What went wrong with this ensemble - YouLookFab Forum

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What went wrong with this ensemble

Anonymous

I left the house this morning feeling fabulous. I am wearing ponte ankle pants with a long cardigan from Banana Republic. I felt wonderful until I was standing on a street corner, waiting for traffic to pass. I looked around me and every single woman seemed to be so much better dressed than me. All my "feel good" plummeted. I rushed to work to take a picture to try to decipher what went wrong.

Is it a proportion problem? In my mind I thought the cardigan was MUCH longer than it appears in the photo. The pants are ankle length. The chambray shirt is not tucked in.

Something went terribly wrong. I am actually afraid to try and dress myself tomorrow. Criticism does not hurt my feelings. Honesty is welcome.

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Dressing

38 replies

Latest reply was from Angie

April

Veteran

Sterling, don't be too hard on yourself. It's not what the kids call an "epic fail" but I think I see a couple of ways in which it could be made better.

One would be by choosing a shoe with a less high vamp. Ankle pants, to my eye, want either a bootie rising to meet them or something like a ballet flat that shows a little skin.

Two would be to scrunch up the cardigan sleeves to also show a little skin at the wrist, adding a big watch or a bracelet.

I realize that if you live in a place that's very cold right now, as I do, neither the "ballet flats" suggestion nor scrunching up your cardigan sleeves is likely to work for your weather. I do think they'd help change your feelings about the look, though.

shaz

It's not a bad outfit at all but the first thing my eyes were drawn to were the pockets on the cardigan. Maybe a lighter colored top White perhaps for more contrast, slightly longer necklace or even a closer fitting pant might make you happier just ideas I am still working out how to dress myself So no expert

Anonymous

You need shoes with a lower vamp and a different shirt. There's something off about the cardigan to my eye, but I can't pinpoint what it is. The pockets perhaps? If it weren't for the pockets, you could belt the cardigan. Then again, maybe you could belt the shirt on the inside of the cardigan??? Just posting what comes to my mind.

shiny

Veteran

What April said - I also don't see this as an epic fail either, and I think April is on to something with the shoe advice.

You might try folding the cardigan sleeve just enough that your shirt cuffs are showing.

I think I might try tucking in the top - may give you better proportions.

If top isn't tucked, then I might try a longer pendant necklace.

Anonymous

I don't see a big fail here - and I hate when I have those days where you feel fine , until you don't

I would switch out the blue denim shirt for a drapey white t, add some more substantial silver jewellery, and that would be it. I like the sneakers with the pants ! I just think you could benefit from more contrast here, that's all.

carter

Veteran

I agree that a change of shoes could make a world of difference. When I posted my batch of WIWs yesterday, I almost didn't post the two with black/tan loafers. Those are the shoes I wear when it's raining or when I need to be on my feet for hours, so they're indispensible to me. However, I feel like they bring down any outfit, unlike the pointy-toe flats that seem to me to elevate any outfit.

Love the color combo in this outfit!

Sara L.

Veteran

I think this is a nice outfit. I would probably just change the shoes. I also like lisap's idea of keeping the shoes and changing the shirt.

UmmLila (Lisa)

Veteran

Not an epic fail by any means. This is my ffbo outfit but in my case I am not fond of sneakers so I do booties. And I usually pick a focal point like a print blouse, or a belt or a lighter colored item.

greycat6

Veteran

Not an epic fail by any means! I love the beads on the chambray color combination. I agree with others that a shoe change and showing some skin at your wrists would make a big difference

I can relate to that feeling of looking around and feeling frumpy compared to what is going on around you. Attitude is everything, so they say, so throw those shoulders back, put a smile on your face and march on girlfriend!

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I like the color combo and the cardigan. What drew my eye is that the cardigan is so much longer than the shirt. I'd try a longer shirt, if you have one.

Peri

Veteran

This has happened to me a lot of times! Mostly it is when I feel happy in my own style, then get around women who are more trendy and it makes me feel dated just by not being trendy. But outfit aside, maybe these women were going to a more formal office than yours? Maybe they have a suits and pumps dress code and saw you and wished they could dress less formally!

I like your colors, but I usually feel odd myself in pants of that type. I also wear sneakers and your are majorly much better than mine, but for me, I like pants to cover sneakers. That's why I like flares. If I wear straight legs I like them better with booties or just something the pants could go over or tuck into. I haven't gotten that figured out for myself, so go with the other's advice on this. I love those shoes, but would like different style pant legs with them better.

shaz

I'm currently wearing the same color of shoes as yours but a similar but older style but I wear them with a boat cut or flare maybe not the ideal mix but flat comfortable footwear to chase a toddler works better for me then heals with little curious fingers plus I wear my clothes and footwear to death

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I see cardigans a lot these days in retailers like La Garconne.
I like the shoes.
Lose the beads. I feel that length & style is conservative boarding old fashioned. Button shirt to top. Tuck shirt in. The straight hem is an awkward length combined with cardigan length.

ETA, see the cardigan hem versus shirt on this outfit
http://www.whowhatwear.com/lay.....nter-2016/

Runcarla

Veteran

Swap out the shirt for a slouchy white T that picks up the white on the sneakers and scrunch the sleeves of the cardi for a Tom-boy look.

More grey cardi ideas below.

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Brooklyn

Veteran

To me the combination of the cardigan and the sneakers looks a bit lounge wear. I would either swap the sneakers for booties or swap the cardigan for a dressier topper eg a more structured knit jacket. But if you like a cozy, casual look (and nothing wrong with that), I would go with Lisa's idea of switching out the shirt for a higher contrast. I do like the combo of the shirt and necklace, but maybe with a different topper.

LaPed

Veteran

For me the chambray paired with the grey is a little muddy. They're both heathered colors and for me that much heathering is a bit repetitive. I'd probably switch out the chambray for something in a punchier solid color (like fuschia or cobalt) or a good strong pattern (stripes or other simple geometric). The length and straight hem on the chambray make it look less than intentional. A tuck or semi-tuck would probably help here.

I agree the beads aren't really adding anything and are a little "off" to my eye.

The black shoes on black pants makes this feel a bit bottom heavy. I have no problem with sneakers and ankle pants together but the bottom half of this outfit does feel a bit disjointed from the top half. A black accessory or two on top could fix that, though, and pull everything together. Maybe replace the beads with a black scarf.

I don't think this is off-the-rails at all, it's just a matter of tweaking.

kkards

Veteran

Oh we've all been there! And somehow being there on a Monday is overwhelming in a way that being there on a Friday is just not!
I think you've gotten great advice. I'd try any and all of them, and see which feels best to you. Oh, and one other thing to try, try cuffing the pants.

Anonymous

This is all so helpful. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I will try this ensemble again in the future. I'll substitute a shorter white tee shirt for the chambray shirt. I'll substitute ballet slippers for the sneakers.

I have always been hesitate to post WIWs. I may not have truly understood exactly how helpful posting WIWs could be. I won't be hesitant in the future.

Anonymous

This is the first time I've seen a WIW from you Sterling! Exciting to meet you minus head

I find that knits, when used as a sweater (vs a lightweight top) need to be quite substantial in order to have a polished look, so agree with Brooklyn about a more structured knit topper.

I really like runcarla, lisap, laPed and kkards ideas ideas too. Actually, everybody's ideas!

I so want to do this look for myself though (love the shoes) and I'm hoping the problem ( very minor issue) can be solved without changing the shoes.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

You have received terrific advice and yes, posting WIWs works in mysterious ways!

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Thank you for sharing your outfit! I love these kinds of dissecting threads.

I like the button front shirt here, but agree with others that a lighter color (white or cream) might brighten the outfit. Also I would tuck the shirt and wear a belt but that's me, I feel undressed without a belt.

I like the sneakers. They work with these full length pants (I'm not seeing ankle length here, but perhaps it's just semantics). They are cute so will also work in warmer temps with cropped or rolled pants.

anne

Veteran

This is such a helpful thread Sterling. Thanks for being brave enough to post a photo and elicit all this great advice.

Gigi

Veteran

I haven't read the other responses, but I wonder about tweaking the proportions, as you hinted at in your post. What I see is that wearing black footwear--the same color as your pants--in effect extends the length of your bottom half, making your bottom half almost exactly the same length as your top half, cutting you in half. Changing footwear to something noticeably different from the pants color might help that.

However, once you change footwear, it looks to me like the length of the pants might equal the length of your untucked top, creating another cut-in-half problem. Do you tuck your shirts? I guess I would wonder what the outfit would look like with a tucked shirt and different-colored footwear.

kellygirl

Veteran

I, too, love this kind of thread. I like everyone's ideas and am looking forward to a tweaked version. I like the sporty shoes here and hope you can make them work!

JamC

Veteran

So many great suggestions. Simple changes that might make a big difference. I think the post will be one I return to when I have that feeling that something isn't quite right. I found Anna's link very helpful because I could see the difference a small change would make!

Anonymous

I am thrilled with the purchase of my new sneakers. I felt incredibly lucky to have found this style in black. I may save the sneakers to pair with different pants though. This ensemble felt too "bottom heavy" to make me happy. I have plenty of ballet slippers in my arsenal.

Cardigan dressing is new to me. I bought my first few cardigans last year (favoring them instead of blazers).

Because they are new to my wardrobe, I expect a few fails along the way. In my mind this was a sleek, sophisticated cardigan. The picture suggests otherwise.

I am going to search for middle ground between blazers and less-shapely cardigans. (I may have gone too far toward the "cosy" side). I feared this might happen. The idea of knit blazers is a great idea. I will start with one and see how that works.

You know I have all these really great pieces (all of these pieces in and of themselves are great). Now I think my challenge is learning to put them together.

I agree. Anna's link was amazingly HELPFUL. Special shout out for the visual.

Helen11

Veteran

Thank you for posting a WIW! I have really enjoyed reading the suggestions here. Will you show us another version?

I know what you mean about feeling good on leaving the house, and then it seems everyone else is dressed better. Here's to a happier outfit tomorrow : )

Anonymous

Yes. The next time I wear that ensemble, I intend to post a WIW showing the improvements!!

lyn67

Veteran

Depends on whom you are comparing yourself to!:-)
This outfit has a great potential for casuals if taking off the beads and adding more structure with scrunching up the sleeves (denim shirt's too, but with the cuffs peaking out a bit or folded over the cardi's sleeves). Then, if you wanted to go smarter casual, than use another, more structured shoe OR a more contrasting flowy top(white?) OR some chunky jewellry(big, multi strand pearls)or all the 3x above in one:-)).

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