OT- Unflattering clothes on YOUNG women

Hi! I was going around the city center today and it was quite hot, so of course I saw lots of women sporting short shorts. I'm not going to talk about mature women wearing shorts because yes, they did too, but most of them were tourists from the North of Europe suffering from the heat, so I'll be condescending here. I also saw young women who were NOT tourists but were going to work or to school or wherever wearing shorts even when they did not have 'perfect legs'. And I had a controversial argument in my mind, because I though, they should be wearing something more flattering because they have wider thighs -I'm not saying they were obese or even fat or overweight, but if you are pear shaped, it's difficult to have super slim legs unless you are super thin all over- but at the same time, I also thought that they have the right to wear whatever they like, even if it doesn't flatter their figure so much. I mean, they are in their twenties, it's supposedly the time to show some meat, if you want. I address this issue regarding young women because older women have a tendency to dress more discreetly -modesty wise- and don't follow trends that they see don't flatter their bodies, whereas young women, maybe because they don't know, take the plunge and wear whatever Cosmopolitan says they should. So what do you think about this? Is it ok that more curvaceous girls wear short shorts -not capris or clamdiggers- even if they don't suit their figure? Don't they have the right to wear what they want? What would you do in their position? I can remember not wearing shorts when I had thicker legs, but they were not so popular back then anyways, and I had more complexes that what these girls seem to have.

14 years ago

Aziraphale

Veteran

I think a girl's teens and (early) twenties are the time to experiment with clothing to find out what works and what doesn't. If that means sometimes venturing out of the house wearing screamingly ugly clothes, so be it.

Not that I think short shorts are "screamingly ugly" on fuller thighs, because they're not, necessarily. I'm just thinking back to some of the fugly things I wore when I was young, and I remember how awesome I felt in them. Then, when you're older, you look back at the pictures and cringe. It's a rite of passage!

modgrl

(website)

I know they seem to be in this year, but I am not a fan of short shorts. I think a mini or fitted bermuda's would be a better look here. Although I must admit that when it gets crazy hot, style goes out the window and all I care about is staying cool, so I can def sympathize with these girls.

I file this under the idea that everyone is free to wear whatever they want, and we are all free to critique it and even think it's horrible. I personally think most folks would look best in clothing suited to their figures more than to their chronological age, but that's my opinion. And, yes, when it gets HOT it's hard to think first about flattery when all you want is to not melt.

suzanne

Active Member

I think that I'll vote for "they're young, this might be the best that they'll ever look, so let them enjoy it (and thank your lucky stars that you have the wisdom and style to know better)"

Astrid

Well, I'm a pear and have searched for some capris/bermudas/clamdiggers that flatter my figure for three months! I came up with absolutely nothing and I'm just now at a point where I'm thinking about simply ignoring my not really thin legs and to start wearing shorter shorts all the same. They are all over the stores at the moment and maybe I will have an easier time finding some shorts that fit if I don't ignore the shorter ones. I desperately need some, as much as I like skirts and dresses.

But you are right, I see a lot of young women (for example in my university courses) who wear things that don't flatter them figurewise. But I think that's their choice and because clothes and style are really personal I don't want to judge anything someone wears. I love to go shopping with my friends and always tell them honestly what I think of something. But they wear things I wouldn't wear all the same and that's okay.

The pressure to wear certain things is there, I can't deny that. I think the problem is that young women (me included!) often simply don't have the confidence to wear some looks, even if it would be more flattering. And like in my example with my unsuccessful search for shorts is it also often not easy to dress in a different way when you don't have enough time and money you can invest. Before YLF I would have bought the next best thing I came across, that I somewhat liked and that was reasonably priced. And if there were short shorts in the stores, I would have worn them without a second thought. You can only dress your body in figure flattering clothes if you become aware of yourself and how your body really looks. That's not as easy as it sounds. Especially for curvaceous girls who are feeling themselves not represented in the media and all the fashion magazines that they're reading.

RandomThoughts (Andrea)

I'm with Mo on this. Everyone has the right to wear whatever they like (thank goodness!) and everyone has the right to their opinion about it.

I really hate age rules and think people should wear what their heart loves and dress for the body they have.

I have to admit, I kind of love it when people have the courage to rock whatever they want. I love fun clothes, but so often feel intimidated-- I'm kinda impressed by people who just go for it.

RoseandJoan

I echo Di, they may not be the most flattering looks but Beth Ditto can look amazing in her outfits. I always try to remember that although important to me style can be very low on the list of priorities of others but they are probably just as happy with their decision as I am of mine.

Mo has a good point:

"....everyone is free to wear whatever they want, and we are all free to critique it and even think it's horrible"

And I'll add that it's good we have all these misguided young girls wearing terribly unflattering things. It makes the rest of us look good! You know, like success is meaningless without failure, right? You need people out there with bad taste/style to help show off your good taste/style.

I'm in a weird mood today.

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