On the way out the door, I asked Keith if I should wear this outfit because “it’s not exactly flattering, is it?”
Feeling like Joey in Friends when he wore all of Chandler’s clothes, I piled on the layers for our dog walk at the weekend. I think ALL outfit posts are going to be “what I wore to walk the dog” for a while yet – maybe with a Christmas Day outfit in between – so outfits that may be deemed unflattering might just be standard fare round here till early next year at least.
My point is this: does it really matter if an outfit is “unflattering”? Obviously it’s objective, and when you’re walking the dog it’s a bit of a “who cares anyway” scenario, but on a regular day in a Covid-free life, who’s to say we HAVE to wear outfits that flatter us?
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It’s a question that I was pondering as I went on our dog walk in a ton of cosy, bulky layers. Over the years I’ve had many comments about how my outfits are unflattering (when I say “many” I mean I could probably count them on two hands, and as I’ve had roughly about 1,000 comments on the blog alone in the past nine years that’s a tiny proportion), and my initial response to those comments was always…
SO?!!!
It all comes back down to #IWillWearWhatILike. Yes, we all want to look our best. Yes, we all want to show off the good bits and hide the bad. But if an outfit makes me look three dress sizes bigger, or if I’m wearing a dress that’s deemed the “wrong” style for my figure and hides my waist, or if I’m not wearing “my” colours – WHO CARES?
Just make sure you’re dressing for yourself. No one else. If you want to go all-out sexy, go for it. If you want to cover up with a ton of layers and something shapeless, go for it. You shouldn’t “have” to wear flattering clothes all the time, or ever if you don’t want to. Dress to please yourself, not others (and certainly not for men).
So this weekend I wore my bulky layers and they kept me warm. (A little TOO warm in fact, Suki decided to go up the hill rather than over the fields, and my poor lungs and body after a stinking head cold couldn’t take it… thankfully she decided very soon that she was too tired to go all the way up as well.) I took my new charity-shopped tweed cap for an outing. I wore my loosest, most comfortable jeans and my fleece-lined, muddy boots.
The time for me to wear pretty dresses will come again. Meantime, I’m doing a Joey Tribbiani: Look at me, I’m Chandler – could I BE wearing any more clothes?!!
How bothered are YOU about whether your outfit could be classed as “unflattering”? Comment below…
Stay safe, XOXO
Cap: Charity Shop (similar)
Scarf: Asos
Jeans: Asos (similar)
Jacket: Asos
Sunglasses: & Other Stories (similar)
Sweater: JD Williams* (similar)
Boots: Lotus* (similar)
Linking up to… Monday: Inspire Me Monday, Ageless Style Linkup (first Monday of the month), My Glittery Heart, On Mondays We Link Up || Tuesday: Style With a Smile, Trend Spin/Walking in Memphis in High Heels, Turning Heads Tuesday, Spread the Kindness, Confident Twosday, Happy Now Blog Link Up || Wednesday: Style Me Wednesday, WowOnWednesday || Thursday: Chic & Stylish || Friday: Fancy Friday, On the Edge, Fabulous Friday, Fabulous Friday’s Link Up
Hi!
unflattering is my middle name 😀
for example, I LOVE wearing belts, and I know they’re not “right” for my shape (I’m tall and thin and have no waistline or any curve whatsoever XD), but when I wear them I feel good and happy and so WHO CARES? #IDOWEARWHATILIKE!
cheers from Italy
What is flattering anyway? For me flattering is style over fashion. My mom always said you can go out with a tablecloth over you..if you wear it with confidence, you’ll start a new trend! I think you look amazing my friend! Come link up with me on my Fabulous Fridays! xx
I’ve been wearing a very baggy jumper dress quite a lot lately and not caring at all that it’s not flattering! It’s warm and comfy and that’s all that matters. Love your scarf and hat!
Emma xxx
I was born with a personality that cares very little for what anyone thinks who’s not in my inner circle. Sometimes, it’s more important that clothes be utilitarian than flattering (says the woman who spent much of her working life in scrubs). Keeping up with the dog definitely requires utilitarian layers, not your best finery.
It totally drove me nuts that the primary female character in the last Jurassic Park movie spent all of her time running from dinosaurs in heels. Seriously?
Michelle
Love this perspective – and you look so cute – not “unflattering” at all.
You look nice and comfy in this Catherine, my sense of fashion seems to dwindle when the weather changes. I just need to be warm! Roll on the Summer I say. x Jacqui
who cares about the outfit when the hair looks so good. And yes I am like you looking forward to non covid times when we actually head out where people may see is and we actually care.
If it makes you feel good about yourself, why not? Love your scarf!
xoxo
Lovely
I think the current conventional UK views on what is ‘unflattering’ are nonsense. Mores about ideal body type and dress vary across time and by region, so sometimes no waist or boobs is in style (1920s flappers) and at other times extreme curves are in style (1950s). IMHO the only thing that is genuinely unflattering is a women whose clothes or shoes are so unsuitable for the activity and weather that she cannot be comfortable in them.
Why are women supposed to wear flattering clothes? Flattering as in like showing off their curves? Men don’t. So why should we? I love your look of the day. It’s very British. That’s what I love about Britsh style. It’s about chic comfort and quality and it’s timeless. In my version, it would have a belt around the denim jacket. Well, beacuse I always do that. I loooooooove belts with statement buckles. I belt everything that one could possibly belt just because I want to wear a belt. … and I would wear ducks with heels or rubber boots with heels. Why? I can’t walk in anything that’s so flat like your boots. It’s all about comfort. The last difference would be that I wouldn’t walk a dog, but a cat.
I really like your scarf and hat! I just wore a plaid blazer that has those colors< what a perfect combo they would make! Some days it all about getting outside to walk the pups, and not caring if its flattering. I agree, we should dress for ourselves and how we want to feel. You look great in hats!
Oh Catherine you are so right! That’s exactly what I will wear what I like matters. Unflattering?!! who cares. I am so with you! I love this outfit.
Have a good day
Love this look on you Catherine!!
Xx
Joi
@InMyJoi
The check cap and scarf are very cute and flattering IMHO! One of the good things about getting older is that you care less about what you wear. On my daily walks I’m wearing hiking clothes with North Face and Rab logos and I love being warm and dry. There’s also the me who glams up occasionally with sequins.
Looking so very nice. Love the look. Thanks for hosting and I hope that you have a wonderful week.
“Hi, I’m Chandler. Could I BE wearing any more clothes?” I love that episode, so thank you for giving me a laugh! But more importantly, I’ve been wearing a lot of unflattering outfits lately and I’m totally fine with that—it’s the essence of #IWillWearWhatILike !
Cheryl Shops
Catherine, I wrote a post about what we imply when we say clothing is flattering. Typically it refers to the fact that it’s slimming. I’m totally with you on the wondering if everything we wear has to be flattering, i.e. slimming??!! Heck no!! We can dress “flattering” in other ways, with layers, scarves, boots, colors, patterns, whatever we like!! You go, girl! You somehow always look “put together,” Catherine.
xx Darlene
I really don’t think that this is unattractive at all! And even if I thought it was, well, you know what they say about opinions. They’re like ***holes, everybody has one –
Love your cap and scarf. You look great as always. I’m in layers today as I hate the cold, plus, at the moment we’re in Tier 3. I try to put something nice on at least once a week for my own mental health but a few hours later it’s back to the cosy comfies.
Alison xx
So long as you’re comfortable and you like it why not? xx
I now what you mean, at the moment I’m dressing for warmth and through the lockdown there’s been no point in wearing my city smart clothes , and as for my pretty dresses how I long to party in them. Guess it’ll happen soon enough. Love your cap and the nearly matching scarf. Actually you look great as per usual!
First of all, can I just say, you relating to Joey Tribbiani in this outfit post is fantastic. What Joey did was petty as heck and disproportionate to what Chandler did to him but they just made the scene dang funny too.
You actually look cute here unlike Joey in his ridiculous layers, though! I love denim jackets and the one you have on look gorgeous. I especially adore a good slightly oversized denim jacket like it.
Gosh, I can count on one hand the number of times I had properly gotten dressed up since March. I feel like I look like a mess most days, but I agree with you: WHO CARES. If anyone does care, like……but why though?
I’d love to see more of your walk-the-dog outfits! Perhaps Suki (that’s the dog’s name, right?) should be in some photos, too!
First of all, this outfit is really darn cute and exactly what I wear most days if I leave the house! We have a running joke that I am always wearing everything I own because I am draped in approximately 5-7 layers every day during winter! Actually, I just finished a post for tomorrow that talked about the dress I am wearing in it as being unflattering and ways that I could make it suit me just a little better. But overall, it’s an outfit that I would really only wear at home anyway. I might be the queen of unflattering outfits and I suppose I don’t really care all that much. If I think it’s cute, I will wear it! Another wonderful post, my friend!
Shelbee
I’m not too bothered at the minute about how I look, I dress for comfort at min 🙂 Love your scarf. Thanks for hosting.
I used to really care about it, but now I couldn’t care less! Perhaps it’s my age and I’ve just become more comfortable with who I am and I’m not so bothered about what people think anymore.
I think you look fab though!
Hugs
Suzy x
Well, actually it bothers me but not in a way that matters. You see, almost every Sunday we , my partner and I, are going to walk, me in the wheelchair that is, in our national park. And believe me, sitting in a wheelchair doing nothing is damn cold. So I layer a lot and put all kinds of warm things on, and those are not stylish at all. I don’t feel like myself then, on the other hand I can enjoy our walks immensely, which is far more important!