What do you think of this look? - YouLookFab Forum

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What do you think of this look?

catgirl

Veteran

I have a mild to medium poison eye for ballet flats, and although I love Sal of Already Pretty for her warm supportive attitude and feminist take on dressing, this outfit is a good example of a poison eye look for me. I think the flared skirt plus tights plus flats are - I don't know, I can't describe it but I just don't like it.

Over to you!

http://www.alreadypretty.com/2.....party.html

And sorry I'm barely around - I came to the office supposedly to work but really to check in here for a blessed moment! Hope you all are enjoying the holidays!

Dressing

36 replies

Latest reply was from Aziraphale

Nicole D

Veteran

I know what you mean. I think she pulls it off but it looks a little girlish/dance teacher on most people. I avoid ballet flats, due to the way they do nothing for legs (even though I have long legs).

Isabel

Veteran

I love flats. I love flats with skirts , but no tights. So I am not love this look because of the tights. I like even a minimum heel with on a covered leg. I have no idea why.

Nicole, might be right. The roundish, shortish skirt with the opaque tights and flats do look a bit ballet. However, if I ran into her at a party, I would think she looked really cute anyway.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I have to say I like her look less and less since she became a full time professional blogger. I do like her message. Mainly I use her website for her blog links.

cciele

Veteran

I like the look, but maybe I am biased since the silhouette is very similar to the recent WIW I just posted I think the dark monochromatic color scheme helps balance the girlishness of the flared skirt/tights/ballet flats combo (it's not too cutesy). And I appreciate looks like this worn with flats, since I often can't wear heels and am looking for options.

Diana

Veteran

It seems a little dated to me, although I do think it's flattering on Sal. I wore things like this 5 years ago, before I realized that ballet flats were terrible for my feet. Fussy feet aside, though, I think a lot of ballet flat looks read a bit dated to me now (although I think they'll always be fine with slim pants, Audrey style).

Eta: I think it's the combo of full, short skirt, opaque tights, and ballet flats that's looking dated. I bet if you swapped out just one of those things it would be a lot more modern.

Eta2: I totally agree with what Anna said. I used to love sal's outfits and got so much inspiration from her especially because she is almost my body shape twin. These days I read her site mostly for the "discussion" posts and links.

catgirl

Veteran

cciele, I looked at your outfit and did not feel the same at all. I think the oxfords make a big difference in balance. The ballet flats read as more twee somehow, and I agree with Diana that perhaps Sal's look just seems dated somehow. Perhaps a longer straight skirt would make it modern.

Keix

Veteran

I would wear her outfit sans blazer (with a brightly patterned cropped cardi, maybe) and I don't think full skirt + opaque tights + ballet flats is dated--at least, I see it around still on a US East coast college campus. But, I'm in my early 20s and not much attuned to trends, nor worried about looking dated because I still have youthful looks to counterbalance my outfit.

cciele

Veteran

Interesting about the look being dated! I've always thought of these items as being classic. Then again, I don't typically wear flared skirts and/or ballet flats, so I'm not the best judge here

However, I can see adding a bit of edge to the look by swapping out some of the items, as Diana mentions.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I wear ballet flats with flared skirts and hose. See exhibit A,B, C & D. Clearly it is not a poison eye look for me :).

To my eye, the combination is pretty - and when you're in the mood for pretty, this is one way to go about it.

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catgirl

Veteran

Ah, Angie! I am rarely in the mood for pretty myself, so perhaps that is my issue. You look and are lovely, of course, but I'm going to say (feel free to cyber-slap me) that I much prefer your first picture with the added skirt length. So perhaps that's the rub - the proportions?

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

(chuckling at cyber slap).

Una, I agree! I prefer the length of the longer skirt too. I LOVE midis. I mentioned this fact in both blog posts about the outfits. I am very honest about things. But I don't mind *some* knee cap showing - otherwise I would never have worn the other outfit.

Isabel

Veteran

Angie, but your hose are not opaque. To me that is all the difference. I also agree with AG that your skirt is a bit longer.

catgirl

Veteran

Well, that's what a poison eye is, right - an irrational dislike? Because clearly it's a fab look or you wouldn't be wearing it!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Is poison eye irrational? Maybe! We could debate that one too

Isabel - I NEVER wear black opaque tights. Or any opaque tights.

catgirl

Veteran

I don't know if it's irrational - I think so... at least that's how I use it. Interesting!

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

My poison eye these days is for shorter skirt lengths. I don't mean at all that Sal or anyone else shouldn't wear them, but I just don't love the look of above the knee skirts these days. So, of course, I prefer Angie's outfits. And I do not deny that Angie might have something to do with my poison eye - although she admirably manages to avoid developing one herself.

Amy

(website)

Veteran

I like it a lot...

TraceyLiz65

(website)

Veteran

I would steer clear of this myself and I love ballet flats. I have always worn them bare legged... I think it is a combination of the skirt length and the tight color versus shoe color that makes this feel so off to my eye. Angie's midi look is much more appealing!!!

Anonymous

I agree with Tracy. I love Angie's looks with the light leg and a longer skirt, but Sal's outfit seems off to me. Not a problem for Sal but if I wear flats with a skirt that short and full ,my legs look very thin.

crazyone

Veteran

to me, the dated element here is the *tights*--the opaque tights+ballet flats look doesn't appeal to me anymore. But ballet flats with bare legs and a flared skirt are much better, IMO.

But I don't have a poison eye for the look either, still think it's pretty. Just not overly fashion forward.

Anonymous

I saw this outfit when she posted it and didn't care for it either. But, I was thrilled she posted it because I have almost worn a very similar dress, and taken it off each time. Now, seeing it on someone else helped me figure out what was "wrong". My dress isn't quite as short as Sal's, but it is fully above my kneecap. The flare and the shortness...and the tights look very young. I've tried it with boots, but it still has that same vibe. However, Angie's longer version (to me) reads feminine, not girlish. Comparing the two, I think I would like my dress better if it were longer. I've replaced my dress with a sheath that is about the same length and it looks much more grown up.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I think it's a pretty look, in theory, but I far prefer ballet flats with bare legs or sheer hose. And in this case, while I like Sal's outfit overall, something seems unbalanced in the proportions. It might be that we typically see her in a chunky shoe with a heel of some kind so she is upsetting my expectations a bit here. But I think it has to do with the overall visual balance of this specific outfit.

Also, for me this is seasonally inappropriate and I have a poison eye for that. If there is abundant snow on the ground, you need BOOTS, woman!! Okay, maybe not inside, at a house party. So if these were party slippers, okay. But.

IS poison eye irrational? I think if we push it a bit we will always find reasons. They wouldn't be everybody's reasons. But we don't all share the same poison eye. In other words, the things we have a poison eye for tell us something about our own aesthetic as surely as the things we have a sugar eye for.

I don't have a sugar eye for ballet flats. But I don't have a poison eye for them, either. I DO have a poison eye for (what I consider) seasonally confused outfits. And since a huge proportion of Canadians wear seasonally confused outfits throughout a good portion of our admittedly confusing seasons, imagine the amount of time I go around shuddering and trying to shield my poor sore eyes!!

Karie

(website)

Veteran

I love ballet flats. They are one of the only shoes I can usually wear in a regular width. A pump requires a narrow width for me, and they are much harder to find. I also love tights!
As for the outfit you posted, it is a little too all grey/black for me, and her skirt is on the short side. It's not a look I would copy, as it's a little too bland.

cheryl

Veteran

I like it alot! I don't wear skirts/dresses myself but I think she looks adorable. I love ballet flats and I love the look of flared skirts!

rae

(website)

Veteran

Hey, I thought I was the only one with a poison eye for ballet flats! I think the outfit is very Sal, and I like it because of that. I agree with Anna, though, that I've found the outfits less useful to me personally of late. I am not in the camp that browses pics for eye candy, though; I mainly go looking for ideas for myself.

Niefern

I think she would look great if she wore a different kind of shoes, for example some chunkier mary janes. I do not generally like ballet flats as they do nothing for your legs and personally find them uncomfortable: do not support my feet and do not offer enough cushioning.

Mochi

Veteran

Thanks for reaffirming that ballet flats are tricky and making me think on why, especially as someone with short legs (whose skirts are going to be shorter, though not fuller). Anyway I do want to make use of my one pair, which were costly and are nice and I'd love to figure out a way to toughen them up a bit (now that would be a challenge!). Though at this time of year they won't work and I think Suz has a point about even that making them look off, not to mention the proportion and leg stumpifying issues.

It was AP that led me here to YLF, so I did spend some time there for a short while and liked a lot of Sal's posts. Not as much her outfits, but I still enjoyed her take on beauty, fashion and self-image. I have only hopped on her site very quickly a few times recently and it seems to have changed hugely in terms of becoming a place where she's hawking things (and we all need to make a living....it's just not as valuable a place to me now, and I'd rather spend my time here).

And I do like her new haircut, but it's a very radical departure and I guess she's just becoming a lot sleeker and hmmm! I kind of liked that she had unruly hair (which I could relate to, LOL).

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I don't like the opague tights and I also think the monocromatic color scheme isn't great for this outfit - it adds to the "dance teacher" vibe to me. A more colorful skirt or jacket would have helped. Angies above outfits have more color and movement going on and that makes it work much better for me.

Aziraphale

Veteran

As I've said before, I love Sally's attitude and the overarching "love yourself, love everybody" message of her blog, but as of late I am trusting her sartorial judgment less and less. Sometimes she wears stuff that I think looks just great, but often I feel she chooses things that just don't work. That outfit is one example. To my eye, the problem with it is that the skirt is just a little too short to wear with shoes, especially dead flat ones -- tall boots with a chunky heel would have worked better. The right pair of ankle booties might have been OK too. Also, the skirt is a tad too flouncy for my taste, although on a very young woman, it might be OK.

Again, this is merely my personal opinion, and I certainly don't have the last word on the subject of fashion. But I share your poison eye for that particular look.

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