interesting thoughts....and i have a question re your dress observation....are women wearing dresses to the office? expect for maxi dresses (which i know you don't like), i don't remember the last dress i saw anyone in my office wearing one.....

I hear ya on distressed denim! So hard to find something appropriate for jeans-day Fridays.

Heels are also not very common in my office, either. And when I took our visitors from China to a very nice restaurant, only one woman in the whole place was wearing what I'd call heels (over an inch or so). Maybe women are finally listening to their podiatrists!

I'm so excited to go back to wider bottoms and fitted/tailored tops. The past decade of "lollipop" looks (skinny bottom with voluminous top) is totally out of my wheelhouse. But then, I did grow up in the nineties, wearing cropped tees and carpenter jeans.

I'm actually having an easier time finding non-distressed denim in 2016 than in years prior, but I am mostly shopping thrift stores and lower-end brands.

I'm 5'4" and dress length has not been a problem for me. Dresses that may be too short for some are usually a reasonable above-the-knee length on me, which I usually find easier to wear and more flattering than at- or below-knee lengths.

YAY, ladies. Thanks for engaging in my musings. Your own observations are interesting too. Some more thoughts on that:

• Lots of you are noticing the saturation of highly distressed denim. WOW.
• Suz, your gilet musings were genius.
• To Suz's point, skinnies are a classic and so are sheath dresses - they will not disappear. Too practical. Viva and Staysfit, rest assured.
• Kkards, I have clients who prefer to wear dresses and skirts, and also to the office. But most clients prefer trousers and jeans.
• High five to all those who tan despite sunscreen.

With the new oufit proportions about to go mainstream, we seem to be moving away from dressing the apple and inverted triangle, and back to dressing the pear and hourglass. The rectangle falls in the middle and bats for both teams. That said, there will still be PLENTY of items to dress all body types. Things don't change overnight, and there is a melting pot of variety at retail these days. You simply have to decide how trendy you want to be. I like it all!

Random musing are the BEST. I hung on every typed word.

As a pear, I'm happy to hear there will be more conventionally-flattering options out there, but I do wonder why we can't just have a bundle of trends that offer something for every shape and size. It seems like fashion is moving that direction, but we're not quite there yet.

I really love your Rag&Bone gilet. I'm sized out of that brand, but I have my eyes open for something similar that will work with my style. One thing I love about autumn is the return of fabrics, like thick wool or flannel, with more structure. They just strike me as more flattering.

I'm also excited about the prospect of adding wide-legged trousers back into my wardrobe. I struggle with the practicality, but how I love the silhouette!

I've never thought of it in those terms: "we seem to be moving away from dressing the apple and inverted triangle, and back to dressing the pear and hourglass. The rectangle falls in the middle and bats for both teams." Makes total sense though. I hope (as a rectangle!) I can bat for both teams. I have to say, higher-waisted jeans, which I originally thought looked terrible on me, are in fact not so bad. I have to work harder to find the right ones, it seems, but I have a few pairs now that work. They are all actually mid-rise, but they come right up to my belly button. High-waisted skirts work, too. The trick seems to be doing a semi-tuck with a sufficiently unstructured (i.e. non-stiff) top that isn't too long.

Good musings, and interesting to compare experiences and regional/occupational norms.

When I first saw the pre-distressed jeans, I didn't like them either. Now, I actually really enjoy them and will continue to--no matter what others think. Here, despite the very casual "dress code" of the area, I haven't seen that many people wearing them. Maybe because the rest of their outfits are already very casual? For me, these styles can add back a punk/post-punk element that tempers my tendencies toward a tiny bit more polish than the norm here, no doubt influenced by my other-coast background. I don't need work clothes at all (work at home), so I struggle at times with feeling too dressy. No classic-style gilets for me. (And would need a petite version anyway. Never mind! Along with La Pedestrienne, I haven't had any trouble with too-short dresses. Heh.)

Shoes: Yes, walking in the city here, I see few high heels. Some lower heels, though, and certainly flats. I have generally found truly flat shoes uncomfortable, but think they'll remain a staple in areas with a casual norm. When dressing for a party last weekend where I wanted to wear gold shoes, I was a tiny bit sad that my fun, blingy cage platform sandals would be so out of place there. I enjoy a heel now and then if it's comfy, and those are. Fortunately for my feet, I'd found some pancake-flat gold sandals last year that are very flexible and great to walk in, so I went with those, and yep--every single woman at the party was wearing completely pancake-flat sandals. And they were generally a step or two more casual even though I had on somewhat distressed patchwork jeans. That's OK...it's not really my goal to blend in *completely*. I gotta be me.

Angie, please consider making random musings a regular feature! This is a fun list! Hooray to skinnies as classics and conventional flattery options. Hooray to flats, which fifteen years ago I would have worn over my dead body but now live in. Hooray to neutrals and more neutrals. Hooray to your comment about distressed denim. Hooray that I now know what a gilet is! I prefer simple styles (out of respect for Az I will not say the "m" word) but hooray for fresh options to suit a broad range of people.

Yeah... LA is a flip flop and UGG boot town for most people unless it's a red carpet celebrity event.
Must be the beach influence. I like, so totally Miss it!

Elisabeth, I thought you might come round to the higher waist. I have a shorter rise, so mid rises come on higher on me too. Like you, as a straight hourglass, I can bat for both teams. I can surrender my waist like an apple, and define it like a pear. My slight frame does not handle overwhelming drape though. Lack of the right real estate, IYKWIM.

Jenn, I think the fashion industry is almost there too.

Angie, I just got back home after attending a high school JV soccer game. I brought my husband, and neighbor who knows my CASA kid, and is a huge soccer fan. I wore three kinds of sunscreen and a hat. My neighbor doesn't wear sunscreen at all. She is definitely more tanned than me, but I still have some color. We are the same age, but her face is much more wrinkled. Part of that could be due to my being fatter, though. The elevation really makes a difference in our sun exposure. I was pleased to see some of the varsity players putting on sunscreen as they got ready for their game.

WIW: grey tee, Kut bfs, olive utility jacket, Cons, Patagonia baseball cap, sunglasses.

As someone who JUST learned they were an IT in time for the trends to no longer suit my body type... gosh darnit!

I'm going to have to stock up on tops. I'm good with bottoms getting wider, though.

Although the trends are moving back to favoring the pear and hourglass types, I have to say, it's MUCH better in terms of having something for everyone than it was a decade ago. I had such an awful time of it when I was a teenager because I had to go up to adult sizes in tops because of my large bust and broad shoulders, and it was really difficult to find anything age appropriate that fit and flattered. Now I find things for my body type everywhere, both modest and revealing (which is great because even though I'm now in my twenties and comfortable baring my chest, I don't always want to).

Hah- I thought it was just my arms! I have sized-up just for a better fit in the arms when the rest was fine lately.
I agree with everything except that vests leave my arms too cold generally.

Now I'm reconsidering the gilet-- I waffled on it during NAS and returned it, but now the tug for it is back!

I'm kind of disappointed other people have a problem with the too-tight arms too. I'd been deluding myself it was due to my awesome guns

Regarding the distressed jeans - YES, please stop retail buyers. Never really cared for them for myself and now it has gotten ridiculous. I wonder if dark bootcuts will have their revenge soon.
Regarding tanning I hear you. You know I am covering myself with sunscreen and wearing a wide hat outdoors and I still tan. When I was younger and wanted to tan I thought I was lucky. Now, not so much.
Regarding everything else, very interesting and please continue to muse away any time you have a spare moment.

thanks for your musings, Angie.

It's funny, I finally bought a pair of mildly distressed jeans (the Kut Catherine BF) because they are so ubiquitous my eye has adjusted to them.

I haven't worn my gilet yet but I hope to soon! One challenge I had is that sometimes in the fall I still wear sleeveless items and put a sleeved topper on, the gilet doesn't work for those items. But I can think of many outfits for which it would work.

I've noticed the narrow sleeve thing myself, and now that I no longer have super skinny upper arms (though they're still not terribly large), sometimes garments are a bit tight in the upper arms now.

I wonder if people in cities are walking more, and hence the switch for flats? I have moved to a more heavily-walking based lifestyle, and I'm not the only one I know. Counter-intuitively the presence of Uber/Lyft etc. allows for walking more.

The fitted on top, wide on bottom is what I used to wear in college and is probably more suited to my body type, but I'm somewhat preemptively fatigued by the idea of having to buy all new pants, as I don't very much enjoy pants shopping :-/ This is why I only recently bought BF jeans and why I don't own any cropped flares!

I very much enjoyed your musings Angie.

When I visited LA I noticed that the style of dressing was very similar to my city, super casual with many people wearing shorts or short skirts and flats. Campus dressing here is very casual, skinny jeans is the uniform in winter and shorts or mini with a tank top or tee is the uniform in summer. That filters over to academic staff..I'm one of the few who wears heels to work most days. I still carry flats in my work bag just in case.

I'm pleased that skinny jeans are a classic. They're my favourite style, and I remember wearing flares in the 70s, so I've been through many.

I'm glad to hear my style staples are classics. In fact, I was thinking my best bet as silhouettes change would be to wear more sheath dresses/pencil skirts and drift away from anything A-line. It's good to stick with what looks best.

It's fascinating to think of trendy styles in terms of what works for particular body types, but of course that has historically been the case as well. It seems less obvious when you're living it than when you're looking back.

I enjoyed reading this thread. As a pear/hourglass I am very happy that I am finding more styles at retail that work for me. Hello wrap tops. I still see lots of drapey sweaters that fall too long for me. I wanted something shorter.

I think the move away from heels reflects how much more casual everything has become. 5-10 years ago, you saw way more women wearing heels with jeans than you do now. I'm ok with this, since it is coinciding with my personal preference towards more walking and being a bit kinder to my feet as I enter my 50s. I still wear heels -- I walked 3 miles in my United Nude black and white sandals yesterday -- but they're likely to be lower than 3" and supportive block heels, not stilettos.

The milennials I know have very little use for ultra high heels -- they tend to be about comfort and ease of activity. And I think right now the market is responding mostly to the desires of boomers (with aging feet) and milennials.

Janet -- I'm an older Millennial and for the most part I feel like a little kid playing dress-up when I put on a pair of heels. They're largely impractical, really uncommon here, and in most contexts I feel I would get laughs or at least raised eyebrows for wearing them. I'd be totally out of sync with my social/geographic milieu, not to mention out of sync with my own personality. The only heels I see on people my age are chunky boots and wedge sandals.

None of my jeans are distressed, and they're new, so I'm good there.

My tops aren't fitted, but they aren't too voluminous, so no changes needed as far as I'm concerned.

I only have 3 pairs of narrow-legged pants. The rest are wider, but not too wide; perfect for my petite body.

I love all of my shoes and boots; won't change anything there, either.

I remember at the time of my 40th (2010) trying to find a pair of non-platform heels was a challenge. And it seemed to be a choice of ballet flats or high heels, there were very few moderate height heels.

I am so pleased to have the choices at the moment - I have found shoe shopping a pleasure over the last two or three years - great colour choice, heel height variation and stylings.