Frumpy, tacky and edgy - YouLookFab Forum

It's almost 1 year that I joined YLF.
It all started while I am trying to figure out my style moniker.
I think I have evolved as fashionista.
I read through multiple threads about frumpy that were started in last couple years.
And I think I am still struggling to figure out what all these terms really are.
Frumpy: unfashionable, dated. Some one mentioned lack of make up (which I never apply except some party).
Polyester Pants and clothing. But what if someone can just afford those. Then is it tacky (cheap) or frumpy?

Also, where does edgy ends and frumpy begins?
Edgy by definition is different/unique style which is fashion forward. So something edgy on young and frumpy on older body.
Amd ofcourse Angie's happiness factor.
For me (not bragging) but almost every time I dress up (I always put effort even when I had no sense of style there was still some lol) I am happy. From old pics some of them was frumpy or not fashionable at all?

So what is it really??? I wonder.

I do have polyester pants from designer that I paid 150$ (Elle Tahari)
What I am trying to be
Edgy chic? Or it makes me look tacky?
Now that I am taking interest in style and fashion it's more confusing.

What I want to be is comfortable in my own skin and stylish doesn't hurt
But I find myself more confused and critical.
Is it that, Sometimes ignorance is bliss???

12 years ago

Anonymous

I think when people say polyester pants, they mean the ones that are scratchy and stiff and look like you got them from a thrift store after they went through a couple of decades of existence. There are good polyester pants, and there are cheap polyester pants.

Neel

Veteran

If polyester is frumpy ........ I am too! I own a lot of it in my wardrobe but I don't think they *look* cheap. Whatever I wear (clothes, bags, shoes) is not more than 100$ (And that's the maximum I am talking about)!

I can afford to splurge but because I get bored with my clothes very fast I just do not like investing in any piece unless I know I will love it for years to come. The key is to find your sweet spot for spending and yet look fashionable, trendy and most importantly happy. I have noticed that if I buy anything more than my 100$ mental limit I get all guilty and upset when I stop loving the item!

Moral of my long story - *Cheap* does not automatically mean frumpy! IMHO that is!

amiable

Yes, what Ceit said. Also frumpy has a lot to do with fit - if something fits well, it's much less likely to be frumpy, I suspect.

Stuti

Active Member

Is it state of mind?
Or beauty in the eye of beholder?
Or just style preference?

cade

There is a world of difference between the quality natural fibers as well as man made fibers. It is their cut and drape that tell the tale. As for make up (and hair and shoes) these are things that round out the whole. Your face is always the first things anyone will notice, so if you have taken care of your styling there, most everything else will fall into place. You can look frumpy in the most expensive garment if you do not pay attention to the whole package from head to toe.

Peri

I really don't like the word frumpy...it seems such a judgmental thing, mostly aimed at women around my age (54). As in, something that would look edgy if you are young looks frumpy if you are old. Not meaning to pick on you, it just bothers me.

I just try to think dated vs classic vs trendy or nice looking vs not so nice. Its a lot of opinion anyway.

catgirl

I don't know - I'm struggling with the idea of frumpy myself. I think it's a feeling as much as a look. I've been using it to describe when I don't feel like myself but that's probably not the right use of it. And yet, when I don't feel like myself, I feel dowdy somehow.

(website)

Interpretation has a lot to do with the vantage point you are coming from. What I, at 43, see as frumpy may not be what my mom, at 66, sees as frumpy. Likewise, what I think is edgy might make an urban 22 year old yawn.

kkards

Also, where does edgy ends and frumpy begins?
imo, edgy and frumpy are polar opposites. edgy fashion is foward looking, it has a point of view, and it is alway deliberate. it make not be classicly attractive, and it is not appealing to all. frumpy is backward looking, but not in an updated retro way, dowdy. frumpy is what happens when you stop trying and/or caring. i don't think either edgy or frumpy is inherently age related, as you can see examples of each in both the young and the old.

Category