Intro level femininity : 3/31 - YouLookFab Forum

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Intro level femininity : 3/31

Anonymous

In the spirit of being a good YLF'er, I have set some goals for this coming season. Style-wise I decided I wanted to reclaim, or re-introduce (or newly introduce as maybe I've never really had it) a level of femininity into my dressing style. For a lot of years, I've been more attracted to the tough and rocker-ish style than I have the drapey, pretty, soft look. But.....that gets a bit old as I get old, if you know what I'm saying. So - that sweater from yesterday was my initial foray into pretty. Great. Next. I had bought this blouse below from one of Angie's picks after totally ignoring in the store the first time I saw it. It went on sale so I went back and through YLF goggles , decided I 'd give it a shot . I'm glad I bought it. Wore it today for the first time out to lunch with my ubiquitous skinny jeans (sorry) , and in the spirit of this morning's new blogger feature - BIG EARRINGS! I never wear big earrings. So, feeling rather pleased with myself, I added on gold aviators , a leather jacket and went off to lunch. The drapey blouse gives me the feminine look I wanted, yet doesn't go all florally and frumpy on me. The colours are also more feminine that my usual neutrals but still have that sharp edge of a pattern. Patent pumps and bag (which I had completely forgot I owned, duh) , both adding in a feminine touch in terms of colour but retain a level of sharpness in styling.

Lesson: my feminine touches should come from fabric OR colour OR cut , and not all at once. No soft pale unstructured pieces , no florals on loose unstructured tops, and where colour is soft, cut and style have to be funky.

jeans - Gap True Skinnies
blouse - Anthro
pumps - Joan & David
bag - Nine West
jacket - Danier

Thoughts on adding a feminine touch and how you are doing it, or not?? Have I lost my mind completely?

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Draped Camille Top

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Bree lamb leather biker

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36 replies

Latest reply was from

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You look gorgeous, Lisa. That top is killer on you. The colours are perfect with your complexion, and the fluid fit looks modern and attractive. The cut of the top is alluring and fun. You look the furthest thing from frumpy.

I'm amping up the feminine integrity of my outfits with tailoring, visible softness, colour and pretty items. Lots of refinement - nothing chunky. (Although that's how I skew style wise anyway. I'm an '80s gal, not a '90s gal).

Feeling ladylike flats more than ever. I would be very happy if I never needed to wear anything over a one inch heel again - although some of my outfits call for a two inch heel, and I still love my Okalas.

Aida

Veteran

Ooh lovely, Lisa! The colors on the top look much nicer in your photo. I'd saved that find too, but hadn't gone back to it thinking it was tan. But if it's more cream the way your photo shows.. well now I feel I've missed out! Will you also try funkier footwear with this top? Could be fun paired with a black jacket/shoes, too.

Last spring (and to a lesser extent the spring before) I also started exploring a similar direction as you're thinking. Came to similar conclusions, though I'm probably further along the softness scale than you are. I added quite a lot of softness in and am looking to bring more structure back now.

Anonymous

Aida - I have these , below, which is as funky as it gets for my spring shoes at the moment. I was going to wear them until I decided I wanted to dress this outfit up in case I needed to pretend I was actually at work this afternoon:) You know, funky shoes have become a HEWI in recent years. There are more now that I can't wear than there are comfortable and wearable ones. It's not as easy a purchase as it once was, and I'm quite sad about that. So - I take them when I find them ! The pumps appealed to the feminine side of me wanting to break out

Thank you, Angie, for chiming in . This blouse is really cool , isn't it? I am also on the lookout for a feminine pointy toe flat. I still like the lift of a heel - it makes me feel a little taller and thinner

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Transcona Shannon

Veteran

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Love that blouse on you especially.

rabbit

Veteran

You look great in that awesome top and all the layers work quite well together - great jacket and nice accessories. (I wouldn't apologize for skinny jeans either, I think they work really well on you, and the majority of women continue wearing them, so...). It sounds like you are coming to a good understanding of how you want to evolve your style and how to find the balance that feels most you--the tricky part.

My style veers from really pretty feminine to very tomboy from day to day. Two of the style descriptors I like: 'graceful' and 'charming' could be thought of as feminine, but I think of them as more androgynous -- 'graceful' to me is about flow and movement and the way the clothes work with the body rather than obscuring it.

I guess the more feminine things I'm drawn to include a pointed toe shape, maybe more polished items? Colors? Florals? I wear skirts a fair amount, but I'm just as likely to mix them with masculine items -- especially boots--in the winter.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

You look so pretty in this outfit, but also so sharp. I think you've hit your sweet spot! I love the blouse/ top on you. Really gorgeous with your colouring. And I am so envious that you could wear this outfit; where I am it is still SO COLD and no way I could wear pumps, or a leather jacket as my topper. Sigh, grumble, sigh.

It seems as if you have reached some clear conclusions with admirable speed. I have no idea about where I'm going style-wise, this spring. 5 months without shopping and 5 months of snow will do that to a girl. Hmmm. With virtually no budget, I can't really shop much now, either. Not sure how I am going to handle updates.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Nicely done, Lisa! (I liked the gray floral sweater on you, too.)

DonnaF

Veteran

Love that blouse, and love it on you!!! I share that association with you of floral = frumpy, at least SOME florals on ME. When I was (decades) younger, I never had that association, but maybe I was too young to look frumpy? Like you, I am exploring *feminine*, one element at a time. Somehow, springtime seems the time to do it.

AJ

Veteran

Oooohhhhh, a lovely outfit from head to toe! Very soft, pretty, and feminine!

Tanya

Veteran

This is so pretty! The top is incredibly flattering on you, both the cut and the color, and I love how seamlessly everything goes together.

abc

Veteran

Love this outfit and the new direction.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Love that top on you and the entire outfit. Splendid! I don't think about adding femininity specifically but do enjoy juxtaposing hard and soft, pretty and tough, which perhaps amounts to the same thing.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I think this looks fantastic, Lisa, and it seems a great balance of femininity to me. I love that top and wish I'd snagged it now too.

It's funny, I never think that I need to add femininity to my outfits. Just the opposite. My body is so undeniably female, my features are mostly typically feminine (I'll ignore my big nose for the moment), and my hair is quite a feminine style, so I actually like to counteract all of that with more angularity and masculinity in my outfits.

Joy

Veteran

Lisa, this outfit is just gorgeous on you, feminine but not overly sweet. I also was interested in that top but missed it. It looks better on you than on the model. The style has some drapery but also some structure.

Anonymous

rabbit - your approach seems similar to mine (re the skirts and pointed/refined shoe shapes)
Suz - you have already nailed down a great working wardrobe for spring - at least based on what I saw of your posts when I first jointed in July. Are you looking to change things up a bit? We have had an incredibly different winter than we usually get, and are lucky and happy to not have snow now. Believe me it's not what happened last year.

donnaf - you are so right about spring being the time to pull out the "pretty"

shevia - I think the soft/hard balance is what will work best for me - not this all soft nonsense

janet - I can understand your thought process, because you are right - you have a lot to work with in that way, whereas I've never felt particularly feminine looking. I guess it's from years of having to defend my choice to have short hair in an era of men (and women) who think all women look best with long hair. My husband included. I think you are taller than me, right? (I'm getting shorter by the minute it seems - only 5'5") Your curves have more room to play out and your rocker-chic look is the PERFECT one for you having a curvy body.

anne

Veteran

Lisa - what a great look!! SO far from frumpy!! Love that jacket particularly!

Deborah

Veteran

Lisa, I think this looks positively gorgeous on you. No frump what so ever. I love the top. Colour and style are perfect. And I love the earrings. Since I have had shorter hair I have built a collection of bigger and/or drop style earrings. Never leave home without them. I rarely wear stud earring now. It's a nice touch.

viva

Veteran

You look SO PLEASED with yourself in the first picture! It really says it all.

I absolutely love this look on you, and I want a little pair of kitten heels now.

The top is really the hero here, and everything else supports her beautifully. I don't know if this kind of top is really for me, but I am tempted to try. You make it work so well.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I think it looks great on you - love the colors in the top with the neutrals of the jacket, shoes and bag. I kind of love it when something I am not sure about ends up being a great purchase.

Anonymous

You look amazing, and there's no delicate way to say this, the effect is much more feminine/sexy than feminine/dainty.
Very inspiring for me because I'm also of an age when more tomboy styles start to look a little too masculine.
You look fabulous, I have to think this is one of those real crowd pleaser outfits.

Anonymous

wow- thanks Isabel! You know, I was thinking about this whole notion of feminine dressing ,and the reality for me is that it will have to have an element of sexiness to it. Not trashy sexy, or inappropriate sexy, but feminine sexy. It's really been my fall-back way to look "dressed up". I don't know how to do soft feminine, but I think I have a handle on how to dress to work with my body . For the most part, anyways.

Deborah, viva, texstyle - the blouse was indeed a gamble, but I had always wanted a faux wrap cross over style that didn't have a ton of extra fabric and drape - and here it was. At first I didn't even like the pattern, but it kinda grew on me. And thanks to the response here, I'm going to wear the heck out of this for the next couple of months. Best thing - it was on one of Anthro's crazy sales where things are an extra % off the sale price, - you know the ones

fuzzylogic

Veteran

I completely love this outfit- a perfect balance of drape & structure, tough and feminine.

I have short hair and broad shoulders (IT). I add feminine touches by incorporating pumps (and other heels), earrings and skirts/dresses into my outfits.

I liked janet's comment regarding balancing curves with angularity and masculinity in an outfit!

Runcarla

Veteran

This is one of those 'I need a crash helmet! PLONK!' posts. Isabel pretty much said it in her comment. Powerfully feminine without being in your face. Very self assured. Your best...or at least MY favourite.

Anonymous

This looks fab head to toe Lisa. Love it.

Sara L.

Veteran

Great outfit! I always enjoy hearing about people's style goals and how they are achieving them. I think the blouse is very feminine and not frumpy at all. Especially paired with skinny jeans.

Anonymous

Well, geez Carla, thanks, but I didn't think it was that great - lol. Although....I do recall wishing i had had it on the other day when I ran into a former , ahem, relationship at a bar/restaurant . That day was not so fab - lol.

fuzzylogic - thoughtful comments - thanks - makes sense to me

AM

Veteran

Great look and great analysis of a style shift. Sounds like you're on to something that is very appealing. And the colors on that shirt look fabulous on you!

Kirstjen

Veteran

That blouse is beautiful and perfect for welcoming spring. You look great!

Deb

Veteran

You look hip in this outfit Lisa....love all your pieces here....fun, fem and fab!

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