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Fashion Friday :: Think Spring!

I know. It is too soon. But I couldn’t resist. I mean, listen to me, we had one day with temps into the 40s, and the streets were dry enough to run, and now I am all, YAY SPRING!

Which, YOU KNOW is just gonna come back around to bite me in the bum when it SNOWS AGAIN NEXT WEEK!

Not that I don’t love snow. In fact, I have been enjoying hibernation mode, but that one quick run yesterday in the fresh air has me all, Giddyup, spring!

So I asked on my Facebook Page for some fashion topics to discuss, and I think we’re just going to have a potpourri today because I’m too scattered to write on one topic. Maybe this will become a regular monthly column . . . Style Q&A with the Housewife. Or something. Or not. Maybe I’ll never do this again.

Anywho.

High Waist Jeans . . . say it ain’t so!

Two people brought up the topic of high waist jeans and were equally horrified at the thought.

high waist jeans

Well, let me take this opportunity to tell you a little story.

A few years ago skinny jeans started to come into vogue. And at first we were all unsure how to wear them and if we have the figure to wear them and all that. I finally got my first pair after hemming and hawing, and I told my mom about them, and she asked me if girls were tucking them into their boots yet up here in Philly.

I looked at her aghast with visions of the 1970s dancing in my head, and said indignantly, “NO!”

“Well, they will be,” she nonchalantly replied.

To which I’m pretty sure I was positively speechless.

And then she laughed and said knowingly, “Everything comes back around.”

I didn’t believe her. I truly could not IMAGINE tucking my jeans into my boots.

And now who wears skinny jeans tucked into her boots every. single. ding. dong day?

Yep, this girl.

daily-mom-style-featured

So, are high waisted jeans going to come back in style?

Probably.

Are they back already?

Well…. they might be in stores, but they aren’t mainstream yet. And I will wait until they are good and mainstream before I try them on because. EW.

Although I am sure our eyes will all adjust and we will all be rueing the day we ever wore low-rise jeans that let our belly fat all hang out. Mark my words. It will happen. But not this year.

Okay, next topic. Although this is getting long. No one is surprised, I’m sure. But maybe I’m too wordy for posts about more than one topic.

Well let’s do at least one more. I will try not to tell any stories this time.

Age Appropriate Styles . . . Where are they??

Trish asks this:

The dilemma: When you’re 40 and one section of the store looks too young and the other, well too mature. How to look fashionable at our age and where to shop.

Good question, but a hard one to answer because everybody is so different. I know some 50-something ladies that pull off much trendier clothes than I can simply because it suits their personality. I think everyone has to find a couple go-to favorite stores that they can depend on and then stick with them. That’s what works best for me, anyway.

stores-where-I-shop

As for where I shop, I still like LOFT, although I feel like I’m outgrowing it. It does seem to be geared more to the 30-something crowd, but they have some classic styles that work for all ages.

I love Banana Republic. I have for years, and I find that they are growing with me. Although a lot of their clothes are more professional than I really need. Still, they have plenty of casual options.

I do well at Nordstrom for basics like jeans, shoes and sometimes sweaters. I have actually bought a couple of tops in their Junior department recently because the price point is lower and I thought they were cute.

I have a friend who always looks super cute and stylish and she buys most of her clothes at Kohl’s. Her trick is that she has a few certain brands that she likes and that seem to work for her style aesthetic.

White House Black Market and Ann Taylor both have nice clothes for the 40-something crowd, but both seem to be mostly professional attire.

And also? CAbi. If you get invited to a CAbi party go! Better yet, see if you have a CAbit Outlet near you because they mark down their “vintage” clothes (that just means last season) quite nicely, although I find that certain sizes are sometimes at a premium.

I definitely get stuck in a rut with wear to shop. I should just go to the mall one day and wander in some stores I never frequent and see what I find. But I do think when you reach a certain age, your choices are limited and if you can find one or two stores that work for you, there’s nothing wrong with sticking with them and keeping it simple.

Does that help?

Okay, one more. The rest of your suggestions are too big for a potpourri post like this, but I will keep them in mine for future topics!

Belts

Liz just wrote belts. Nothing else. Just belts.

belts

Well, let me tell you that belts are my nemesis. I find them to create bulk and to be annoying. However, I have resorted to buying a few as of late (I didn’t’ own one before last summer!!!) because shirt-tucking is becoming necessary with some of the latest styles. A medium-width brown belt is nice for casual wear. I wear mine when I do the “front tuck” with a casual t-shirt. And skinny belts are all the rage right now. You can belt your trousers with them, or your jeans if you’re tucking in a blouse. And you can use them to create a waistline over a cardigan, if that works for your figure type. This post on Babble is awesome: A Beginner’s Guide to Belts. It has a ton of different ways to wear them and what styles work best. So . . . there ya go. Some fresh ideas for you to ponder as we wait for spring to . . . well, spring. Or pounce. Or hopefully it will glide in sweetly. Wouldn’t that be a modern day miracle!?

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18 Responses

  1. Ew – 1980s called looking for their Manisha Jeans. I will not do this (keep repeating!!)

  2. I am SO thinking spring too! Can’t wait to put my boots away for this year and wear some colorful flats. Oh my, high waisted jeans were bad the first time around. Why oh why do we need them again??? Skinny belts are my favorite. I have them in a few fun colors and a leopard print. They look cute with skinny jeans and a tucked in button down.

  3. I’m with you at this stage in life – casual is the name of the game and I love it! High waisted jeans…they were so flattering. It seems like I weighed 100 pounds at the time though. Sounds like it’s time to do more sit ups if we are going to wear high jeans with belts. 🙂

  4. Oh I remember whining about Skinny jeans and now I can’t live without them. But high waisted? They just look…. bad! I don’t know. I’m not sold. and I hope I never am 🙂

  5. To me, high-waisted jeans = mom jeans. SO unflattering. I can’t imagine going there…but you’re right, it may eventually grow on me. Hope not, though.

  6. I’m not worried about high waisted making a true comeback, they’ve been in the stores for a few years and haven’t, similar to true bell bottoms a while back (not talking flare) which also didn’t take. Everything tries to come back around, doesn’t mean it does. At least not outside the teen crowd where unfortunately “mom jeans” and jean shorts have been back for a while… Ugh!

    Side note that I never said “ew” to skinny jeans 😉

  7. Re: age-appropriate clothing. I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned personality–we need to find clothes that suit our personalities, and not the other way around. I’m 45; when I’m a grey-haired granny, I will still be rocking my Dr. Martens. I will not, however, be rocking high-waisted jeans!

  8. before you knock them..TRY them…I own two pairs…and really love the higherwaist…holds me in and I never worry about plumbers…well you know what, hahaha! Now, I typically wear them with tunic tops or longer shirts…so I am not ready to tuck my shirt into my highwaisted jeans YET….but you are right, they are definitely on the scene and denim retailers are all offering versions….
    Hope you have a great weekend.
    C

    1. Now I’m intrigued…. anything that holds me in is a friend of mine. But I had a hard time with them to begin with because I am high waisted, and I also carry my weight in my midsection, so sometimes I would find them to be binding, and I would still get some muffin top issues. I have always liked the lower rise – well, before it got TOO low. I will have to try a high rise on and see what I think.

  9. I turned 40 recently and for the last year or so, I am feeling a little lost in the mall for the first time ever! Body changes are certainly contributing to this but it seems that most of the stores in the mall are geared toward a younger crowd (20s and 30s). I have especially noticed this in Loft lately. Once you have kids who are about to be teenagers, I feel silly trying out some of the same trends that my daughter might have in her closet… distressed jeans and camo pants just to name a couple. I agree that BR usually has some great choices and I have been loving Limited lately for their cute styles that I find age-appropriate! I agree with keeping it simple and adding your own personal style with accessories like colorful scarfs, shoes, and jewelry.

    1. Kim, I agree, my daughter isn’t quite there yet. You should check out Getting Your Pretty On – she does posts about how she and her daughter style the same article of clothing. Very interesting, she is around our age.

  10. I was shocked to see that high waisted pants were back in action, and just chalked it up to the whole 80s/90s comeback. Then I tried them on. Oh my, they are the business! Well, now I won’t be able to wear them for a few months, but they really create a great silhouette, especially if you love to wear flowy shirts. It sucks you in like spanx. I love that you’re a Kohl’s girl! It’s one of my favorite places to shop, since they have that buy $50 get $10 back deal most of the time. It makes it easier to treat myself if I know I’ll get money back instantly. Loved this post, Jo-Lynne.

  11. I am happy to see jeans that hit at my natural waist. I hate the look and feel of low riders…nothing like having the waistline of my jeans cut right across my poochy little belly. Not pretty, even with an untucked shirt. Maybe if I were a few sizes smaller…
    I have been wearing jeans and leggings tucked into my boots, because it is a fun look and I have a lot of long sweaters and boots that I like, but (as I think you may have posted recently?) it is hard to beat the figure flattery of long, boot cut jeans with heels!
    Lastly, (don’t judge me,) don’t forget Soft Surroundings, JJill, Coldwater Creek and Chico’s (or Forever 42, as my young friend calls it!). There are definitely some cute items hidden amongst the stretchy pants. You just have to look!

  12. This thread had me paying more attention when I was out last night. I saw one person in high wasted jeans. It could have been the jeans, but it was not a good look. No muffin tops (of course cuz they are covered), but these jeans just emphasized her mid-section in an unflattering way (they definitely didn’t hold anything in) and flattened out her butt. Whole purpose of jeans are to make the butt look good not non-existent.

    Total agree low rise is not for everyone, but mid-rise is probably a good solution for most rather than one extreme or the other.

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