Piggybacking off Suz: What are your surprise "WILD horses" this season? - YouLookFab Forum

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Piggybacking off Suz: What are your surprise "WILD horses" this season?

rae

(website)

Veteran

If you have a better term for the opposite of a wardrobe workhorse, please feel free! lol

After reading and answering Suz's post on unexpected workhorses in our wardrobes, I got to thinking: what items didn't work out? What new things do I put on and struggle with over and over, like I'm beating a dead horse?

For me:

The Kooples plain white shirt. I thought it'd be the perfect, slightly oversized fit, but the sleeves are too wide and the mandarin collar isn't basic enough for me.
Ella Moss moto jacket. I do LOVE this jacket! But it's not quite as fitted as I like, so it feels more casual and is harder to build a dressy work outfit around. Only worn a couple times this season.
Silky trousers. I was so hot for these last summer, but either I've moved on or the job has changed me. My customer base is pretty horrified by baggy bottoms.

So over to you? Did you buy anything expecting a workhorse and find you didn't use it that much after all?

EDIT: Thanks to Vicki for coming up with "wild horses" as the inverse of "work horses"! The wild horse fights you and refuses to fall in line, while the workhorse is reliable every time. Perfect analogy!

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Dressing

51 replies

Latest reply was from Joy

Thistle

Veteran

I was (and still am!) in need of toppers. I bought a lovely black velvet one from WHBM. It was fitted, lovely, with a hint of feminine Steampunk. It still has the tags attached.

Peri

Veteran

A green silk sleeveless top from BR. Loved it, loved the color...wore it few times under a sweater with a black cami in the spring.

Summer...not working. Can't work out the cami color and it is too sheer to wear without one. And feels too hot with one. I think it was not a useful purchase at all.

Gaylene

Veteran

A white, soft, cotton "boyfriend" shirt and my rolled, olive-green, Gap slouchy straight pants. I loved the concept and did manage to find a way to make those two items work using Angie's tips, but, honestly, I just don't feel fab if I wear either of them outside the house. At my age and on my body, the outfit just looks dowdy when I catch a glimpse of myself in a store window or random mirror.

I think the pants will get turned into shorts and the shirt will transitioned into a bathing suit cover-up. It was an interesting experiment, though, because it taught me that I feel better in more structured, bolder looks. Casual, slouchy, soft, and muted just aren't part of my style descriptors, I guess.

DonnaF

Veteran

A roll sleeve cropped printed Halogen jacket. Maybe the weather hasn't been quite warm enough yet. I'm also thinking that maybe I should have tried it in a Regular XS as the PS is slightly big. I'm not giving up on it yet, tho'!

I have come to realize that if I only wear one outfit per day, that may not give the opportunity to wear a single item dozens of times in a month!

deb

Veteran

The metallic ivanka shoes just did not work for me. I am not a Bing person and I think they were too blingy for me. I am going to pass them on.

Mia

Veteran

I just reviewed my list of Spring acquisitions and I actually did quite well.

There are two tops that have not been worn but I am putting it down to the cooler than normal weather. Same for the sleeveless A-line dress worn only once so far. I am a bit worried whether it will be worth the investment as it is hard to dress down and the absolute limit for "shortness" for me personally.
I must go on team wear and put this dress on when it's a hot day whether it is an occasion or not right?

missvee

Veteran

Ok, where to start...a pair of ikat printed ankle length pants. Fit and comfort are both great, but oh my goodness it's a lot of print across my caboose.
Second flop...2 slouchy tops which shrunk miserably when washed according to the directions on the hang tag. Lesson learned here: don't buy rayon sweaters.
Third iffy purchase...a pair of bright tomato red ankle pants. Do I need to say anything more?

always trying

Veteran

A peach color rolled sleeve tunic. So far I have worn it once, and may not ever wear it again. It feels real soft, but wrinkles too much. But why I don't like it is it is just too full,,just too much fabric, and a bit too long. Wish I had taken it back, but I tried it on with my new white jeans and liked it then. after one wearing things changed.

nancylee

Veteran

Sadly, my slouchy tees from Three Dots have mostly gone unworn so far this season. I think two things are at work here: 1) they just feel too casual and young/trendy for my style, and 2) the polyester is just too darn hot for my mid-life hot flash-plagued life.

I may have to offer them up on Style Exchange.

Mia

Veteran

Missvee, why were the pants a bust?

I bought a pair of bright tomato red ankle pants (on sale) thinking I'd never wear them and they totally surprised me. I wear them with a chambray shirt or striped breton top for casual, a silky tee for smart casual and I wore them with a blazer and heels on our recent cruise. Funny how these things go.
I really had to force myself to wear them at first.

Anonymous

I bought 2 white blazers, one 3/4 sleeve poly blend and one full sleeve linen... I chased all over to find them and every time I put one on, I feel like the ice cream man ... Thoroughly disappointed but we havent had super warm weather yet either

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I'm not sure I struggle over it, but rather it is a dressier item than my day to day. The chiffon jacket in my profile picture has only been worn once. I love it, but the zipper can easily get caught in the very delicate fabric, and my 'dressy' occasions have dwindled in direct ratio to my workload increase
Interesting that even my DVF wrap dress which I would have guessed I'd 'save', true to form, has been worn more! hunh

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I love this thread, too -- it is so useful to think about the reasons our things go unworn.

So far, most of my unworn or little worn spring/summer purchases are casualties of the cooler than usual weather, and I fully expect and intend to wear them as soon as warmer temperatures arrive. That list includes one sleeveless top, a tee shirt or two, and my new shorts. Not too bad, really.

My only genuine dead horse item is my sage green Gap broken in khakis. I've worn them maybe once. They just don't appeal to me a whole lot. I can't say why. Maybe it's simply that I like my various jeans so much better! All is not lost, though. First of all, I got them on massive sale. And I have a feeling I'll enjoy them a whole lot more as BF shorts, which is what they may become before summer ends.

Another possible dead horse in the making -- my Clarks metallic wedges. I got them at a super bargain. (Hmmm. Are you seeing a pattern here? SALE BLINDERS!!!) And they seemed good at first. Lightweight. Comfy footbed. Pale almost nude metallic. Etc. But they don't fit me properly (too big) and they feel a bit clunky and they just aren't quite what I was wanting. I may have to offer them up on the exchange.

Also, Rae, I have to reluctantly high five you and confess that I haven't worn my Leith pants a whole lot. They have come out to play a few times, but I tend to consider them and put them back a lot more often than I actually wear them. Again, they might get more play later in the season. They're quite lightweight and it has felt too cool for them a lot of the time. But I'm watching this development with interest.

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

My short fit and flare skirts (anything under 37") - rarely getting worn. Makes me (and my moneys) sad.

Ariadne

Veteran

My Leith pants are the weak link so far, too. I put them on at home and think they look great, but when I see myself in other mirrors out and about I think I look super dumpy. It's a mystery. They've only come out to play three times so far and each time I went from feeling fab to frumpy by the end of the day.

Diana

Veteran

Well, not exactly dead horses since I'm sure I'll use them in the fall, but... My leather jackets have not gotten much use this spring. Mostly because it has so far alternated between Boiling Hot and Torrential Downpours, neither of which is conducive to leather jackets. At least my new turquoise one got worn during the honeymoon in CA...

rae

(website)

Veteran

First of all, I would like to congratulate the forum, because it seems like most of us have many surprise workhorses and only one or two dead horses each. Go, girls! And some of these have been experiments born of the sale rack - yay for minimizing losses, yes?

But what is up with the silky pants? I'd love to crack that nut...

Marley

Veteran

My biggest flop (so far) has been a pair of BCBG flats - pointed toe (yeah!), very flat (boo!), dark nude color (yeah!), ankle strap (yeah!), goldish colored ankle strap (yeah!), silver back of shoe (yeah!) - but, here's the problem - the ankle strap hits me right across the protruding bone on my ankle (BOO!) I just can't make them work - the super flatness, plus that darn ankle strap location - has been a deal-breaker for me. Unfortunately, I bought them several months ago and then just pulled them out to wear a few weeks ago - and realized what a big mistake they were - but too late to return.

goldenpig

(website)

Veteran

Angie's lace bomber. It looks so fab on her and I keep thinking I should be able to make it work, but it's so tough for me to style. Maybe because the shape is so opposite of my typical demure bombshell fitted silhouette.

Kate Spade contrast trim trench. I wear my black KS trench all the time but hardly ever reach for this one. Maybe because it's beige? I feel like I should wear this more but it doesn't seem to go with the rest of my color palette.

I tried those Leith pants but I couldn't stand my "diaper butt" so I returned them! Plus they reminded me too much of the black Michael Jackson-esque parachute pants with tons of zippers that my mom wore in the 80's with a red jacket and red terrycloth headband.

Marley

Veteran

Oh - I need to add another to my list: the white Con Hi-ness sneakers. Yep - I'm just not feelin' them. I think the problem is that I dress quite sporty/casual almost all of the time and when I add these shoes to the mix I feel like it takes me over the top into tooooooo much sporty/casual "stuff" all in one outfit. Also, I feel really tween in them. I think that I need to wear them with dressier clothes - but, I don't wear dressier clothes - so, they are just sitting there in my closet - looking very, very white and very, very lonely.

P.S. - its been too cold for me to pull out my silky, baggy pants yet - but, I'm planning on wearing them alot once the weather gets warm. (Hope that I still like them!)

Caro in Oz

Veteran

I've been trying to find different styles of tops. I bought x2 button downs shirts that haven't seen much wear yet - they aren't as versatile as my other shirts & tunics for some reason - I think it's the fabric & the length.

Molly L-R

What's coming through loud and clear on this thread is that our wardrobe "dead horses" are actually great opportunities for us to learn what we don't like and thereby refine our style personas. Every cloud has a silver lining and all that. I think!

Anyway, mine would be a short-sleeved coral pink H&M blouse bought off eBay to wear to work. From the picture online I thought it would be more like the Pantone colour "koi" which would play nicely with the rest of my wardrobe. However, when it turned up it was a lot brighter and pinker than I expected. Still I wore it to work one morning and whilst I was getting dressed my fiancé remarked, "hmm, that's not one of your traditional colours, is it?" (I've been wearing mainly autumnal colours for about a year now, so it's great that he notices when something's not in my colour palette). Then when I got to work a colleague exclaimed how much he liked my bright pink shirt. All day long I could tell it wasn't me, so it's in the donation bag now. Incidentally, I was also wearing my yellow t-bar shoes that day which I've also put on probation and haven't worn now for about a month as I feel they're too bright as well. "Bright" is not a good description of the colour scheme I'm going for. "Warm"? Yes. But a slightly muted kind of warm.

Incidentally, if the Pantone colour report photo included below is accurate, I may be doing a lot of buying this autumn/winter as those two colours are gorgeous!

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Karie

(website)

Veteran

Great topic, Rae! Mine is a beautiful semi-sheer and lacy Alfani top that I stalked last fall until it went on sale, then I snatched it up. I've only worn it once! Problem #1 - it's too sheer and I run cold. It comes with a cami but the one time I wore it I wore a 3/4 sleeve tank under it for warmth. Problem #2 - I wore it to work (big mistake) and snagged it on my ID lanyard. It's not that noticeable, but still...

It won't work for my summer activities either. Kayaking and campfires aren't really activities that call for lace tops *sigh*

I couldn't copy the pic correctly so I copied the link:

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....e-who-wait#

Anonymous

My Nexx shirts. I am not feeling them, at all. They were THE workhorses. Perhaps I got tired of them?
Natalie, I don't wear My KS trench much either, but I bought it as a special occasions item.
Also, in my return bag to nordies: Leith pants (not happening), the kut BF crops ( the fabric has too much stretch to fit loose, a pet peeve of mine), Sam edelman python booties ( the tip of the booties just does not work for me). All thought to be THE item of the season... booo... I have tried to style the three items ad nauseatum, they have never left the house.

Mona

Veteran

My only true dead horse so far is the taupe lace tunic that I bought in England last summer. It is made of lace and I run cold and with our coolish spring so far, I haven't even worn it once. I hope to wear it more in summer but I have a feeling that taupe is not my best colour.

cinnamon fern

Veteran

This is interesting. The Leith pants are one of my 2013 mistakes too. I don't really even know why I don't wear them ... perhaps I'll give them a try today.

My other 2013 mistake is a soft pewter bag. It's a consignment purchase, so not a lot of money, but I should know by now that consignment purchases are usually mistakes. I am still thinking it might work with winter clothes, though.

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

Do those silky pants lose shape and bag in weird places as you wear them? Usually I find when I grow increasingly unhappy with a piece that looked great when I put it on, it's because it starts to sag and bag and lose shape.
Then lo and behold, I launder the item and it magically springs back into place!

Target and Topshop are on my 'no-fly' list for this reason.

I don't feel like I've got any 'dead horses', at least, not recently. The stuff I'm not wearing, is because it got hot here, fast. So I'll wait until fall and see where I am with certain pieces. I do have a number of older closet orphans that I am working through. I found this article recently, and it's really helped clarify my thinking, with regards to orphans... http://www.alterationsneeded.c.....rades.html

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

Fab thread idea Rae. Just like the items that become workhorses, it always surprises me to find out what I don't wear.

For me, it's been the portobello mushroom pencil skirt that Suz and I both have. I just find it a bit uncomfortably short although I didn't think so last summer. I now prefer my black and cobalt pencil skirts because they come to my knee, not above it.

I also bought two v-neck layering tees from Gap (white and grey) which used to be essentials for me in the summer and I have worn the white one once and haven't worn the grey one at all. Not feeling the love for clingier tees these days.

bj1111

Veteran

Interesting how workhorses can become dead horses over the season(s).

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