you girls want to hide your darling figures?"

And that's the issue for me.  Is it my obligation to flaunt a darling figure (assuming I have one, which I really don't at the moment), or conversely to conceal a not-so-darling figure? 

I'm a rebel at heart, and one reason I don't always dress in conventionally flattering ways is because of the pressure to do so.  I get that dressing a little outside the box isn't for everyone, and I certainly don't expect a shower of compliments IRL on most of my outfits.  At the same time, I also get that most of us are here for honest feedback on the forum.  So where's the line between "Sorry, this isn't my cup of tea?" and "Oh dear, that genuinely doesn't work, and here's why"?  How do we balance social norms and pressures with our own sense of identity and style?

I expect to hear from Gaylene shortly!