[prettynpink]

Doodle, its not a feminist issue. You wear professional clothing to a professional situation. Its respect. You show your respect for the institution. You have every right to pull them aside and tell them that they will receive more respect if they show more respect. Showing respect includes dressing the part. Ross has fantastic prices and lots of professional options if money is an issue.

[doodlebug]

Showing bras, unless it's a deliberate part of your outfit (and best saved for nightclubs) = never okay, IMHO.

It's likely with the young women that someone told them the best thing to wear to a funeral was a black dress, and maybe those were the only black dresses they had? I'm just guessing. Also, most younger folk don't consider their tats a social "faux pas." Though they could have solved the entire "strapless" problem by adding a jacket or a sweater, I agree!

I went to the Legislature last week with a couple of younger feminists (ages 22, 23). One of them wore all her piercings, showed her tats below her sleeves, and had blue-purple hair - she also wore long striped socks that ended two inches below her skirt hem. The other wore a feminist slogan t-shirt, a skirt over pants, and carried a handmade patchwork bag. I always try to lead by example - I wore a black blouse and black trousers, with a charcoal grey blazer and a silk scarf - but clearly example isn't enough. I guess I assumed they'd "get" the formality of the thing, especially since they were there to be heard by politicians (every one of them in a suit or coordinating jacket and pants/skirt) on an issue. I'm all for freedom of expression, but it was the friggin' Legislature, for pete's sake!

You don't have to spend a lot of money to dress respectfully and conservatively, that's the thing, but if you DON'T dress respectfully and conservatively, some people will automatically tune out whatever you have to say. I adore these young women, and their funky style, but there's a time and a place....I just don't know how I'm going to get through to them - I'm thinking maybe of holding a workshop on dealing with media/public/government, that will include a section on "appropriate attire." What do others think? Would that would work? I dunno....it's hard especially when feminist theory tells us that no one has the "right" to tell us how we "should" look....which is absolutely true, but also pretty self-sabotaging, if you want people (who don't give a shit about feminist theory) to actually listen to you.

[Onna-Otaku]

I don't know if I'm just being bitchy, or I'm just old fashioned about this.
A woman I didn't know all that well's funeral (she used to babysit me when i was very young). The womans daughter (I'll let her off the the hook) and four of her friends all decided to wear strappless/halter, short skirted black dresses that showed off their wide array of tattoos. They seriously looked like they were going to a cocktail party. And it was early march in the northwest, so you know it wasn't warm.
Now maybe I'm being harsh, but arn't you supposed to be respectful at a funeral? Not even counting the fact that a few of these girls were squeezed into these dresses and it would have been a crime anyway. I was wearing a tea length black skirt with a dark grey sweater (which was truly the best that I had) an I was feeling a little inappropriate. (The grey). am I wrong?

[ananke]

This is a letter to all your girls going to weddings.

I understand that social mores have changed, that it's okay to wear sleeveless, shoestring and strapless things to weddings. I can deal with that.

But if you're going to do that COVER YOUR FUCKING UNDERWEAR!

I saw SEVEN girls out of about 40 showing their skanky bras at a wedding on the weekend. But that's better than the BRIDESMAID showing her bra under her dress that i saw the weekend before.

[curioushair]

A gaggle of bridesmaids in neon pink satin--at Hardees.

[pherber]

brrrrrr..... freezes just readig this.



Yeah, I saw 2 pairs of goucho pants... this year.

[doodlebug]

Yesterday around 5:00 I was in Safeway to buy groceries. Me, I'm wearing jeans, a long-sleeve t-shirt, and a sweater knit hoodie.

It's October, right? I didn't just sleep through winter, right? Or wake up without realizing Canada's tectonic plates had somehow slid down to the equator overnight?

I saw a woman wearing a pink tank top, flip flops, and navy blue cotton shorts that ended somewhere at her upper thigh.

WTF?

And this wasn't a teenager, whom I normally expect to be the ones who sometimes dress a bit "off the mark" when it comes to the weather. This woman was 45 if a day. (Or maybe younger, depending on how long she'd been working that fake 'n' bake.) You would think by that age, you would have developed some common sense about these things!

[lilacwine13]

You're lucky, I can play "count the gauchos" where I live. So far the highest number has been 10, and that was last week.

[pherber]

It just occured to me that the horrible goucho pants trend did never catch on where I live!


The fashion gods have heard my pleads.

[hellotampon]

on the same woman with the green suit:

nice pink fitted blouse, fairly cute
shapeless, baggy black pants with a heavily tapered leg
puffy dark grey, dirty sneakers

[quietmadness]

Ok. Ummm...yeah.

She was in the Kroger's this afternoon.

She had on flared-bottom jeans so tight, she gave the term "muffin-top" a new twist.

They were tinted *red* for Gob's sake.

Sleeveless (that's SLEEVELESS) sweater with a COWL NECK--and gold stuff all through it.

and-----













white stilletos with even













pastier white feet!


Pass the bleach, please!

[summerbabe]

Thanks bustygirl, that's *exactly* what I needed to know! Fashion police to the rescue!!!

[bustygirl]

Sheer stockings that are sheer to the toe are good for both closed and open toe shoes.

Opaque tights are good for closed toe, although they can look cute in open toe if you're going for a funkier look--just make sure the toe seam is below your toes.

Sheer stockings that have reinforced toes are for close toe shoes only. (stockings with reinforced heels should likewise be worn with closed heel shoes)

Fishnets generally go better with close toed shoes, IMHO, since toes have annoying habits of poking through the net at the exact wrong moment.

[margot]

On a very slim, hippy-ish woman...
Black faded longish vest, revealing most of her back.
Floor length (So had got all scuffed at the bottom) black, slightly baggy leggings, MADE OF SWIMSUIT MATERIAL.
Ugh, it was yucky. I was behind her in the supermarket queue, and it made her arse look so saggy. Quite an achievement, as she was in pretty good shape.

[summerbabe]

Hi fashion busties!

I thought this might be a good place to make sure I don't commit a fashion faux pas! I want to wear stockings and stilettos, I'm just not sure what the rules are. Do the shoes have to be closed-toe? Do the rules change if the stockings are sheer vs. opaque? Both the shoes and the stockings will be black so I guess I can't screw up too bad, I just wanted to make sure

oh and p.s., I saw a bright, tangerine-coloured leather blazer today... paired with some frumpy, high-waisted light-wash jeans. Yikes!

[Onna-Otaku]

oh that girl that mentioned friday? I go a closer look and they were JERSY KNIT LEGGINGS
lord have mercy!

[sybarite]

Sweater dress that could have been cute but was a shade too short to be paired with semi-opaque black tights. Another example of someone who looks like they just forgot to put on trousers.

Confession: I just bought a sweater dress but I have made damn sure it is a)long enough and b)will only be worn with thick tights. Who wants an exposed ass in autumn weather?

[curioushair]

I got a good one today: lime green headband, lime green hoodie, white cropped pants, lime green socks, white crocs. So that's green, green, white, green, white. (Oh yeah, and carrying a camo bag.)

Or the over-fifty Madonna-circa-1985 wannabe.

Or the woman with the badly permed, over-bleached, uncombed butt-length hair.

Or myself for wearing pigtails way past the appropriate age.

[herculesgirl]

Leggings worn with oversized shirts and ankle boots are back, apparently. Welcome to 1982.

[hellotampon]

#1: a purple velvet pantsuit and gold strappy shoes

#2: a pale lime skirt and jacket combo, with an ugly gold belt worn outside of the jacket, a green silk scarf bunched around her neck, white tights, brown leather pumps, and bad hair/makeup.