Do you ever laugh at something you try on? - YouLookFab Forum

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Do you ever laugh at something you try on?

Anonymous

I'm not shopping this month, but took a couple pictures a while back that literally made me laugh. I love the look of fluttery sleeves (in theory), but steer away from them for myself and enjoy them on others. Do you ever laugh at how crazy something looks on you in the dressing room?

Dressing

26 replies

Latest reply was from

rachylou

Veteran

I think you look cute, but I laugh too when I put on ruffles like that. Man, I passed up an Oscar de la Renta because of this type of ruffle...

cobaltblue

Veteran

I actually think you look adorable in these ruffles. But I notice that I said "adorable" and Rachy said "cute" - so maybe that's not the vibe you're wanting, though the tops are, well, cute!

Anonymous

I'm the anti-you: no boobs or shoulders and I find it hard to wear these fluttery things too. If they're in jersey they're ok, but a woven flutter looks terrible.

I actually think the one with the blue embroidery looks pretty good, but you can tell better than I can.

I do often laugh at myself in the change room. There are many things that I really want to work: like wrap tops and stuff with waist definition. But I look silly.
I also will try on things that are way too small or way too big and those also make me laugh, the funny part being that I didn't abort the try-on Sooner.

It's better to have tried and laughed than never to have tried at all!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I like #1 on you. Super cute.

Absolutely. It usually happens when I head over to the designer dept. and try on trendy oversized and extra drapey pieces that completely overwhelm my slight frame. I look more than ridiculous. It has me in stitches. Or when I fit on something awfully hard edged that is sooooo not my style, it cracks me up when I look in the mirror.

The Cat

Veteran

Well, sometimes. More often, however, I can feel disappointed. That's when I'm trying on items in shops and discover that the arms of a cardigan, for example, are so incredible narrow that I am unable to get my rather slim arms into them - the design is just wrong, and those experiences can be frustrating.

In my family, we often laugh when we see pictures of what we wore decades ago, although at the time when we wore those outfits/hairstyles/glasses, they were really quite normal.

I appreciate your sense of humour. But I don't think you need to fear that all others will find those outfits outright ridiculous. To my eye, the first one actually looks quite alright - nothing strange about it. I would admit, however, that, on closer inspection, the shoulders of the second one look a little weird and could nearly be mistaken for wings.

Anonymous

If #1 had been a muscle tee without the ruffle, I would have pounced on it.

I think cobaltblue may be onto something. I like cute things, but when I feel "cutesy" in something, that doesn't feel like me at all.

Rachy - I do wear some ruffle, but very judiciously.

Smittie - I also like to try on lots of stuff and keep an open mind. Sometimes I do have the thought of "what shape does this actually work for?"

Angie - i definitely agree that things have to feel like the right style to each person, regardless of what others may see.

Like I said, I'm taking a little shopping break, but I was taken with the sheer number of off the shoulder, cold shoulders, and one shoulders (I think the last is probably sought after by fewer women) out this season. Also, quite a lot of shorter or cropped tops.

tulle

Veteran

Almost every time I go shopping! That said, I don't find your choices particularly comical, though I get that the shoulder ruffles may feel a little too bouncy. Would a slightly longer, softer flutter sleeve solve the problem? I like the embroidered look of #1 a lot.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I laugh in the fitting room quite frequently -- humor is my shield against despair and frustration. But yes, many things look comical on me. Things that would probably look amazing on straight-figured, narrow-hipped, women throw me into fits of disbelieving laughter. Patterned pants are usually cause for hilarity (again, to mask my underlying disappointment that they never look as good on me as I envision they should). Also sometimes I'll try on something outside of my usual wheelhouse just to see if a new-to-me style might suit me, and that rarely goes without at least a chuckle.

Anonymous

The Cat - yes, the second one was the one that really gave me a laugh. Looking at old pics is really fun.

Anonymous

Tulle - yes, I like embroidery. And I do have a couple tops with a slight ruffle, but the longer length is important to drape past the shoulder.

Janet - I like patterned pants too. And sometimes it takes a bit to adjust to a new to me style.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I LOVE patterned pants. Sadly, my thighs disagree.

binkle

Veteran

Constantly, as in "who in the h*ll do I think I'm kidding!"

Bu I think YOU look good! Both tops are cute, especially the embroidered one.

Anonymous

Binkle. Thanks for the compliment, but it was across town, on clearance, and I promised myself a time out. So basically, not worth the effort to track down. I am a sucker for blue and white together though, especially if it has embroidery. I just know I would be not happy with the puff on the shoulder. As a side note, I remember being surprised how many on the forum seem to eschew embroidery. Well, we can't all like the same things.

Gaylene

Veteran

All the time! And sometimes I even model it for the SAs so they can see why I'm not so enamoured of certain suggestions they may have made! I see it as a learning experience for both of us.

bridgie

Veteran

No, I can't think of a time I laughed. I can remember when I was very young, there was a set standard ie bust and hips to be same measurement and waist 10 inches smaller. So I cried and did spot reducing exercise. It did not work. Now I laugh at the thought I believed such garbage. By the way, I am sure there are women who have these measurements and I envy you.

Now and for the last several years I have been known to use mild cussing and go on a rant that I and all women should stop shopping (really?) until the stores carried better fitting, colors, etc (insert your own word).

I think No 1 is cute on you.

cindysmith

Veteran

I've definitely laughed at myself when trying things on. Sometimes things look so wonderful on the hanger; or I really love the IDEA of something; or the fit is just terrible... The fit one can really get me laughing, as things that are too short anywhere just slay me.

Anonymous

Gaylene - it's funny when the SA still try to convince you it looks good when you know otherwise.

Bridgie - I can understand lamenting for better quality in stores.

Cindy - I e certainly experienced too short too.

Staysfit

Veteran

I definitely laugh at things I try on. I would have laughed at these tops because I have a picture from 8th grade (?) where I am wearing a top almost exactly like it. I try hard not to duplicate a look I wore in my adolescence! I have purchased tops with ruffles, but the location, size and design of the shirt has been one that somehow felt mature or maybe more edgy than I wore in the past.

Items I laugh at on myself would fall into the categories Angie described. Also anything that ends up being unexpectedly more a-line than anticipated. For whatever reason, a-line looks awful on me. Really awful. I'm not kidding. It's my worst looK unless the fit is perfect and it's rare for that to happen.

harmonica

Veteran

Yes! I think the ability to not take oneself too seriously and laugh is important. A healthy alternative to talking oneself down. sure I do that, too, but I really find humour and irony helpful

Bijou

Veteran

I laugh at things I try on often. For me, it is anything that feels too sexy - showing cleavage, thigh high slits in skirts, being worried about "wardrobe malfunctions" is just so not me.

Also anything RATE or hard edged. I like a bit of hard edge (Valentino Rockstuds and Alexander McQueen are great inspirations), but jeans, t-shirts and jumpers with rips have never made me feel good despite loving the look on others...

Summer

Veteran

Yes, many, many times. The last occasion involved a style similar to your top: the one I tried had fluttery, angel sleeves that I thought would disguise my less-than-perfect upper arms. Instead they managed to broaden my (already wide) shoulders to ridiculous proportions. Thank goodness for lockable changing rooms is what I say! I still remember the embarrassment of disastrous try-ons in those awful communal changing rooms of the past - oh, the shame!

Anonymous

Staysfit - isn't it funny how things that remind us of our past can be good or bad? Mostly if they do, I leave it in the past.

Harmonica - thankfully I have mostly made the mental shift to depersonalize fit to speak to the garment, and not myself. As in, "this looks hideous" and not "I look hideous".

Bijou - I think there are probably quite a few people who feel that way about feeling "sexy", though I've no doubt you would look good in lots of what you try.

Summer - I remember going to one of those dressing rooms in high school. Not sure I could handle that now!

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

All of the time!

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Baked potato sweatshirt from Phillip Lim
It was a rose-coppery foil coated sweatshirt. Looked great in a lookbook. When I put it on, I promptly said I looked like a baked potato from a steakhouse, the kind wrapped in foil. My salesperson laughed.
A while later in the season there were multiple size of it on the clearance rack.

Greyscale

Veteran

Well my biggest laughs are when I get stuck in a tight object in a fitting room and have to ask the attendant for help! Worst is when I'm stuck half in or out of it! And of course it's always somewhere like Nordstrom Rack where the attendants aren't expected/able to help individual customers much.

Anonymous

Annagybe - surprising it ended up on the clearance rack, huh? Guess baked potato wasn't a popular look.

Greyscale - I've had a few of those moments too. Where you feel like you are going to throw your shoulder out trying to contort out of something.