WIW the Past Week - YouLookFab Forum

Hello again! Here's another week's worth of outfits. As always, when I look over a batch of photos I note possible improvements for next time. I'd go for a fuller hairstyle in #1; the skirt in #2 needs the waist taken in to sit properly; #4 doesn't have enough interest. What other things do you see that would help me better hit my style mark?

To assist in critiques, here are 5 things about my style (reposted from Shedev's thread). You've probably picked them up already, but just in case...

1. Dresses, skirts, and shorts feel like me; pants are not quite "style home."
2. I try to keep strictly to a warm autumn colour palette, but anything in it is fair game.
3. I prefer to be dressy and polished.
4. I like all things feminine - pink, polka dots, lace, hair-dos, hair accessories, ruffles, bows, velvet, rounded lines, skirts that swish....
5. In addition, I require comfortable, non-fussy, washable, and walkable looks.
and 6. I aim for figure flattery.
and 7. I like to be non-mainstream - slightly retro, quirky, unusually feminine, something different.

Comments & critiques welcome, and thank you for stopping by!

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11 years ago

Anonymous

You look great in everything. My favorites are 5 and 6.

MuseumGal

Veteran

As always, you look lovely and ladylike. Do you have a specific type of retro you are going for? Say 50s? I ask because focussing on a type/era of retro might help make your outfits a little more ... cohesive? Or maybe you like variety/freedom to pull from different eras.

2 and 6 are my best for you! You really do suit skirts and dresses so well. Have you thought about different colour palettes?

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Another vote for #6 as best. And #2 as next.

Have you every thought of lightening up your palette?

Alassë

Thank you, Joy.

Thanks for your input, MuseumGal. "Retro" is rather unspecific, I agree. I like 40s/50s style. Do you have any suggestions how to reference those eras more, especially the 40s?

Thank you for suggesting something, Ceit. What do you mean by different colour palettes - using camel or rust as a neutral instead of brown, or going outside the autumn colour scheme? Could you provide an example?

Angie, thank you for your suggestion. What do you mean by lightening up - using more camel/cognac/cream in belts/footwear/skirts/trousers instead of brown? Brown is such an easy default for autumns, I admit.

jackiec

It's so amazing to me how your hair is such a great accessory, and it alone can change the vibe of an outfit! My favs are #2 & #5. You really do skirts/dresses so well. I like how you've described your style so well too. Quirky and unusually feminine really nails it.

You look lovely as always. 6 is my favourite, because the lines of it just work so perfectly, but I really love 4 too: it's very flattering in its fit & the texture mix adds a lot of neat interest. The lace sort of echoes your great curly hair. Oh I just saw that you don't think that one has enough interest! What about adding a necklace? (Do you wear jewelry? Just occurred to me that I can't remember if I've seen you in jewelry or not.)

You look beautiful in brown, but I do think it'd be neat to see you spend a week without dark brown, using your other neutrals instead! I'm not sure if you could do it with your current closet or not, but it'd be an easy way to see if you'd enjoy adding more cream & camel pieces in the future or if you prefer staying with dark brown as your base.

Thank you, E! I always look forward to what you'll say. On to the questions... I do wear jewelry, and in fact had had a necklace on, but the chain was too dark and appeared as "too much" on camera. I should have tried another necklace, one with a gold chain.

Oh, I could do a week without brown - I'm not sure I'd be completely happy with it, but I could do it. I have a chestnut skirt, caramel skirt, red polka dot skirt, cream shorts, olive shorts, hazelnut shorts, & denim trousers. And that's not even considering repeating bottoms, which I do.

I have toyed with the notion of expanding my camel/cognac/navy selection, the difficulty being getting cardigans in those shades to bookend with. And if that's expanding my closet to no purpose.

Yes, just lightening it up and adding other colours to the mix. You definitely have the autumn palette down, but how about lighter versions of the same colours?

Ah. I mean wearing lighter colours year round to change up the brown, especially in Summer. I don't think I have ever seen you in light clothing apart from one time. And it looked sensational. You don't need to of course - I'm just curious.

Sara L.

I like #6 the best. I like the contrast of black and cognac and the fun fuller skirt.

Thank you for responding to the follow-up question, Ceit.
Thank you for clarifying, Angie!
Thank you, Sara. It's actually navy.

Hmmm...I think if you focused on the camel or cream, which are both significantly lighter than your dark browns, it would have a purpose (assuming you want to have lighter outfits). Navy probably wouldn't have as much of an impact, if you're trying to keep your wardrobe small. Cognac or chestnut would be somewhere in the middle as far as impact goes, I suppose. Of course, you don't have to add lighter colours if you feel more comfortable in dark brown!

It's interesting how the camera reads an outfit vs how it looks in 'real life,' isn't it? That's why I started trying to doing close-ups, because a lot of what someone would notice if they were talking to me in real life doesn't show up in a full length outfit shot!

Thanks for your input & clarification, Eva! I like cognac at least as well as brown, and if I found a cognac knitted topper I'd probably snap it up immediately. Camel sometimes seems more blah to me when I picture a cardigan + skirt in it, even with the intermediate top-in-a-colour.

rachylou

#2 has excellent proportions. The last one, the black dress, is fabulous. Love the brown belt with it.

Thank you, Rachy. It's a navy dress.

How interesting Alasse! I wonder if you like having medium-dark colours because they provide more of a contrast with your fair skin. Do you get the same 'blah' picture imagining a cream cardigan & skirt? Or maybe lots of camel is just more of a soft autumn look.

I can imagine cognac cardigans are difficult to find. What about looking at russet shades? If it was more browned, it might have the same cognac bookending effect, even if it's categorised as an orange.

You could be on to something, E. Cream cardigan + coloured top + cream skirt doesn't appeal, either. Russet, on the other hand, sounds delicious. What can I say, I love cinnamon-y shades.

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