Wardrobe Woes
I have always envied women who were ‘perfectly put together’. You know, women whose clothes are stylish, that fit them, and who know which shoes to wear with which outfit.
However, despite decades of buying garments and footwear, I found myself with very little in my wardrobe that I actually like to wear. It either doesn’t fit, or it’s the wrong shade, or it’s out of style, or it just doesn’t suit the situation that I’m wearing it in.
A dedicated follower of fashion
‘One week he’s in polka dots, the next week he’s in stripes, cus he’s a dedicated follower of fashion’ – The Kinks (1966)
Being nearly 5’10” (177cm) doesn’t help. The return of ‘ankle-grazer’ jeans and ‘bracelet-length’ sleeves every few seasons fills me with dismay. They’re perfect for petite ladies, but on me … they look like I was over-enthusiastic with a hot tumble dryer, and oh, honey I shrunk the clothes. Not a good look.
I’m not looking for much – just jeans that reach all the way to my shoes, sleeves that don’t leave a drafty four-inch gap at my wrist, and waistbands that sit on my waist rather than my rib cage.
I read somewhere years ago that ready-to-wear clothes are made for women who are 5’5” tall – in other words, four inches too short for me, and about 1-2 inches too long for the average lady in the UK and Ireland.
If it hurts your eyes, it must be the 1980s
My fashion history is a bit of a disaster. By the time I finally figured out 80s fashion, it was the mid-1990s, and the grunge look was in. Luckily, I was a mother with small children then, so my ‘didn’t get a wink of sleep and threw this on for the school run’ look was, for the most part, on trend.
Workwear wasn’t much easier. I mostly worked for charities and church agencies, meeting clergy and senior managers, and ended up with a wardrobe full of sensible skirts and blouses. My wardrobe never expressed who I was – it was costuming for a role I was playing at work. I think we all feel like that at times, don’t we?
Choosing the right shade of cream: a rite of passage in the 1990s
I turned to colour analysis for help. Who else has had their colours done? I’m a Soft Autumn in ‘Color Me Beautiful’ parlance (neutrals, soft colours, never wear black) and a Type 4 in ‘Dressing Your Truth’ (bright clear colours, don’t wear neutrals, wear black). My body type is neither apple, nor pear, nor hour-glass, more like a lamppost with a bit of a tummy and other assorted wobbly bits. ‘Softened straight’ according to one analysis, ‘classic’ according to another. Regardless, the style guides that came with these analyses never really worked for me either. And I could never buy online, because the stuff was guaranteed not to fit. If I took 10 items into a changing room, I might be lucky to find one that actually did fit.
Now that I’m of that certain age, I simply can’t be bothered with ‘fashion’. I’d rather have some nice clothes that fit nicely and that I feel good in. Comfort and style are now much more important to me than fashion.
Example of a circle skirt. So swishy!
Rosy & Silver is all about being your best self, and I wanted clothes that could let me be the person I wanted to be: fun, colourful, flattering, easy to care for, natural fabrics, with fitted waists and cute necklines. Clothes that coordinated with each other, and that I felt great wearing. I had a vintage-style dress in my wardrobe that I had bought at a 1940s-themed event, and which I loved. I checked the label – Hell Bunny. Right, I said, rolling up my unflattering bracelet-length sleeves, let’s see if they have an online shop. And they did!
My first order contained a full circle skirt and a top with a sweetheart neckline. Not only did both garments fit perfectly – The hemline was below my knees! I actually had a waist! A decolletage! – but they went with half a dozen other items in my wardrobe. Thanks, Hell Bunny. I think I may have just stumbled upon clothing nirvana.
You deserve to feel good in your clothes.
If you have similar problems to mine – i.e. absolutely no fashion sense and a body that just doesn’t conform to what’s on sale in the shops, then why not try check the label on that one garment that you love the most, and seeing what you can find online.
You deserve to feel good in your clothes, every day.
*Note: There are NO affiliate links in this blog post.. I just LOVE Hell Bunny.
