"Effortless" Fashion ? - YouLookFab Forum

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"Effortless" Fashion ?

Dee

Veteran

UmmLila recently shared a link regarding the buzz word "effortless" as it pertains to fashion and there seems to be many instagrammers/celebrities etc.. who want to project a look as though they didn't have to try, that it was "effortless" even though behind the scenes a lot of work and effort did go into creating it.

Its as though it's not okay anymore to really dress up or put any effort into how we look. I myself have been called out for being too "dressed up" at times but I like looking like I made an effort, is there now something wrong with that?

What are your thoughts on this subject?

Dressing

81 replies

Latest reply was from Zaeobi

Joy

Veteran

There is nothing wrong with that to me. I like to think that I inspire others to make a bit more of an effort, especially when it come to wearing frocks.

Helena

Veteran

So I'm of two minds about this:

- for the most part, I think when people say "effortless", it's meant in a totally benign descriptive way to indicate a sort of undone casual-ness that is very current (and frankly very welcome by me!) so in that sense, I don't want to over-analyze intentions, etc. when the word is used - I generally know what is meant and like the "effortless" look and feel!

- that said, there is the *potential* for this word to indicate that somehow women are not only expected to look beautiful and perfect, but we're supposed to somehow do so without even trying ... the irony of "effortless" style on influencers who are almost certainly sponsored, made up, well-lit and filtered is not lost of me, and there is always the potential for this words to have a demoralizing effect on us mere mortals who need to put effort forth to look our best (i.e. everyone). Sort of like that idea that we "all have the same 24 hours" ... well no, the single mom working 2 jobs does not have the same 24 hours as the celebrity with a personal chef, trainer and makeup artist. Comparison is almost never helpful or accurate.

- also and always - horses for courses! I can appreciate a super-done-up glamourous, ultra-polished, or traditionally pretty look just as much as an undone off-duty model type look. Both/and rather than either/or in my book, with style and just about everything else!

Apparently I was of three minds

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I far far far far far prefer to look as though I just woke up this way. If I wear make-up, I want it to look natural. I don’t do spanx, fake nails & lashes, or other markers of high effort. Were you around a couple years ago when some people took offense at my use of the word (from video gamers) “tryhard”? It’s somebody who spoils the fun by taking the game totally in earnest. Those who were offended said that when they make an effort, they want it to show. Not just to look good in the end, but to have anyone appreciating the final result to also see and appreciate the work that went into it. I still can’t comprehend, don’t want people to see me sweat, but they can do them, I’ll do me & you do you.

I think of ylf as my backstage/green room/closet/bathroom where there are a few friends who can give me advice and then not give away my struggle when I walk out.

PS Helena, looking effortless can indeed take a lot of work.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Dee, making an effort and trying is all sorts of KILLER awesome in my book! Dressing well and looking pulled together - and that includes casual wear! - adds to my own quality of life. My world is nicer when people around me are well turned out.

Personally:

I believe in enclothed cognition. I get dressed up EVERY. DAY. I am all too happy to share that this takes effort, time, trying, and I enjoy the results! I'm happy to look like it looks that way too.

I do my hair, wear my pearls and make-up daily. Even when I'm under the weather and sad. My casual wear is dressed up! It's authentic to who I am. It would shock hubs Greg if it was different.

To this day I've not been called out for "dressing up" or looking too dressed up. I think people expect it given my line of work.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Angie, I think my style has some dressy looks too. Isn’t whether you in fact made an effort a different question from whether you look like you had to work hard to get the end effect?

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

+1 to what Helena said. And like SF, I also strive for the ”woke up looking like this” look. And honestly, I often did. A lot of my “effort” is up front in purchasing and styling decisions made so I can hit my style aspirations with just running my fingers through my hair and slapping on some tinted sunscreen in the morning.

Dee

Veteran

Helena, so “effortless” as a descriptor for a casual, nonchalant elegance makes sense, but the word “effortless” can be a dismissive too, as though pity those that need to make such an “effort”.
SF wasn’t aware of the controversy. I guess I don’t like to be challenged as to why I felt the need to make an effort, but definitely everyone feels differently.

Lesley

Veteran

Helena! Preach!!! I agree 100%.

Anonymous

I'm with Angie- maybe it's a cultural thing. Europeans and Latinas seem more likely to dress up and just own it

I'm naturally RATE, and Really Struggle to look even remotely polished. It's a HUGE frustration to me. Dressing up is my way of trying to offset the fact that I seem to immediately devolve into chaos. I wish I was one of those people that was naturally attractive enough to look like I don't care- but I'm definitely not.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I hear you. I’ve been challenged on why I want to look a certain way too and just want to say “because I said so”.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Stag, maybe! After only one cup of tea, I can't promise my crispest thoughts

Dee

Veteran

Jenn, so then maybe my question should be do you try to look effortless or do you want to look like you made an effort?

Irina

Veteran

For me, an opposite of an effortless look is hair that is too perfectly in place and too much makeup. But it is for me, for others it might be a "polished" look.
I need a good base for my effortless or minimal style - good haircut, good skincare routine, good makeup products. Only then I can skip blow-drying or styling my hair and my makeup takes no more than 5 minutes.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I like what Helena said. I think the term can be misleading or open to a LOT of interpretation.

I don't think of the term "effortless" when I choose an outfit or style an item. I think of "ease" and whether the outfit/item fits my body, mood, occasion, climate, and my personal style preferences. Yeah, it requires a little effort, but not a tremendous amount. If I'm leaving the house, I will likely put on at least a touch of makeup (tinted moisturizer, mascara, lip tint) and make at least a stab at being presentable, even if I'm just running to the grocery store. I don't put on makeup for a pilates class or other workout -- just whyyyy? If it's a bad hair day, I'll pop on a hat. Small effort, but enough to look/feel like myself and not feel embarrassed if I run into someone I know.

I want to look like I put in a little effort but not too much, ya know? I think each one of us has a threshold, a balance where if we veer too far into either an overly low-maintenance or overly high-maintenance look, we feel either slovenly or overdone. My perceived "effortless" might require a lot of effort from someone else, and might be perceived as not trying enough by yet another person.

So...if pressed to use the term "effortless" to describe someone's style, I think I would be most inclined to use it if I see someone whose outfit, styling and grooming seem very in line with their persona and personality, if they seem physically and psychologically comfortable in their clothes, and if everything seems to fit nicely. Tight outfits don't look effortless to me, for example. "Effortless" also seems to imply a certain level of restraint. Overly-accessorized looks or very blingy looks don't seem effortless to me.

Does that all make sense?

Peri

Veteran

Amen to Helena!

Women who don't try have "let themselves go", women who try are vain. We must be the perfect in between and then the few who are get held up as the ideal woman to make everyone else feel bad. This no-win for women is not new at all. Lisa Eldridge has a great video on makeup in the Victorian Era and their belief that beauty meant you were a good person on the inside, like you deserved that beauty, and someone less attractive must have something wrong with them...and yet wearing any tiny bit of makeup to help out was sinful.

And consider these:
Maybe she's born with it. (Maybe it's Maybelline)
Does she or doesn't she? (Only her hairdresser knows for sure)
This old thing? I just threw it on. (No way I put any effort into looking nice, I just always get it right cause I'm so stylish.) Don't get me started on that phrase cause I sure haven't figured out how to throw on clothes...they just hit me in the face.
Looking "natural" like Kim K...never mind that Lisa Eldridge said the makeup for her famous "no makeup" cover took hours.

I bet some cave woman spent hours getting her fur dress just right and then all the other cave people thought she was just born with perfect fur dress wearing skills and made her their leader.

Helena

Veteran

Dee that is a very good summary of my thoughts on it ... Less about the word, more about how it's used ... Context is everything (@Angie, see I really do listen to and learn from you!!)

Xx

Dee

Veteran

Irina, getting these basics right can help speed up the effortless look.
Janet, I get the idea of trying to hit the middle ground. Funny enough we also don’t like looking like we are trying too hard either.
Peri, Interesting about what a “good” person was suppose to look like in the Victorian era. So true about all these expectations for women with all those catch phrases. Hahaha effortless fashion in the cave days!!

Irina

Veteran

Peri, LOL You are so right!

slim cat

Veteran

Ditto to what Helena said .
I'm casual in my hair, make up and clothes - the work style is more polished/dressed up with certain effort and time.

kkards

Veteran

soooo...when i say that i want to look effortless, it implies that an effort was made....because for me looking effortless means that you look like yourself. so i wore a bright pink suit that i would NOT look effortless because its not me, but if i put the same suit on in navy, i would look effortless...does that make sense?

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I like what you said Peri.
I think, with all those possible associations, I am not keen on the effortless word overall.
I put in lots of effort into buying my clothes, but on a daily basis it often doesn’t take long at all to get ready- a comb through my short hair, minimal makeup, earrings through the holes, that’s all. Put on some clothes!
I don’t look at Instagram and not much at celebrities so am not bothered by what “everyone” thinks looks best.
I think reading “The Beauty Myth” back when I was about 30 really helped, even though Naomi Wolf the author seemed to turn into a kind of weird thinker later on?

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Helena and Suntiger,

I like what JenniNZ said best:

"I am not keen on the effortless word overall".

Neither am I.

I bat for Team I Made an Effort and Want to Look Like I Made an Effort.

Furthermore, it's interesting how much effort goes into and continues to go into describing this weird phenomenon of "effortless style"!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Interesting conversation! I think the word "effortless" is often used as a term of social control...as Helena and Peri and Jenni have already pointed out. Not only is it used to keep women in our place, it's also used to get us to buy stuff. What do I need to get that "effortless" look?

As Jenn and Jenni and Janet have said, a lot of my "effort" is frontloaded -- a good haircut, careful choices with shopping, careful planning, consultation here! But I'm not embarrassed if people see me and think (or say) I've made an effort or if they comment that I'm "dressed up." This does often happen to me -- quite often! -- even though I think I dress extremely casually, on the whole. Partly that's because my overall appearance is relatively polished, I suspect, and I typically include at least one structured piece in an outfit. As Angie pointed out, her line of work may insulate her from those comments to a degree, and also she lives in a large metropolitan centre. But I'm ok with it when people make those remarks. Let them see I made an effort -- it's a mark of respect for others to dress up!

My strong practical streak means I need to balance my aspirational (dressier) style with my lived reality and ironically, that probably takes the most effort of all! That is, in order to look and be "appropriately" casual for my environment (or "effortless" looking) I have to think and plan really hard in order to also look and feel like myself!

Today's activities, for instance, include workout in morning, followed by WFH with cat snoring on my lap, followed by lunch prep/ eat, followed by a bike ride in the rain to a local mall for coffee meeting followed by a walk on a trail, followed by another bike ride in rain. How to dress for such days when I'm not full on sporty in my style? This is always the issue.

Helena

Veteran

Suz - that is about my lifestyle too and I can tell you for me it's a lot more effort to dress for than when I worked corporate and could just put a suit on every day!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Exactly, Helena! When you work in a corporate environment, there's a "uniform" and even if it takes some effort to add individual touches, it's fairly easy to source the main components and to ensure they work for the environment. It's a lot trickier when you have multiple roles and won't be able to change between outings. I'm not complaining. But it takes creativity, consideration, and yes, effort!

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I don’t see any of those as being kept in “my” place. I’m going to show up looking effortless no matter what. The only difference is that sometimes I look crappy & effortless, other times good & effortless. I guess if one insists on looking attractive all the time, there’s a burden, but I don’t think that comes from the “effortless” part. The burden is the same if the look you’re striving for is “China doll” or “sophisticated urbanite” or “coastal grandma” or “effortless”.

rachylou

Veteran

I have two thoughts: Effortless as highly stylish means the effort sits easily. Not a lack of work, but a lack of strain in the finished product.

My second thought is: that’s partly why I like Appalling Hair Colour. It takes a lot of work to dye my hair and lol, I want it to show(!)

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Rachylou, great point about lack of strain in the finished product!

Interesting about different kinds of effort showing through. When things are “fun” or worn in a “fun” way, I’m much more likely to be comfortable than if it feels stuffy.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

This is an interesting discussion isn’t it.l too have noticed the fashion bloggers talking all the time about looking “effortless “and adding an element of the “undone”to their looks.l have interpreted that as trying to avoid an overly formal,matched look and having an element of relaxed ease about one’s clothing but obviously these are terms that are open to interpretation.Its abit like saying dress stylishly.l think that we would all aspire to that but it probably means different things to different people.
l think that society as a whole has become a lot less formal about dress to the point where it can be a lot harder to hit the right note than it was in the past and these descriptions of a more relaxed way of dressing are part of that but ,like this more relaxed way of dressing, it can be harder to pin down than something more formulaic .
Ironically dressing effortlessly can take as much effort as dressing with effort!

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