What makes someone appear UNpolished? - YouLookFab Forum

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What makes someone appear UNpolished?

An

I really enjoyed Mac's thread about what makes you feel polished. Sorry if this topic is a bit negative but I was just commenting on Angie's blog post about BO and got thinking about this. I was recently being served by a sales assistant in a shoe store. She was well presented and dressed really stylishly but she smelt quite strongly of musty/unwashed clothes. It was really unpleasant and just wreaked her whole look for me.

What little things do you notice that take away from someone's polished appearance?

General

33 replies

Latest reply was from RoseandJoan

Mamapicklejuice

Veteran

Ratty shoes or unkempt hair.

I am struggling a bit with the first one, as I feel I've gotten a lot of the other outfit elements in place, but I finish off the outfit with sporty shoes which then ruins the effect. I have ankle boots on order, so there is hope for me yet!

Marigold

I second the shoes... But it's not only about the sporty shoes (I don't mind them) but the need for a cleaning / polish. Sometimes I see someone dressed to the t, but they forgot the upkeep of shoes/boots. I avoid unkept hair look but pulling it in a tidy ponytail (unfortunately, that's all I can do about it for now) or sporting a cute hat

lynn

Veteran

Clothes that don't fit!

Kate

Veteran

In addition to ratty shoes, unkempt hair, and ill fitting clothes, I would like to add:

unkempt nails (dirty, long with different lengths, otherwise damaged)
poorly applied makeup
forgot to shave a patch of their leg(s)
bad posture
dated clothes (that they don't realize are dated)

PalmFronds

Using repeated foul language in public. I know this may not be par of "appearance" but for me it is a serious detractor from someone who otherwise appears put together.

Queen Mum

Veteran

un-styled hair, ill fitting clothing (either too tight or too baggy) , wrinkled clothing, ratty shoes

Barbara

Veteran

Poor grooming, improper fit/style of clothing and lack of attention to detail.

MsMary

Veteran

And a total lack of accessories makes someone look "unpolished." I work with somebody who is perfectly well groomed and wears perfectly decent clothes that fit her just fine. But you'd never call her "polished" because there's never an accessory to be seen.

Jonesy

Veteran

I am really grossed out by long bootcut jeans, left really long so that several inches drag underfoot and get all mangy, shredded, and disgusting. Sometimes they are so long that the wearer has split up the side, at the seam, to allow the leg opening to open up (if that makes sense). They usually look like they haven't ever seen the inside of a washing machine. I see this look a lot at the grocery store, usually with flip flops or Ugg-like boots, on young women and men (I live in a university town).

More generally, I think bad hair contributes to someone looking less than polished (I realize that bad hair is somewhat subjective!), and wearing really ill-fitting or dated clothes/shoes. Also, too much make-up and over-tweezed eyebrows, for women.

I feel like I should add that I have lots of work colleagues who really don't care about fashion or style; it's just not what they focus on. But when I look at them I don't think "She is so unpolished"; instead I see a fab colleague who is just herself, if that makes sense. People prioritize different things, and I totally respect that.

LeahJanes

Chipped nail varnish is a pet bugbear of mine. Always makes anyone look unpolished even if the rest of them is perfectly put together.

Anonymous

It is all in the details for me. My personal deal breakers: Unkept hair, ratty shoes, wrinkly clothes, chipped nail polish.

lynne

Veteran

Ratty shoes, dirty nails, rubber flip flops instead of shoes.

Ljubica

Scruffy clothes, too many details, unruly hair, lack of a spritz or two of a nice perfume...

Evie

The way I see it, besides what everybody else said, cloth handbags and "washed-out" clothes (you can tell they've been through the washer/dryer cycle too many times, esp. with cotton items I think, or the quality of the fabric is poor) make someone appear unpolished.

Barbara

Veteran

Jonesy, I totally get you. I too live in a University town and am visually bombarded every day by some of the sloppiest dressed girls I've ever seen. Uggs - yikes! Cowboy boots with skirts that barely cover the bum. Scary. The raggedy hem jeans are the worst. Ick.

I can understand the penniliess college student effect, but couldn't a girl wear jeans and a cute top without breaking the bank?

Anonymous

This is a really hard question since it seems like every person on earth could do SOMETHING to mess up an outfit. But in general, even the most casual of dresser can still look polished if they do the following: Keep their roots groomed, keep their shoes in good condition and wear good fitting, PPL jeans. And if you are going to polish your nails, please keep them chip-free. Those are the big ones for me. Everything else could follow under the general guideline of if you are going to put it on your body, make sure its in good condition.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

This is not aimed at people with sore backs but beautiful clothing, hair and make-up can be totally ruined by bad posture, hunched shoulders and slouching in a seat is very UNpolished.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Nice one, Julie. I was going to suggest manners. Someone can look killer fabulous - but when they appear badly mannered, are rough around the edges, or have potty mouth - it absolutely kills it for me. Grace and elegance is natural polish - almost above everything else.

Katiepea

(website)

Veteran

I must say that I agree with R&J. The way that someone carries themself can really affect my perception of him/her.

Where I live, a lot of people suffer from frizzy hair when the summer heat and humidity hits despite their best efforts to try and tame it (ahem). So, to me, a small degree of frizziness in the hair department is not always an indicator of polish or amount of effort taken in my book. (There is of course, a difference between uncontrollable frizz and "I couldn't be bothered to brush it!" though. )

I would add faded and stretched out t-shirts, tracksuit pants and thongs (flip-flops) that are discoloured or perishing. Yuck!

Maya

Veteran

You guys would think I'm the least polished, scruffiest, nastiest person on earth judging by the criteria laid out here...

taylor

Veteran

Dirty hair, dirty body, dirty clothes.

I am particularly sensitive to dirty unwashed hair...even when other people can't smell it...I can

I was going to say dirty(words) mouth...but since that includes me from time to time ...I will conveniently omit that

Lisa

Veteran

Taylor you are too funny!

I find greasy hair, bad breath, poor fitting clothes (too tight, too short, too baggy) fit into unkempt for me. And if you don't brush your hair before you leave the house, yes others do notice. (I have a co worker who rolls out of bed most days and there's not a brush to be seen)

Sihaya

Veteran

Dirty or smelley. Someone who treats others unkindly. Jeans that drag beneath their shoes and the hem gets totally ratty. on guys, pants that hang near the crotch.

An

Unstyled or unkempt hair rates very highly followed by ratty shoes, poor posture, foul language,dirty/unironed clothes and unkempt nails.

Probably no real surprized there although it's a reminder to me to pay attention to the upkeep of my shoes.

MaryK made an interesting point about lack of accessories. I'm a bit of a minimalist and will often have no or minimal accessories. Do you think that would neccessarily make me look unpolished or would there have to be other factors as well. Today I wore a white denim pencil skirt, mid blue and white striped cowl neck top with pewter gladiators. I passed all the other polished criteria except I didn't wear any accessories apart from a large two-tone BF watch and my wedding ring and sunnies. I didn't feel unpolished. I should post a WIW pic and get some feedback

Thanks again for all your comments. Interesting discussion.

Maya

Veteran

An, I don't think a lack of accessories is unpolished. When I think of unpolished, I think of egregious errors in grooming like scraggly hair, unkempt nails, missing a patch when shaving, etc (unfortunately I can be accused of all of this and more).

For me the biggest offender is hair that is not maintained. I don't mean messy hair (some of us honestly can't help it--no matter how much time we put into styling, it all goes to waste with one gust of wind). I mean getting a relaxer or a dye job and not keeping up the maintenance as new hair grows in. Nothing looks weirder to my eye than than black roots and blonde ends, or straight ends and kinky roots. I understand some of these people are probably growing the dye job or relaxer out, but it definitely doesn't look right.

A complete lack of accessories might make an outfit look incomplete or bare to me, but not unpolished.

Beth

Veteran

Worn and/or ill fitting clothes, unkempt hair, chipped nailpolish, and excessive makeup say "unpolished" to me.

I agree with Maya that for me, accessories don't factor in. When I think of polish, I think of many people, but Jennifer Aniston and Carolyn Bessette come to mind. Both of them are (were) very understated with minimal accessories. Their polish came from cleanly styled, beautifully cut clothing, sleek hair and underplayed makeup. Lovely.

Sally

Veteran

I never brush my hair. I have really straight hair that just falls and doesn't knot. Well you guys have seen photos.
Anyway when I read Tim Gunn's book (I'm sure it was his) or it could have been another style book, he described unbrushed /untidy hair as part of a stylised look....obviously the one I'm going for:)

Evie

Showing underwear...

biscuitsmom

Veteran

Sloppy clothing, dirty or greasy looking hair (especially with dark roots showing) unflossed teeth and dirty fingernails just kill any good qualities about the person's total look to me...

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