Is anyone struggling with "classic" fit?

At the same time I'm trying some new boxier and even oversized fits for fun and trending, I'm also looking around for some more classic items (blouses, sweaters, trousers) to keep up the "bones" of my wardrobe. So I want these items to have that kind of transcendant fit.

But, I'm finding that the trend toward loose/semitucked/oversized tends to skew my view of "regular" fit. It makes more fitted things seem maybe more fitted than they really are, if that makes sense.

Pants are not quite as hard to recognize ---maybe--as fit through the seat and crotch tend to be right or wrong, on me, since I'm not a good candidate for "skinny"; it's more a matter of thinking degree of trouser width, straight, boot--along the lines of some previous blog posts.

With tops, I think I have trouble too due to small shoulders and torso, so that it's really easy to go too far one way or another--too fitted and I feel overexposed, and too large can look unintentionally sloppy instead of trendy.My general tendency had always been to go a bit too loose, because of the comfort factor, and it resulted in some frumpier looks. So then I went more fitted a year or so ago and today some of those tops look completely wrong.

But since top fit "styles" or trends really swing back & forth, it makes me wonder, will I be still able to recognize my "classic" fit in say, a cashmere sweater or will it look "off" half of the time I own it ?Or is it still, as Angie says, in style but not on trend?

I think, having actually paid more attention to these changing trends in fits within the past year or so, I can recognize the "good" classic fit when I try it on, for items I want to last several years. But still, I wonder.

Do you think you can identify your best classic fit that has several years of staying power, or are you at risk of being pulled into sizing trends?

12 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I think I can identify a classic, tailored fit that has some staying power pretty easily...but even "classic" is always a bit of a continuum, with more snug tailored being more on trend at some times, and looser tailored being on trend at other times.

UF, I am wondering if in your case -- with tops, in particular -- it might be a case of your benefitting most from tops that include certain style features -- whether those tops are tailored, body con, or even oversized.

What I mean, is that, like Angie, you are long of neck. As you say, you also have a dainty and sloping shoulder line. So....as I see it, some of the same rules that Angie applies to tops for herself, or I apply to tops for myself, might also have some value for you.

Angie only ever wears four or five top styles. (They might be tailored or oversized, but they are the same basic shapes). So...what works for her are shirts with collars, turtlenecks, crew necks (and sometimes she even layers with those) mandarin type collars, etc. If you look at the suggestions for people with long necks in the body type posts, you'll find a good list.

I allow myself a teeny bit more leeway (although increasingly, I wonder at the wisdom of that.) So, in other words, I'll wear a boat neck, and sometimes a slightly lower or looser crew style. But my neck is a little less long, and my shoulders are quite square (although not meaty.)

I wonder if some try-ons of tops in certain key STYLES in both tailored and oversized fits might be instructive. Not necessarily to buy, but just to see. Compare also to tops in less recommended styles. See what your own eye sees.

ElleH

Yes I just bought a size large top, even though I am XS & 2 in blazers. I want it to drape. The medium draped but seems small with me getting used to oversized. I need to try it on again to see if the shoulders look alright.

Ah. Just read your thoughts on button downs in the other thread.

I get it. And you are right - if you are used to seeing yourself in the lab coat, that adds exactly the right structure for daytime work looks.

But there's still the issue of not at work looks.

Thing is - it doesn't have to be a button down to have a higher collar. (Try a silky blouse with a collar maybe?) And, it doesn't have to be a higher collar to give you the fit you need -- there are other features besides a collar that could contribute to the structured shoulder area (which would help).

I do hear what you are saying about the line of buttons. You may feel that your torso is long because it is slim...and that vertical line may make it feel too long to you, visually. I sometimes get that feeling when the buttons are a different colour than the shirt itself.

rachylou

I was thinking something along these lines the other day. I was wondering if I was going to accidentally clear my closet out of everything *properly* fitted. I think I can still recognise *proper* fit; my problem is I'm not feeling it.

Angie

Fashion Stylist

Don't clear your closets of tailored fits!!! Post and ask for help if you're unsure.

Suz, thanks for your informed suggestions. You are SO FAB! I only really wear three types of top!! But they have plenty of variation. My shoulders are dainty but they are square and do not slope. I don't think I have met anyone with a longer neck than me. Although Unfrumped - I think you come closest! My neck needs a LOT of structure (especially with super short hair), and I never dress it in any other way. It's just not worth it and makes me feel un-fab.

So:

Shirt Collars
Turtlenecks
HIGH boat necks or slash necks
Form fitting crew necks
Form fitting mandarin collars
V's but with ample coverage on the shoulder neck point (this neckline barely exists).
Wear scarves on too low necklines (which I seldom do because I am over wearing scarves unless I need insulation).

I avoid wide necklines like the plague.

As for torso fits, I do not do body con unless it's a form fitting turtleneck. Most of my tailored fits are looser than most wear them on this forum and in the blogosphere. And I will wear oversized, slouchy and roomy no problem at all, as long as my shoulder neck point and shoulder line are structured.

Hope that helps!

biscuitsmom

I like the over-sized trend, but spent too many years in the saggy, baggy area I don't want it for myself, more-so than the bottoms than tops.

unfrumped

Oh I am definitely up there munching the tree leaves above you, Angie!
I do so appreciate your feedback. And Suz--so kind and fun of you to help me try to figure out types of things that work.

Rachylou gets it, too--I'm drawn to the looser fit right now but I really need mostly good tailored fits. So I have put a few things aside, but am staying the permanent- purging hand.

Here is my top/neckline confession--I became disenamored of some higher necklines for some unknown reason. I used to wear typical high jewel necks and now I like them lower--why? Although, I do mostly like the lower ones under a blazer, because then the neckline doesn't bunch up as much as the high jewel necks do.

-I love boatneck/ballet neck even when they don't come high on the neck, and some high V-necks-funnel necks.

I used to wear tons of turtlenecks and somewhere in middle age they started working less well for me—not sure WHY. They need to fit in a very particular way. I DO like high cowl neck but it's hard to find ones that don't require a cami, which defeats part of the look. Prefer notched collar blouses to the stand collar buttondown--part of this is how they behave better with jacket collars--you had a post on that. I really cannot take the shirt-buttoned-all the way up look on me at all, yet I think it looks great on some other people.

So when I try on some of these other necklines, I get the poison eye, and if I buy them to do the typical neck coverage, I know I'm following the formula , but I don't like what I see, and they become orphans. This is a mystery to me! Yet it is what it is.

Since I'm not usually totally obtuse, I have tried to think about what might be going on, and so far I think it has to do not only with the neckline in isolation, but possibly how some of these types of necklines drape across the upper chest. So it’s something where the benefits of one feature don't overcome the other mysterious thing that puts me off. The tops don't "get me".

Here's an approach I've been trying lately. I'm thinking I'm just not trying enough of the right "high necklines" for me. Because I have to feel fab myself and not just have someone else say, oh, I love that on you. As in, my turtlenecks are still out there, I just haven't found the fit and drape and amount of turtle-ness I like. Or same for a completely buttoned blouse. Or maybe I need to really hunt for the perfect cowlnecks until I find some.

The problem is, that would mean I'm so picky that I might picky myself out of things to wear. Or, I could rise to the challenge.

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