https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:46:16 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1858042 Sat, 04 Nov 2017 00:55:38 +0000 Anonymous 1858042@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I’m late to this thread, but I agree about Talbots. It’s never totally me.</p> <p>My false positives are boho and romantic. I can’t totally pull off those looks, even though I like them, so I wear clothes that just have touches of those elements. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855970 Thu, 26 Oct 2017 18:41:14 +0000 3style 1855970@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>So funny about Talbots. I thought I was the only one. I think that their clothes are always just a little bit less versatile than similar clothing from other retailers. Also I have been confused by their store lighting. The one I go to has very warm colored lights which make black look like navy and hot pink look more like coral. Likewise the website colors are either more faded or brighter than in person, more than other brands. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855759 Wed, 25 Oct 2017 19:19:59 +0000 DonnaF 1855759@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Classic as in Talbots. Classic as in great prices like Lands End. The colors and sometimes patterns draw me in. But I am uncomfortable these days wearing much color. Boho. </p> <p>I swoon over The Good Wife’s Diane Lockhart’s costumes including jewelry. Christine Baranski was so lucky! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855742 Wed, 25 Oct 2017 18:22:27 +0000 AviaMariah 1855742@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Very funny read and very good reminders as I read through the replies.&nbsp; I won't go into detail but like so many others by false positives are usually boho, arty and rocker.&nbsp; I can do a tiny taste of each of those in my outfits but too much and I feel like an imposer.&nbsp; The simpler I dress the better I feel.&nbsp; My maximal is most people's minimal.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855588 Wed, 25 Oct 2017 10:33:47 +0000 lyn67 1855588@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My false positives are "DIY drama" which then realise it's more DIY than I would like to show:-) and the dreaded white button down shirt-which I find so glamorous (and feminine)&nbsp; thus never could do work for me!:-((.<br />This thread made my day, thanx Rachy, and all!:-) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855566 Wed, 25 Oct 2017 06:07:55 +0000 Astrid 1855566@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm with Suz on the Tomboy - I used to dress like that when I had no clue because it was easy and comfortable, so in a way this kind of look feels very familiar and safe. But too much of it and I don't feel happy. But I still love it when it's the right amount and I'm in the modd.</p> <p>Another false positive for me was bright colors and "loud" clothes I was drawn to when I was trying to define my style. I wanted more color and interest because I lived in boring dark navy, brown and black (nothing interesting, no texture, few patterns) but then I went totally overboard with it. I toned it back down and now I feel much better about my clothes. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855557 Wed, 25 Oct 2017 04:38:02 +0000 Jenni NZ 1855557@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yeah so funny! I'm with Aquamarine. I want to be a willowy 70s blonde with Farrah Fawcett hair when I'm actually a short middle aged apple-shaped woman with a grey pixie. Or I want to be full-on Maxi Amberville "fall of 1984" in New York ( heroine of Judith Krantz's novel "I'll Take Manhattan") with all the colours. Or I could try to pretend I can do "professional dress" but no-one would be convinced. Just gotta hope the content is there if not the image! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855546 Wed, 25 Oct 2017 04:12:35 +0000 anne 1855546@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Lots of fun here.</p> <p>I think my false negative is the 50's full dress look. Have been drawn to it since the&nbsp; revival in the 80s's and more recently when watching "Call the midwife". But I don't really have the body to look great in it (by which I pretty much mean a decent bust waist ratio!) and so when I wear it&nbsp; I feel shapeless.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855494 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 23:26:06 +0000 The Cat 1855494@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Classic and Ladylike. I feel attracted to these styles and do have strong elements of them in my wardrobe. But when dressed in Classic/Ladylike styles ONLY, I look and feel stiff and boring. I need elements that are playful, gamine, relaxed and maybe a little unexpected. And though I adore elegant updos, my hair needs to be cut relatively short--that always looks and feels best. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855492 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 23:20:30 +0000 JAileen 1855492@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I love the docent lady. Thank you, Suz, for coining the term. I might be heading that way. I do have a few EF dresses, plus weird shoes. </p> <p>Preppy is just traditional, pre 80s. One day when I was ten years old, or so, at the public library, another kid asked me if I went to the parochial school. I was dressed in a pleated plaid wool skirt, wool sweater, white shirt, knee socks, penny loafers. Everything was chosen by my mother, and pretty much what she wore when she was in elementary school in the 30s. It wasn't a uniform in the normal sense, but it was what I wore nearly every day. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855491 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 23:20:08 +0000 Barbara Diane 1855491@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Heading into crafty instead of artsy. Heading into preppy/tomboy instead of incorporating only one such item. Too much black. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855484 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 22:43:25 +0000 Style Fan 1855484@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>OMG you are a funny woman Rachy!&nbsp; This is so much fun.&nbsp; I can certainly relate to a lot of this.&nbsp; I am not sure what was false positive and what was the real thing.<br />These are mine:<br />Flower child.&nbsp; Well that might have been the real thing at one time but now I try to steer clear of Free People, etc. but that look does call me and try to take over my wardrobe.&nbsp; I only allow one ring now on each hand.&nbsp; <br />Edgy Avant Guarde.&nbsp; It is just too much work.&nbsp; <br />Classic.&nbsp; I can`t wear button ups.&nbsp; &lt;br&gt;Tomboy.&nbsp; I miss the accessories. &nbsp;&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;There are probably more that I can`t remember. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855476 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 22:02:16 +0000 Dianna 1855476@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Rachy, thanks for the laugh!&nbsp; I have had a couple of stressful days and this thread made me laugh so hard, I forgot about everything else for a While. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855463 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 20:57:14 +0000 Suz 1855463@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Rachylou, this is the funniest thing I've read all month, and I desperately needed a laugh. Thank you!&nbsp;</p> <p>My false positives:&nbsp;</p> <p>Preppy -- as for you. J. Crew is my autopilot...but I can overdo it and feel bleah.&nbsp;</p> <p>Docent lady -- see, I coined the term. &nbsp;EF and "arty" accessories. I might get there in time, but let's just wait and see.&nbsp;</p> <p>Avant-garde -- more sophisticated version of above, which I really like in theory but does not work particularly well for my lifestyle and often tends to overwhelm me.&nbsp;</p> <p>Tomboy -- which I'm completely drawn to, but need to moderate or I feel &nbsp;completely unfashionable.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855452 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 19:05:12 +0000 Anonymous 1855452@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>My false positive is voluminous, unstructured garments like COS. &nbsp;I love them on everyone else. &nbsp;They just don't seem to suit me. &nbsp; </p> <p>A second false positive is the belief that I am a minimalist. &nbsp;I love the idea of tight wardrobes that meet every single need. &nbsp;For years, I tried to accomplish just such a wardrobe (lots of trial and error and failure). &nbsp;I finally came to the conclusion that I am a wardrobe middle-ist. &nbsp;Next year I might be saying I am a maximalist (although I hope not) &nbsp;</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855439 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 17:15:01 +0000 skylurker 1855439@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hilarious, and poetic.</p> <p>To stay on track : I don’t switch off the autopilot - like yours it’s set on preppy. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855405 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 14:49:20 +0000 Jenn 1855405@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh boy, do I have false positives, and they're not all that different from yours, <b>rachylou</b>. </p> <p>PUNK - I used to have a black leather moto jacket that caused my brother to say, "I wouldn't want to mess with you." I really don't want to look like I just stepped off a motorcycle. I'm terrified of those things.</p> <p>RETRO/ROCKABILLY - A-line skirts and dresses work well on my body (the opposite of Angie's tomboy problem), so it's tempting to just buy them when I try them on and they look so good, even though it's not really my thing.</p> <p>TWEE - I make crafts for a living. This makes me think I should dress like Zooey Deschanel. I should not.</p> <p>BOHO - So close. So so close. But I only need a dose of it and it's easy to go too far. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855402 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 14:28:22 +0000 Christina F. 1855402@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh I flirt heavily with a lot of styles but never want to go all in on any of them.</p> <p>Currently it's boho, which was a false positive in the past but is speaking to me a lot now. I still don't like too much of earth tone, fringe, or looseness, so I do temper the full boho look. I also like a rocker edge, which works well.</p> <p>I used to go a lot more for preppy pieces (though not a full preppy look), things with anchors and so on. I still love a motif, but I've moved away from that stuff. </p> <p>I also do like the occasional retro look (50's-early 60's), but again have trouble going all the way with it.</p> <p>I guess I'm just eclectic at heart? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style/page/2#post-1855393 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 14:02:57 +0000 Anonymous 1855393@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What a fun read this morning. My false positives have been many. My mother wanted me to be a Shirley Temple little girl, but my stick- straight hair and body did not fit the light curly top, pink ruffled image. Even as an adult, Mom wanted to see me in pink ruffles.<br /> Tomboy or androgynous does not feel quite right either. My East coast college roomy tried hard to bend me to Preppy, but no. The earthy Boho colors looked good, but not the style. Not being tall or big foils draping and SantaFe and other arty looks that I admire on others. Eclectic is my best and I need to stick to finding balance. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style#post-1855388 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 13:28:46 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 1855388@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Cindy Smith, you’re one of the coolest people around! I love your writing, and the way you are living your convictions about a smaller footprint is admirable, approaching intimidating. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style#post-1855384 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 13:12:01 +0000 cindysmith 1855384@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I desperately needed this this morning. I'm feeling my weight gain hard in my emotions today, and your humorous self-assessment has reminded me to<br /> * not take myself too seriously<br /> * be glad I'm not stuck in one of the false positives from my past</p> <p>About 10 or 11 years ago, I fell into a time warp and decided that I wanted to look like halston and I had just staggered out of studio 54.That worked great until I realized I was ripping all of my wide leg pants to shreds on my own stinking fence around my yard when I opened the gate to enter or leave. When I destroyed a fairly new pair of Armani pants with super-wide legs, that was thenough end of my 70s phase.</p> <p>I also went through a phase of total Americana (for lack of a better word). Liz Claiborne separates suitable for a modern southern career woman, bright bold colors a la Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren paisley prints... Thank heaven I finally realized that argyle and paisley just weren't my colors!</p> <p>Then there was my biker phase in the 90s. Combat boots with jorts, lots of spandex, concert tees, skinny jeans, crop tops, cowboy boots with rubber half soles for traction while flying solo on my Harley...</p> <p>And my gawd the 80s... I vaguely recall some of it. Unfortunately, my mother has pictures that remind me of all the stuff I legit wore but can't remember because mood-altering substances have erased much of my past. The clothes don't necessarily stand out to me as being particularly awful, but the HAIR.... bangs that required me to duck when I was passing under a ceiling fan, giant bows, banana clips, perms....</p> <p>When we first moved here to the middle of nowhere, I tried to prepare my wardrobe for the lifestyle change. I bought some boring basics, normcore type stuff. It didn't work. I dreaded getting dressed in those clothes and wound up reaching for the 'cool' stuff that was a mix of post-apocalyptic and Gothic street ninja, which has led me to where I am now.</p> <p>I understand that our styles evolve, change, whatever. But some of this feels too very "walk of shame" to me LOL </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style#post-1855382 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 13:04:50 +0000 Stagiaire Fash 1855382@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>So I’m not quite clear on the concept. </p> <p>Is it something like my “favorite mistake” of getting big, swingy boho tops that just sort of hang there when I don’t have a fan and a photographer at my feet like in an Anthro shot?</p> <p>Or is it when something checks off all the boxes for what should work for me in x situation, but when I put in on, I feel ... nothing. A whole lot of nothing? That’s the rayon top that I just returned. I’m not sure what style it was, other than dutiful career restarter. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style#post-1855381 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 12:48:01 +0000 Ginger 1855381@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>SO funny, Rachy! And a good tool for analyzing style, and then being aware of pitfalls and unwise buys.</p> <p>My false positive is definitely boho. I very rarely buy it, because the pieces simply never work. I can try on 15 things and quickly reject all of them. Yet I'm drawn to it because of the flowing fabrics, the interesting prints, and detailing (the wild card discussion really <a rel="nofollow" href="https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/what-does-wild-card-mean-to-you/page/3#post-1846042">helped me figure this out</a>).&nbsp; My feet wander toward the Free People area at the department stores, and if Anthro were more conveniently placed I'd be browsing all the time.</p> <p>30s/40s/50s Retro is always calling. (Not Pinup or Rockabilly, though.) I have to ask myself: Is this piece something I can integrate into outfits now, or will it look too much like a costume? I have a lot of absolutely smashing costume pieces, so I have to rein in the acquisition of more. The printed corduroy quilted circle skirt I'm wearing today? Not Retro. Wearing with a Uniqlo sweater and riding boots.</p> <p>I could do Swedish Milkmaid, too. Or Highlander. And basically anything that has Romantic and Sweeping attached to it.&nbsp; So I have to watch that. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style#post-1855345 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 08:07:36 +0000 Gigi 1855345@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ha ha! Love the $5 donut.</p> <p>My false positives are preppy and anything androgynous. I have wandered a bit into androgyny-land in the past and ended up regretting it. It always looks so cool on models but makes me feel not-so-fab.</p> <p>"Girly" can be trouble too. I already look like a little girl, so when I start dressing in ruffles and bows and polka dots, I look even less like a grown-up! But I do love the odd little girly touch to things--I just have to keep it in balance. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style#post-1855339 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 06:50:32 +0000 approprio 1855339@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yeah that balancing act. Or is it more like a minefield? Don't step on the 1980s bomb....</p> <p>Let's break this down. </p> <p>A conflation of British street styles born out of good old class anxiety. Far too easy to call it Punk - too much Mod for that. But what about glam? Rave culture? Fun times. </p> <p>Ill advised DIY. What started with Issey Miyake for Vogue found its way into deconstruction and wearable origami.</p> <p>An endless internal conflict between a grubby teenage boy and the kind of girl Frank Zappa was always singing about. </p> <p>Trying not to look too much like my mother. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style#post-1855335 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 06:39:03 +0000 Jane 1855335@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>So good to read and so so true. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style#post-1855329 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 05:12:59 +0000 Carla 1855329@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I'm best with a suitcase full of black, grey, blue, and cognac, but every now and then I fall off the Natural/Neutral/Tomboy truck and end up in Maximal Land. If I'm not careful I'll end up featured in 'Advanced Style' in 10 years... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style#post-1855312 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 03:01:58 +0000 Laura G 1855312@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Whatever my false positive is, I'm probably wearing it right now and don't know it. Well actually...right now I'm wearing pajamas and a cat, but you know...when I do get dressed. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style#post-1855306 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 02:41:57 +0000 Deborah 1855306@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Lol Rachy you are a funny woman.&nbsp; I think maybe modern classic, it has it's appeal and there are elements I love but I never really feel like me.&nbsp; If I go there, I have to add an unexpected touch, edgy shoes, .. something. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/false-positives-for-your-style#post-1855304 Tue, 24 Oct 2017 02:28:33 +0000 unfrumped 1855304@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Aquamarine said it for me. I look at the Sundance outfits and get all dreamy....<br /> Also classic business formal with crisp shirts and full- on suiting. I can and do wear specific pieces of same but if I do all of them at once I’m total frump. </p>