Why does oversized feel good? - YouLookFab Forum

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Why does oversized feel good?

catgirl

Veteran

My shirt-dress outfit made me realize that I love oversized looks even though I get all kinds of negative feedback (why do you want to hide your figure? being the most common). I don't want to hide my figure! At least, that isn't my goal. I just love the comfort. And more than that, oversized stuff makes me feel a little waif-like and insouciant, more youthful and when I aim for it, a certain kind of cute. It's so much about how I FEEL.

If you do oversized, why? And is it because of or despite flattery as you define it?

Dressing

45 replies

Latest reply was from gradfashionista

cciele

Veteran

I like how you pull off oversize, Una. I think being an IT helps in that regard, with your shoulder providing some structure.

I seem to alternate between periods of oversize and fitted. Part of it has to do with weight swings (looking at you, belly bloat). But regardless of weight, I've always been attracted to volume. I think I do it because of comfort and also because I don't see other people around me IRL who do oversize! And I do find oversize looks to be flattering in a certain way, just not traditionally so.

ironkurtin

Veteran

I like oversized too. I think it looks elegant and can spotlight the figure in a modest way as it drapes over it.

Joyce B

Veteran

It's more comfortable.

Diana

Veteran

I like oversized as long as the fabric moves and has some drape. I much prefer it to fitted these days. I can't do oversized that is also stiff though, it just makes me look and feel like a box (that's as wide as my hips all the way up). And I need to have at least a little structure around the shoulders (bare skin, or built up shoulders, or lapels) because they're a little too rounded otherwise.

And yeah, part of why I like oversized looks is precisely THAT they hide my figure a little bit. I know I have issues but... I have a traditionally bombshell figure and I don't like being perceived as sexy. I think the oversized, drapey, waistless look is elegant without being overtly sexy.

Plus, swishy things feel nice!

kkards

Veteran

I know for me, it's partly a nostalgic thing. They was the style during my college and early 20s. So it brings back memories of those days, and makes feel like I'm revisiting my youth.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Well, the comfort thing is definitely a big factor!

I think IT and rectangle types, and even slimmer hourglasses, have an easier time pulling off the all-over oversized look, like your shirtdress. Like Diana, I need some drape and some structure in my oversized garments, or I need to combine a more oversized piece like a top with something with a lot more structure, like jeans or more fitted pants. Otherwise I just look "big" because fabric tents out from my boobs, gets caught on my big hips, and completely hides the fact that I have a waist, so I do indeed look like I'm hiding. I'm really selective about oversized stuff (and thank dog for the magical semi-tuck, which really helps hint at my actual shape), but I do enjoy the feel of a fluid fit. Plus, yay, no muffin top! I wish I could get away with those cute roomy things like your shirtdress, but I feel really unattractive when I try them on.

I have to laugh a little at the idea of me feeling waiflike. What fun that would be! I also would love to know how it feels to be "gamine" or one of those things. Just ain't happening with my body type! I will console myself with the thought that, to my husband, who is 6'6" and weighs 80 lbs more than I do, I'll always be "little" and "cute."

deb

Veteran

When was a size 0 I dressed oversize so people would leave me alone about how thin I was. Going from a size 0 ten years ago to a size 14 three years ago and settling into a size 12 because of medication, I think the same holds true for me. But you have made a good point about IT and rectangle shapes. It easier to carry it off.

fuzzylogic

Veteran

I admit to having only dipped my toes in the pool of 'oversized' looks, in the form of long, loose floaty dresses that fall from the shoulders. They make me feel inexplicably relaxed, effortlessly elegant, non-chalantly stylish. Perhaps because I am forced to move more slowly and deliberately?

crutcher

Veteran

Oversize and comfortable are a style team...When it is bigger, it just feels more comfortable and gives the wearer more room to move...It also causes the wearer to look more (can't get the word) lost, gamine, younger, cuter?
Remember on What Not to Wear when Clinton and Stacey would belittle comfortable for a better fit?,,,I guess I can understand comfortable and I get their point,,,better fit...
Shouldn't always have to exchange one for the other...

Deborah

Veteran

So much of my wardrobe now fits in the oversized and/or draped category! I echo IK. I find the look elegant, it can be edgy, it makes me feel good, and I won't deny it does hide some of my lumps and bumps. I do like it best when it's anchored by some structure. And it's comfortable! It is not something that has taken off big time where I live so I also quite like that I don't dress like "everyone" else around me:)

Gaylene

Veteran

I think figure type plays a big role in which silhouettes appeal to us. If I had a waist, I might want to show it off, too; since I don't, however, I like the way oversized, fluid garments nicely skim and drape over that area so I don't feel constricted. Same goes for "shrunken" jackets which made me feel like the Hulk just before he ripped out of all his clothing. Being afraid of hearing a ripping noise every time you lift an arm is disconcerting as well as being uncomfortable. Being able to move freely in my clothes without having to rely on the stretch in the fabric makes me happier and more confident. It's more than just comfort, really; it's about feeling your clothes are working with you instead of against you.

Caro in Oz

Veteran

Like Diana as long as there is drape & movement & a good fit at the shoulder I'm good to go. I much prefer it to anything tight or fitted for me. It is to do with personality I think. I am so not bombshell, yet my body tends that way - I've made peace with my body by wearing clothes that feel like me not by wearing clothes that others think I should be wearing

MsLuna

Veteran

Una, I recently got into the oversized trend myself and I LOVE it - this is surprising considering that anything oversized used to be a poison eye issue for me. I recently started wearing slouchy and oversized tops (and a sweater dress) this summer alone because:

1. I hate hate HATE things sticking to my skin when it's hot
2. I need mobility... Lots of it. The oversized look sets me free!
3. I found the perfect balance of structure and volume/slouch.

I'm still (and will forever be) a fan of tailored looks, but it's great to change the silhouette once in a while. Plus, why not wear something that's comfy and looks good?

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

Una, sometimes you seem to suffer from fashion myopia. You can be so enthralled with a look on you, you can't see how it works on others.
When I was a size 16 in denial if I wore oversize clothes I'd look huge & once was mistaken for a man.
You are small and mostly slight of stature. You can get away with it.

Peri

Veteran

For all the reasons above plus one more. Comments like "why do you want to hide your figure" drive me nuts!!! Like angry nuts.

My immediate thought? What gives you the right to check out my figure?!!!

ironkurtin

Veteran

AnnaG, I think we all have certain blinders, don't we? I know some of my smaller friends worry about looking shapeless, childlike, or overwhelmed by loose clothing. So it's not just the bigger girls who grapple with oversized fits.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I know we all have fashion blinders. For example I don't understand people who want to wear a t-shirt and jeans, every single day. But there are some people who do not care about fashion.
I'm sure many people wonder when looking at me, "What the heck is she wearing and why?"

jackiec

Veteran

Yes! I love the oversized stuff! I feel as you do. I do go in alternate waves of oversized, then fitted, then back to oversized. But so far this summer I've worn the baggy BF shorts and T's way way way more than last year. Last year DH even commented on how frumpy i looked in those BFs (who cares?!). Ha! Whatever works.

Gaylene

Veteran

Anna, I don't think Una said that everyone feels good in oversized clothing, just that she did, and she was curious if there were others who wore oversized clothing for the same reason--not to hide but for way it makes one feel. I don't see any more myopia--or size-ism--in posing this question than in asking about a preference for fitted clothing.

Personally, I've always loved the edgy, dramatic look that I get when I wear looser-fitting clothing--it suits my body shape and my personality in a way that a body con dress never could. It's hiding, but not in the sense of being ashamed because deliberately concealing one's shape can actually make you, and the viewer, all the more conscious of what is hidden--just ask any woman who has ever wandered around dressed only in a man's shirt or robe.

rabbit

Veteran

I love how over-sized feels (if it's drapey) because of airflow in summer, and creating a coocoon of warmth in winter. Also an open neck or oversized cowl neck helps highlight my shoulders and collar area (since my neck isn't that long).

My preference is longer or hi-low over-sized tops (assuming the bottom hem has some shape) with more body-con stretchy leg-wear. That feel and look also worked well (to my eye at least) when I was 25 lbs. heavier last year.

rachylou

Veteran

It's not the feel for me. It's definitely the waify look.

catgirl

Veteran

Sounds like comfort is a big factor for everyone. It's probably true that works more easily for IT/rectangles but I can see that with the right styling it would work across the board.

Janet, if I had your gorgeous waistline I would show it off all the time!

Anna, could you clarify your point? I don't believe there was anything specific to size in my post, nor do I think it was myopic. If your point is that it is myopic BECAUSE size is relevant, I don't think it is my place to say so. As best I could, I asked why any people who are fans of the oversized look enjoy wearing it. I'm especially interested because I've always worn it, in style or not, at every size I've been (and they haven't all been smaller).

I understand that we all have body sensitivities and trigger issues. If I've overstepped, I didn't mean to and frankly don't understand how. If Angie asked this same question would it go over the same? How else do you suggest I could phrase it? Let's say someone asked why people enjoy crop tops - are they myopic because they didn't consider that with my apple belly I could never wear the look?

I feel you often read my posts as somehow personally offensive to you (the pretty thread being the other example that comes to mind). It's not my intent to offend anyone. There is maybe an implication that I don't appreciate how other people may value and/or work to be thin or pretty. That is not true. Please don't assume I'm not one of those people myself, albeit in my own way. I do try to ask questions so that as many people will answer as are nice enough to do so.

If you can tell me specifically how you came to your interpretation here, I'm happy to consider myself enlightened and corrected.

ironkurtin

Veteran

(...I pretty much wear a tshirt and jeans every day. When I'm not in gear. I actually love that this is my environmental norm.)

Janet

(website)

Veteran

It's interesting -- fit trends on either end of the spectrum (bodycon on one end, and big and baggy on the other) can be challenging, and have the potential to bring up all sorts of body issues. I think many of us women have internalized some messages around the polar opposite dictums of "don't hide your body!" and "don't show your body!"

Most of us have personal comfort zones -- both physically and emotionally -- somewhere in the middle. My personal preference lately is for slightly fitted to fluid fit, and my more body-con items are getting passed over. BUT, I'm not giving them all away yet. I get tired of the same old silhouette all the time, and a fitted item can be made to look current by being paired with other more fluid items, plus some of them are so darn flattering, I feel I should hold onto them for a while, because I don't *always* feel like I need to look trendy.

Susie

Veteran

There is some degree of hiding- at least certain parts of my body- that contributes to liking loose or oversized fits. Yet comfort is a huge factor as well. Physical comfort, yes, but also the psychological comfort of clothes feeling less fussy when they are more loose. I don't want to be bothered with feeling like clothes need to be adjusted to lay just so and that's easier to achieve with a more forgiving fit.

amiable

Veteran

I like it for all the same reasons as you - and many other reasons stated here. I'm not small or waiflike (I'm 5'9", and about a size 12 on top). But with a suitably drapey oversized outfit, I feel like I look waiflike. And it's so comfy. I'm already starting to be sad that someday it'll go back out of style. I want to wear nothing else right now. (Despite my mother's distinct disapproval that I wear an XL - she thinks that it must be a serious weight problem).

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I think I feel like you Una - and maybe there is some added teenage memory of the boyfriend's shirt or sweater symbolizing safety to me.

gryffin

Veteran

Una - I've always loved oversized clothes particularly menswear. I think the menswear vibe to me, says polished, powerful, and when you put a small woman in deliberately oversized clothes of that type, yes I agree with you I feel "waif-like and insouciant, more youthful" I think I have a similiar build to you, I'm 5'3" and usually a size 4 but with a flat chest. I do thnk this looks best with a certain build, when I was nursing and my chest was huge (for me) this look was not flattering. It's the ultimate wearing the "boyfriend's or husband's" clothes but I think a very sexy look in a prim kind of antiestablishment way, with overtones of don't tread on me and these boots were made for walking overtones - if that makes sense. The ultimate play of girl kicking butt in a man's world. Plus, my husband finds this look incredibly sexy. Powerful, and as you said "waif-like and insouciant!" That works for me. I do like sharp tailoring and skimming body-con (I don't do tight), so I do tend to swing to the extremes of minimalist sharp fitted to oversized. Long way of saying I love this look, but it plays to my personality and body type.

viva

Veteran

Truthfully, I'm ambivalent about oversized. I like some oversized things but usually balanced with something fitted -- the classic big sweater over skinnies kind of thing. But even that doesn't always work because I like to dress trimly on top and accentuate my narrow upper half and my toned shoulders. It's a bit of a struggle, actually.

I bought a citron tunic from JCrew at the beginning of the summer that is in the consignment pile right now -- I hate how it completely obliterates my shape. On the other hand, I recently bought a top that is basically a big grey wool sweatshirt that I plan to wear over black leatherette leggings in the fall. Although similarly oversized, it has much more heft and shape than the citron tunic. And I have thus just realized something .... I think oversized has to have structure for me to like it, or I feel like a big sack of nothing.

When it works, oversized makes me feel more carefree, somehow more Parisian in my style. Like a French woman, you know -- I just threw on this big interesting thing over these slim things, and now I look carefree and fabulous.

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