Emily, did you look at the BFish Zara jacket I recently got? It's on sale for $40 on their site now in several colors. http://www.zara.com/us/en/woma.....95020.html

For those who said button downs, try the silk AT Legacy blouse. I now have three, two in a print and one in a solid. They fit just like a button down is supposed to fit, but are way way more comfortable to wear because they aren't stiff. Also, the fit is very nicely done, as there is no gapping in the chest, and it is fitted just right in the midsection for those of us with tummies -- skims the body just right. I do wear a cami underneath, to keep static cling down.

I agree about turtlenecks!!!!

Actually, I agree with most everything listed here. It appears everyone on this thread is my body type double.

My Elizabeth and James booties. They are so cute but the color just does not work for my wardrobe. Funny thing is, I am still gravitating to this color when I shop for booties. Why, I ask. Just why, when I know they are all wrong.

-Stiff button downs, esp. in white (looks like I am not alone here)
-Pencil skirts
-BF blazers - I really love the look on others but in practice they all button at my widest point and make me look like a big box.
-Waist belts - my waist is too high and short, and I have to cinch them so tight that I get panic attacks if I want them to stay in place.
-Also, many types of shoes (pumps, high heels, most low vamp shoes, etc) - so pretty but they don't get along with my feet.

Oh, this is a great topic. I am going to spin it a little if you don't mind. I LOVE belts. On everyone else, on hangers, on display, but I just hate them on me. Not the kind to hold my pants up, but the more decorative ones. UGH.

Silky shirts! I love how they look and love the feel of them until I get them on. They make me way too cold most of the year.

woven shirts--i want to love them, especially a nice white crisp one, but i just don't. i'm really a knit kind of girl.
dresses, they seem like the easy solution to mornings, but i have a hard time finding a good fit. but even when i do, the are worn much less than everything else i own.

There are other things I'm sure, but a big one is: high heels. And I realized why some years ago.

I do still have some, and I do wear them in the right circumstances, but I find them highly impractical generally. But this is the reason I rarely reach for anything higher than 2.5" anymore: I have small feet--size 6, or 5.5 in sandals--and I realized that heels are made at the SAME HEIGHT across all sizes in a style. This means that the size 8s, 9s, 10s, whatever--have a less steep shoe than I do, plus a more stable sole. Our severe angle plus all-around less actually on the ground means we small-footed ladies have to endure higher pressure and more distortion on our already less-stable foundations.

Sadly, heels can look fab and add some height to the height-challenged like myself. I just don't think I will ever add another pair to what I have. Fortunately, the range of stylish, walkable shoes is much bigger now than it ever was. Phew!

(Oh, and I SO agree with those who listed pumps. They almost NEVER fit my darn foot. They gap and just don't stay on. I don't understand how others can even wear them!)

--White button front shirts and most crisp button front shirts. White doesn't work and somehow I need drapey-er fabrics.
--Turtlenecks-- Very hard to get the right fit which seems surprising but is true, for my eye at least. But still try on different ones because some work.
--many fit and flare dresses--not because I don't like them, but the waists are always set too high for my waist, and they're too short and the skirts stand out--so look twee.
--moto jackets including knits. Too cropped for me.
--Converse--the toe cap and the shape is too clownish on my size feet. Other brands with similar styling but slightly different proportions work better.

Great question, April! Mine are without a doubt blazers (they NEVER fit my broad shoulders/very long arms w/o making me look blocky and square), ditto for crisp button-ups, and finally cardigans, though heaven knows I keep trying. Cardis especially drive me crazy - cropped, bf, fitted, flowy, doesn't seem to matter - they look so good on other people, and are so practical in my climate, but they never fail to make me look frumpy and blocky and blah. I end up feeling bad about myself till I purge them. Note to self: print this list or tattoo it on forehead before shopping!!

Boat/slash neck sweaters for me. I just don't feel right or comfy in them.

V necks and drapey t-shirts, and especially drapey V neck t-shirts! They just emphasize my slightly sloping narrowish shoulders, fat arms, and girls that hang a bit too low. I keep trying, but structure, esp. structured shoulders, work best for me. Umm, crisp white and other shirts work for me as long as they don't gape at the bust.

Actually, anything soft and drapey on top tends to look much better on everyone else but me!

I love all kinds of moto jackets -- it's the structure I guess. But I haven't yet found one that fits and flatters since the arms have been to tight on the ones I've tried. It hasn't been a dedicated search and I can't say it is an urgent need.

I love, love, love all kinds of footwear. A few years ago I used to think what I could wear was so restricted, but now that my feet have grown worse I long for those old days!!!

@Mo - I actually ordered it to try after you posted about it! I quite liked the fit but none of the colours worked for me (I got the grey, which was quite heathered and casual looking, and the medium blue). If something similar pops up from zara in black or a more corporate looking gray I will give it a shot!

Great question- the Ocala shoes make my heart sing every time Angie or another fabber posts them. I have to enjoy them vicariously due to fussy feet.

There are definitely some shoe brands that I like the aesthetics of but just don't work for my foot shape and mechanics.

Skinny jeans - I wear them to be current and I don't hate them on me but they don't make my heart skip a beat.

Sheath dresses - other people look so chic in them but they never fit me thanks to my pear shape. Same with dresses with defined waist seams, they always fall too high on my long torso. Mid-century vintagey looks in general - I want to have them work for me but I think I always look twee when I actually try to wear them, like they don't work for my body type or my lower maintenance personality somehow.

Lol Emily! At least you gave it a shot Hope something comes around in the right shade.

Just coming back to say that I share the frustration with crisp white button-downs. It's almost like someone invented a piece of clothing just to be wrong for me in every possible way.

Ambergreen, I also have small feet, and I never thought about how that means the same heel height is steeper than it is for other people. Kind of a shame that it makes it harder for the people who can most use a little extra height to take advantage of it.

Aubergine -- apparently that crisp shirt is wrong for you and about 30 other people on this forum.

True -- at least I have plenty of company!

I had to think a while on this one. It's a good question, and I know I've had my share of fashion disappointments. It's just hard to think of them--maybe I'm good at putting them out of my mind! (Although that could backfire, huh?)
Anyway, the ones that are saddest for me are those that I spend a lot of money or a lot of time on--the latter being things I make. I made a pair of pants last year out of a light olive wool gaberdine. It's a good neutral color for me, and I expected to wear the pants with lots of things. I made a mock-up and worked on the fit to get it just right. I lined them. They fit beautifully. . . standing. But there is something about the thigh fit that is not comfortable when I sit down. And I realized after I made them that I wished I had used an invisible zipper rather than a standard one (they are a side-zip style). Now there's also the problem of a few extra pounds I'm wearing this year, and the pants are too small in the waist. I'm not sure I could figure out how to alter them (esp. for the thigh issue), and I have not gotten up the energy or courage to try. But I really wanted them to be my go-to nice pants!

Peplums. I'm surprised no one has mentioned them. When they first came out I was so excited...I thought it was such a cute shape, feminine and fun at the same time. I had high hopes...which were dashed time after time. None of them fit me and all of them make me look bad!

Wrap dresses. Oh, what I would give to wear a DVF and not look like a top heavy brick.

Open toed shoes.
Spaghetti straps.
Ankle pants.

All sour grapes, of course.

FC -- if it's any consolation, I'm deeply impressed that you can sew and tailor well enough to make clothing.

Another member of the "can't deal with white button downs" club.

Also, I really really wanted to love the Theory Lanai and Gabe blazers that many of you rock. But they were a bit off on me. Sadness.

Ambergreen, what a smart realization about heels on small feet!

Top of my list: wrap dresses and tops. I love the look but on me they look like they are still on the hanger. I can't fill them out. Even altered they look bad. Same story with any neck line designed to show a bit of cleavage.

Oh right, white button downs. In fact, all white.

Amber green, brilliant ! Just as boot shaft circumference and height should be proportionate with foot size, so should heel height!

Interesting thread! So many of the things that everyone doesn't love are things I do love! White button-downs, the Gap sweater, the Leith track pants, blazers, to name a few. What I want to love but it just never seems to work out for me are dress pants. They just never fit the way I want them to - when the hips fit the waist is too big, when the waist fits the hips are too big, regular lengths are often too short, tall lengths are too long in the rise. Waist and leg alterations I can handle myself, but the too short/too long in the rise is the deal breaker every time.

Hm. I love my white button-downs! I don't wear them all the time, but I do wear them well, and I like the look of them with some of my trendier jeans and boots, for a bit of modern classic balance.