OT: do you dress differently from other women in your area? - YouLookFab Forum

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OT: do you dress differently from other women in your area?

Victoria

(website)

Veteran

I realized recently that I totally stand out from other women where i live because i usually dress very preppy/conservative but noone else does. Most proffesional women here dress not only very casually but also too sexy( I think) and I see lot of miniskirts and too high heels all the time. Or they would go to opposite direction and wear baggy mummus in floral prints(and I can't stand these and would never wear it). I guess the question is-I wonder how other ladies here feel about sticking to their style even if that makes them stand out like a sore thumb

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24 replies

Latest reply was from MsMary

rae

(website)

Veteran

I'd rather feel "off" in my surroundings than feel "off" in my own skin, so it doesn't really matter to me that I dress differently (less feminine, less conservative and, yes, in some cases less sexy). I think we would both feel much worse throwing on tight mini skirts and low cut tops just to blend in.

catgirl

Veteran

Yes. I'm usually dressed less casually or more edgy than most everyone, but people are really all about individualism here so no one cares... I often get compliments and now and then asked if I'm visiting from out of state.

When I lived in HI I felt very prissy compared to all the cleavage and leggage I saw but if I stayed long enough I'd get used to it again. It's a hot and casual climate. My good friend there dresses to the nines, but she shows lots of cleavage, including toe cleavage!

Transcona Shannon

Veteran

I dress very differently from both the women who live in my neighbourhood and the women I work with. The part of Winnipeg I live in is very blue collar and there are more stretchy pants, sweatshirts and rubber flip flops than you can shake a stick at! Good hearted, hard working people but not stylish by any means.

The women I work with dress professionally but more conservative (a.k.a. boring) than I do. I used to be part of that crowd but in the last two years, broke out into the world of colour and midis. I'm finally getting over feeling self conscious and like I stick out - now I just dress for me and my hubby!

Victoria

(website)

Veteran

Alaskagirl: if you lived in HI before, i think you know how i feel. I feel very"prissy" as well but dressing the way locals dress is just not me. I know people expose so much skin is because its hot most of the time but I never felt comfortable with "showing all I got" so...the most skin I would ever show is to wear pair of capri shorts, LOL!

catgirl

Veteran

I know exactly how you feel! And when I visited my brother in Rio it was even more skimpy casual - women wearing bikini tops in the bank! I feel like such a prude because I don't like to show any cleavage at all. l'm okay with a little leg in a casual context, like shorts, but cropped tops and such are OTT for me.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I'm definitely an outlier. Seattle may be the home of Nordstrom, but it is also the home of REI and Eddie Bauer. But I'm also an outlier here on the forum.

Anonymous

Victoria, I see the same sort of disparity where I live. Either the women dress scantily, in gear, or in a modest but frumpy way. Hubs and I were at lunch today and there were a lot of people to watch and it was funny how they fell into three categories.

Sarah A

Veteran

I am all for dressing how you feel best! I love the preppy elements you wear, and wear some myself, I am almost certainly one of the few in my social group/geographical area who dresses toward modern classic. Here, kind of like Claire mentioned, it is gear, major BOHO, or frumpy. Tourism is the main industry in my town and I have have seen the look of surpise more than once when my ID had a local address at a shop or restaurant because I dress more like "the tourists" than "the locals"...

JennyAnne

(website)

Veteran

I used to dress much dressier than other SAHMs but YLF has helped me find my more casual but pulled-together look, so I feel like I blend more, while standing out in a good way.

missvee

Veteran

I tend to dress to suit myself and that often means skirts rather than jeans. You have to feel comfortable about your look don't you and if that means that you stand out from others, well so be it. I think that people care far less about what others wear than we might think - and when they do comment I think it's nice that they've noticed. I don't know how I would manage in a tropical climate like yours when I like layers, and tights, and scarves, but you do a super job.

Jyoti

(website)

Veteran

Most of the time I'm either: 1) more dressed up than anyone when I'm around other students or 2) much more trendy than anyone when I'm around medical staff. I'm afraid that doctors on the whole dress rather boring, and students dress like students. (:

Kristin L

Veteran

I dress about the same as the other ladies I work with, but since I work in agriculture, it's mostly jeans and t-shirts. I definitely dress different than some of the people in other fields, but it works well for my job. I save most of my dresses and skirts for the evenings/weekends. I usually still dress more conservative than the late teens and early twenties that live around me.

Elly

Veteran

We get a lot of that dressy but very trendy/youthful/streetwalker-ish stuff (teens, mothers of teens, the college kids, young wives) or uber-professional 10x dressier than anyone else, but still fairly tight/sexy (the legal secretaries, real estate agents, bartenders at the nicer places).

Also, we get quite a few women wearing gear (expensive fitted gear, but yoga pants to run errands-- sure their outfit costs more than a pair of Fryes, but they are still in gear). There are a ton of men that wear what I would consider kayaking/hiking/rock climbing clothing at all times, but fewer women that do that (athough there are a few that wear nylon short cargo shorts and mini skirts with tee shirts and river sandals), probably because that doesn't flatter a lot of female body types.

Then we get a ton of women that have given up. It is totally the norm to see ladies in their husband's sweatshirts wearing too tight, baggy or saggy or mom jeans, with dirty hair in a ponytail and no makeup at work, at restaurants, ect. This goes for a lot of mommies and also a lot of women that work in male-dominated industries, or just offices that their boss has made the fatal mistake of casualizing.

We get a lot of texas casual stuff where people take casual staples like tee shirts, jeans, boots, flip flops and sweatshirts and add about 10,000 rhinestones, make them pink, and wear them very small/tight. Then they add expensive or blingy handbags, jewelry, and hair that is heavily dyed and styled and cut somewhere expensive and heavy makeup, particularly eyeliner and mascara.

We also have a lot of religious fundamentalists that wear the long skirts and dress like Michelle Duggar from 19 and counting.

Honestly, there are very very few women that dress like MOTG or professionals that work in the arts or a casual office . . . . although almost everyone is a stay-at-home mom or works in a casual office.

The ladies I do spot that look fab are my role models. So long as I keep it casual enough, I think I could slip style in under the radar-- especially since the men tend to dress better (for business at least) and I like menswear style.

Anonymous

I see women of all ages mostly in jeans and tee shirts, often with sports motifs. Very few wear dresses and skirts, so I've made a point to wear them as often as possible. The other style I see is golf wear. Maybe that's sporty/preppy.

christieanne

Veteran

Luckily, the Bay Area is so big and diverse that you can find every type of attire wherever you go. I do see a lot of people out in gear and workout wear (are they all really on their way to and from the gym? maybe) wherever I go. I suspect it is comfort vs. practicality.
Jeans are pretty much universal so even if I am in dressed up jeans look, it blends.

In my social circle, I think I am a bit more conservative and dressed up than other women. I don't mind and I have learned to be a bit more casual (that's good - I had no real casual clothes four years ago) but I also hope they want to be a bit more on trend if they like what I wear.

Scarlet

Veteran

Well, I don't really see people wearing the exact same style of things that I wear, but I think from the level of dressiness/modesty I would say many women here dress the same. Since I live in Europe it is not as casual as the U.S., although I have the feeling the casual influence is making inroads here as well. Actually I think visiting Europe in my twenties is when I started to sit up and take notice of how to dress better. Until then I just dressed like a typical student. I guess one could say then that I am actually copying the women I see to some extent.

Kiwichik

Veteran

Some interesting comments from a simiilar thread posted a couple of years go:

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....your-style

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

Claire described what I see in my area also. Honestly, I don't think that most of the women in my area own a full length mirror.
I do think that I look different from most of the women in my area, but that's ok. I dress very casually and appropriate for my lifestyle. The big differences that I see are that I pay attention to fit, and that I wear mostly wovens. It seems like many of the ladies in my area feel like if they carry a designer bag and get their fake nails done regularly, they can throw their hair up and wear Yoga pants all around town and it's all good. I try not to judge, but sometimes I just want to drag them into a dressing room and show them what they COULD look like.

AJ

Veteran

I've totally adopted Angie's "have fun with fashion" rule so yes, I do stick out among the women that I hang out with, but it doesn't bother me at all. I like to test out some trends and have a dressy casual style and I'm happy with that.

Deborah

Veteran

Yes I dress quite differently from the majority where I live. In fact I am often asked if I'm visiting from somewhere else! In my community there are many women who do dress well, however I see a lot of cropped pants and layered tunic and dresses...an idea I like but it often can look frumpy and less than flattering. Other women just don't bother at all, and then there are those who dress quite provocatively.

Two night's ago I attended a meeting to do a presentation to a community group. It was very informal and we shared a meal first. I wore my red jeans, black and white animal
print blouse and a black jacket. Every woman there (I am not exaggerating) was
wearing blue jeans, black long sleeve top and very sensible shoes. No hair color, make
up or accessories to be seen (aside from myself):).

So I think I do stand out, in a good way I hope, and I don't mind. I feel comfortable and like the way I look so I am not bothered if others don't like it or think I "stick out". Hubby
likes the way I dress too, and often comments on how some women must not own a
mirror (he is very naughty)!!

jayne

Veteran

Oh yes. Which was part of my feeling 'left out'' when I tried to go shopping at better stores. The main good asthetic is skinny jeans, the oh so in chunky bootie, a scarf, and a jacket, leather mostly. Then there is the boho little house on the prairie with tights, tunics with ruffles and lace, and a scarf, of course. The one thing both of these have in common is the colors, taupe, light pink, white, cream grey and black in the leather. All have a huge shoulder bag with a name on it, mostly MC and DKNY.

I am on the other hand Modern classic and wear for the most part a structured blazer, Then add the fact I am a little overboard on color and don't own any label purses, or a decent daily purse at all, and you see I stick out. I am trying to get comfortable in that, I have tried to wear the clothes, both variants, that the other women do, but the boho is soooo not me and the other does not really suit my body type/need for color.

Note, there are never any people in gear or sweats. Frumpy is rare also.

Kelley

Although I live in the Midwest, my job takes me all over the country. It's funny...I'm in the business-end of television and there is some unwritten dress code -- the industry is business casual across the board no matter the region. However, in the bigger markets they are definitely trendier and dressier.

I follow those guideline since I'm always a "guest" but I'm also slightly dressier since I need to look professional and relevant in the office setting. I generally hear "you are the best-dressed trainer we've ever seen!" or "you have a killer wardrobe. How do you get all that in a suitcase?" haha [it's magic]

For family events I'm generally too pulled together and they don't like it, but oh well. And I'm always the nicest dressed at our Walmarts and Sams but only because I'm not wearing my pajamas. Actually I'm NOT kidding. LOL

Aziraphale

Veteran

I sort of like standing out a little. I don't dress in an especially formal way, but my lifestyle is very casual and I sure wear heels and hose a lot more often than all the other moms -- except the ones who pick up their kids straight from the office. I'm fine with that. I felt weird about it at first, though, since jeans/lululemon pants/sneakers is what many parents wear, but eventually I decided that my nice shoes and skirts were just languishing in my closet, and what a waste. So for about a year I've been wearing them when I feel like it. (It helps that my younger child is now four, so I'm not carrying him around on my hip all the time. Carrying a child sort of necessitates flats -- at least for me!). People have come to expect that I'm going to look the way I'm going to look, and nobody makes snide comments. I get a lot of complimentary remarks, actually.

MsMary

Veteran

I'm in So Cal so I see literally everything on the street. I used to be an outlier in my workplace -- I worked with a bunch of women who all dressed very conservatively. At my new work site I am one of only two women at my level and I am in seventh heaven because the other woman is a total fashionista, too, and her style is very similar to mine! It's awesome!