https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Tue, 14 Apr 2026 23:35:32 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why/page/2#post-2315985 Fri, 31 Mar 2023 17:22:39 +0000 Zaeobi 2315985@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Interesting to hear how everyone's school uniforms &amp; upbringings inform cultural hang ups, even today! For me, I don't mind dresses over soft pants because they remind me of shalwar kameez (which I usually only wear in desi circles), but dresses over jeans hit a personal sore spot because of the cultural connotations of jeans being too 'modern' on women (I wasn't allowed to wear them unless it was with a kurta over the top - my kurtas were short tunics in lightweight fabrics, which of course just looked awkward over bulky jeans). So I do sympathise with 'hard' trousers with dresses.</p> <p>Whilst I of course had my moments of teenaged self consciousness, I however got fairly used to standing out, because I grew up in a predominantly white Christian area (where I had to be the 'first' to blaze the trail for many things). That included my all-girl's school changing the dress code to allow trousers all year round (including PE) &amp; also creating hijab guidelines (I think they finally felt the need to step in with an officially sanctioned design after I was clearly having too much fun with my own - my mum would dye blue &amp; purple scarves to match my school shirt &amp; jumper respectively, lol!) </p> <p>@Allora @Jenni NZ<br /> We even had Hang Ten in PK - where, I might add, I have never seen anyone surf! I had a white t-shirt from there with homemade-ooking long fringing along the hemline (the actual hem just cut into strips) &amp; a huge blue-purple flower emblazoned across the chest. I hated it but my parents bought it, so they would make me wear it. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why/page/2#post-2315352 Mon, 27 Mar 2023 16:25:30 +0000 Andrea H 2315352@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Count me in as someone who also has an aversion to plaid after wearing a plaid uniform skirt for 8 years. Also, our uniform blouse was pale yellow and I don't think I've ever worn a yellow shirt or top of any hue since.&nbsp; My other aversion from those days is that I refuse to wear a slip. I have so many stress memories of slips that halfway through the day somehow fell down and were then "showing" (of which I was for some reason supposed to be humiliated by.)&nbsp; &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why/page/2#post-2315223 Sun, 26 Mar 2023 02:37:33 +0000 Jaime 2315223@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh my gosh do I relate by proxy ! I grew up in regular old public schools where the official uniform was dirt bag. Not really kidding. But, DH grew up in yeshiva world and here in Israel there are some very clear sartorial markers of position that I have a hard time wearing. Really the only time DH complains about my clothes it is because they are too _______ . I am adding a link to Inge's thread that is relevant actually. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why/page/2#post-2315178 Sat, 25 Mar 2023 19:46:50 +0000 cat2 2315178@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh, you all have brought back memories. So Cal beach town; in junior high, the look was actual baby tanks, with wrap skirts churned out in sewing class from a Simplicity pattern, and genuine Rainbow (TM) flip flops. Worn over a bikini for school to beach bike rides. High school was tube tops with giant 70s wide leg pants, hemmed for platform sandals. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why/page/2#post-2315175 Sat, 25 Mar 2023 19:14:36 +0000 Janet 2315175@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh yeah, we had Hang Ten! That and OP (Ocean Pacific) were huge for our area, but we did live about three hours from the nearest surfing (Atlantic though). Worn with tees from Sunshine House, which was an Ocean City, Maryland staple. I had purple palm tree OP shorts that I loved, even though I did not have a strong preppy streak. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315171 Sat, 25 Mar 2023 18:57:32 +0000 Jenni NZ 2315171@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh but April your little pic above is so cute!<br /> Mind you I remember saying to hubby about our daughters in teenage that they were “still cute, but in a different way!” Maybe your older cousins were cute in a different way also!<br /> And Allora, we even had Hang Ten in New Zealand in the 70s- it got all the way across the Pacific! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315093 Sat, 25 Mar 2023 12:18:13 +0000 April 2315093@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I remember Hang Ten as well, though there wasn't much of a surfing culture in my inland Massachusetts town.&nbsp; Maybe I saw Hang Ten when we visited the cousins in Virginia Beach.</p> <p>We didn't have "label clothes", we had whatever was on steepest markdown.&nbsp; Which often meant garish colors, weird cuts, and last year's fads.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>I desperately envied those Virginia Beach cousins (older girls), who lived in graphic tees and cut-off jean shorts, all faded from the sun - way cooler than the little girls' matching print shorts/tank top sets my mother bought me for summer.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315084 Sat, 25 Mar 2023 03:12:48 +0000 BlueJay 2315084@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yes, Allora, I remember the Hang Ten tees! Not from the 60s though...70s and 80s in Toronto...! Maybe people bought them in Cali? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315078 Sat, 25 Mar 2023 01:34:46 +0000 jussie 2315078@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Just as an aside, as a child I hated tights due to the scratchiness, but as an adult I have found some brands of tights amazingly comfortable and cozy. Sadly I can’t off the top of my head remember the names of the brands which is no help to anyone. There’s some at Myer that are shockingly comfy. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315070 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 23:44:08 +0000 Anonymous 2315070@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wow - lots of baggage carried forward from school uniforms and such in childhood!</p> <p>I have no such thing…went to public schools and never had to wear a uniform. This was in Florida, too, so no winter clothing nightmares. In fact, my favorite outfit was a snake skin print mini skirt (not super short) worn with a red Hang Ten tee. This was the late 60s. We lived on the coast with a big surfing culture so Hang Ten tees were the thing to wear. Anyone remember them? They had the 2 bare feet insignia where the polo player is on other shirts. [Sorry to deviate from the post topic…reading the responses just brought back memories!!]</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315058 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 20:18:24 +0000 PamelaK 2315058@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Like a few others,&nbsp;I also had to wear too big (wide) hand-me-down dresses that I was never going to grow into. I struggle with dress fit still - I usually opt for a skirt and quit trying to figure out what works.&nbsp;</p> <p>And I get it, some things are just...unrecoverable.&nbsp;I have been able to embrace the dreaded 'flood' pants but only because the time of my ankles growing out of my pants was brief. I am sure if that same growth pattern continued, short pants would be equally not fun.&nbsp;</p> <p>I like this look of pants under a dress - it reminds me of a fabulous area with in Chicago with wonderful diverse and creative neighbors, where I lived my first few years on my own.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315053 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 19:47:38 +0000 Indigoprint 2315053@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Same experience for me! The only difference is the pants were hand me downs from my brothers as well. I did have my own furry hat with pom-poms on the ties. I suspect it was quite a sight as I walked to school. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315051 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 19:24:34 +0000 April 2315051@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>OMG Janet - I never had long legs but there was no way my mother was going to buy me long-enough pants if last year's pair still fit in the waist, so I too cannot bear the sense of wearing pants too short.</p> <p>My little bro talks about being shamed for wearing a boys' "husky" size, not because Mom felt boys should be thin (that was for girls) but because the husky size cost more.</p> <p>I have spoken before about also wearing endless hand-me-downs from a girl cousin who was 3 years older and 6 sizes larger. And tall.</p> <p>Believe me, I am 100% sympathetic to the issues involved in raising children on a tiny budget. I am also 100% sympathetic to children wanting to feel comfortable, accepted, and as if they have something of a say in how they look. </p> <p>Little husky bro got sent to Catholic school for one year (age 9) and used to come to me daily in tears because he had - again - misplaced his clip-on tie. </p> <p>Whatever my other failings as a parent, I know I never browbeat my son into wearing anything that was stressful for him. If he wanted something beyond my (tiny) budget, the rule was I would provide what the budget version cost and he would save up and kick in the delta. Worked for us. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315046 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 19:03:21 +0000 Vildy 2315046@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hey, yeah, pantihose were good enough for Joe Namath. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315045 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 18:55:34 +0000 Angie 2315045@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hah! Makes sense </p> <p>Irina, I can relate! </p> <p>I had to wear scratchy woolly tights as part of my school uniform in the Winter. To this day I refuse to wear tights. Sheer and pretty pantyhose is fine though. But tights are non-negotiable. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315044 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 18:49:58 +0000 Vildy 2315044@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>You know, KarenBritChic does this look all the time and very successfully.&nbsp; I think the trick might be to have a smoothness to both fabrics otherwise you get the dreaded 3/4 sleeve underjacket bunching type feel. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315041 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 18:44:55 +0000 Kyle 2315041@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I loved fashion growing up, but the Cleveland weather, and my mother’s attempt to keep me warm, did not always cooperate. So I can understand and relate to your comment all too well.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315038 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 18:02:01 +0000 Irina 2315038@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>In my childhood I had to wear wool leggings under a school uniform dress in the winters. The legging stretched in the course of a day and were constantly sliding down on my scrawny legs and I had to hitch them up.&nbsp; Maybe this is a reason I avoid legging even now unless I wear them under pants or jeans.?&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315037 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 17:27:22 +0000 BlueJay 2315037@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>YUP! I also have <i>&lt;ahem&gt;</i><i></i>&nbsp;fond memories of wearing pants under a dress and it being "Bunchy, uncomfortable, overheated [and]&nbsp;not in any way cute"!&nbsp; (I also have bunchy memories of stuffing a dress <i>inside</i> traditional snow pants!) UGH!&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315036 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 17:08:59 +0000 Suz 2315036@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oy vey. We lived through years of the hectoring young 'un. He still hectors on occasion but of course when the hectorer became a parent as well, the "honour thy father and thy mother" commandment suddenly made more sense. ;)&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315035 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 16:58:54 +0000 April 2315035@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Another response to Vildy's Judaic scholarship:</p> <p>We have a relative who became ultra Orthodox in adulthood. His parents could not be more secular, and he spent years telling them all the laws they were breaking.</p> <p>I consulted with my rebbe (an Orthodox friend whose name rhymes with rebbe) on this topic and asked if there wasn't some Talmudic teaching against hectoring others on Jewish law. She did not mention the stumbling block idea but referred to a far more famous rule: Honor thy father and mother.</p> <p>Ok, back to wardrobe. Besides her "dresses only" rule, my mother also believed that little girls should never wear anything black unless they were in ballet class. When I had a birthday party to go to after ballet, she would bring a jumper (American meaning) to toss on over my leotard and instruct me to inform the mother/hostess that I had come straight from ballet. </p> <p>Like a beleaguered mother dealing with 12 little girls on a Saturday had nothing better to think about. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315033 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 16:40:11 +0000 Janet 2315033@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This is related to why I don't like the shorter full-length pants for myself. They remind me of wearing flood pants as a growing girl -- my legs have always been long relative to the rest of me, and I hated getting teased for wearing too-short pants!&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315032 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 16:39:18 +0000 Firecracker (Sharan) 2315032@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>That's an interesting memory, April, and very understandable that you have an aversion to the combo even now. I think I wore pants under a dress, too, in cold weather. Fortunately, it didn't create such a lasting or negative memory for me. I'm fascinated by Vildy's reminiscence also! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315030 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 16:08:57 +0000 phoebe 2315030@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>The heck Vildy, fascinating side road there with the "stumbling block in front of the blind"</p> <p>I wish someone had thought to add pants to my mandatory school skirt during the winter but the pants and dress combination is still not for me </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315028 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 15:44:24 +0000 pirouette 2315028@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I went to convent catholic school which was pretty strict Our uniform was navy and light blue. I can’t wear either colour to this day although I admire it on others. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315024 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 15:21:11 +0000 rachylou 2315024@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I’ve wondered about this, dresses and winter, being from California and not experiencing snow fall until I was like 20! Now I know the answer! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315023 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 15:17:51 +0000 cat2 2315023@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ha! So true. My junior high school gym clothes were some weird concoction that looked like a boiler suit on top and had massive bloomers on the bottom. I am still repelled by fashion overalls. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315022 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 15:11:37 +0000 Roberta 2315022@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ha, I just commented on the blog that I had to wear dresses to school in the late 60s, and in Ohio winters we necessarily wore pants under them. We took them off once we got to school. I never minded this look, because I never really liked dresses all that much, and that might be why I like the dress over pants look so much today. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315019 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 15:05:48 +0000 Suz 2315019@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh, I did this too, April. Bunchy and horrid. Especially with the snow boots (galoshes) and the mitts and hats....&nbsp;</p> <p>No wonder I rarely try this look and never feel great in it. Had not made the connection.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/sometimes-you-know-exactly-why#post-2315018 Fri, 24 Mar 2023 15:03:13 +0000 April 2315018@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Vildy - high five, fellow Bay State gal! (and yes, we too called snow pants leggings) </p> <p>I'm glad I'm not the only one with clearly identifiable wardrobe triggers. </p>