Maybe this is everyone’s experience as they get older, falling out of fashion and balking at the latest trends.

BUT. I really think there’s something uniquely terrible about this moment in (clothing) history.

I can appreciate elements of fashion from pretty much every era…from jazz age glam to swinging cocktail dresses and just about everything from the set of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, to the pencil skirts and cat-eye makeup of the 60s, to 80s punk and 90s heroin chic, to the dELiA’s catalogues of my coming-of-age and the midriffs of the 2000s.

But these days I dread shopping. Why are shirts cut like pillowcases and dresses cut like potato sacks? What’s the point of a sweater knit so loosely the wind blows right through, or a neck cut so wide the sleeves fall down your shoulders? Speaking of, why are the shoulders/armpits in a women’s “small” cardigan roomy enough for the Rock?

It all seems so frumpy, and not even functional. Aren’t clothes meant to accentuate the body, rather than hide it? How are you other non-Gen Z women adapting to current fashion?

P.S. I will admit that having higher rise jeans is nice. It took me a while to get on board, but now I can see how the low rise skinny jean gave us all chicken legs ;)

  • AttackBunny
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    21 year ago

    @ClarissaXDarjeeling 40 something woman here.

    IMO, as we get older, we either seem to pay more attention to silhouettes, shapes and flattering clothes, or we just stop caring all together, and go with the leggings and moomoos (nothing wrong with either, I occasionally wear both). Trends are always going to change, and “fast fashion” will do so constantly. As far as I can tell we are heading back to the 90s (ugh) with a weird mix of 70s thrown in. I’m excited for the death of high rise jeans again, and those god awful mesh tops/dresses, but I digress.

    Personally, I’ve been building my closet on higher quality staple pieces, with some fast fashion thrown in. If you get a cute, high quality skirt, and a
    trendy, fitted crop top, you can mix both those items with other items in your closet. Same with a nice pair of jeans, dress, or a jacket.

    All of that said, either learn to tailor your own clothes (this is the route I chose) or make friends with a local tailor. Clothes rarely fit well off the rack. Buying a piece of clothing and wearing it will look ok, but having it tailored for YOU will make it look GREAT. I also make my own clothes, when I can’t find what I want.

    Oh, and as someone who is rather …“chesty” yeah, boxy tops/dressed make me look TERRIBLE. I absolutely love the way those little boho shift dresses look on smaller chested women, but they look like a circus tent on me. I feel your pain

    • Ah yes, how could I forget the mesh / gauze / see-through tops and dresses! There’s nothing like buying an article of clothing that requires buying more articles of clothing to go underneath, or fails to provide any warmth or a barrier of any kind.

      Thanks for the tip re: tailoring :)