Sunday 12 April 2015

Time After Time

A few weeks ago, I was complaining about the difficulties I experienced last winter in creating a wardrobe I felt comfortable wearing. I think I may have mentioned that I have all but abandoned wearing jeans, as I felt they were too masculine now that my body is so straight. I bought several button down shirts last year, but also struggled to style them in a way that didn't feel too mannish. Well, YouLookFab came to the rescue this week, with a challenge on the forum to dress in the style of decades past. I tried 20's, 40's, 50's and 80's and to my surprise managed to style a button-down shirt in a way that felt both modern and feminine.
                                       40's and 50's style as posted on the YLF forum
I especially liked the 50's look and decided to try and recreate the silhouette in a slightly less costume-y way by taking off the scarf and swapping the kitten heels for a more contemporary shoe.
                                                          Jean:Country Road
                                                           Shirt:Anne Fontaine
                                                          Shoes:Wittner
This was my recreation of the look for a weekend at home. Despite consisting of a button-down shirt and a pair of jeans, I felt very feminine and a bit sexy! I think the combination of the unbuttoned front, the bow at the waist and the illusion of curves created by tying the shirt, completely overcomes the menswear look of the shirt and pants. The camisole gives me warmth and coverage and the  volume of the shirt hides my chest and gives me some shape! I am so excited to have discovered a way of wearing jeans that makes me feel good. It has also made me think about whether styling tweaks could make a difference to some other items in my wardrobe that I am not feeling good about wearing currently. Using the past as a style guide has been incredibly helpful and enlightening and I am enjoying having a new perspective on how to wear my clothes.
Is there any era that inspires the way you dress?

Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper



7 comments:

  1. Sharon you did a fabulous job of the YLF challenge and I love how you took this outfit into current day. You have created a lovely feminine shape and found a great way to make the white button down work for you:)

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    1. Thanks, Deborah. It was such a fun challenge, and great to see everyone else's outfits.

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  2. Beautiful! Is the shirt a mens shirt or womens? I still have my buttons downs but have not tried wearing them becasue of the prominent darts in the bust area. Maybe tying at the waist would mask that extra fabric at the bust area? Will give it a try. I understand the challenge with "masculinity" with certain clothes...I used to live in jeans and white tshirts on the weekend, but now it feels just not quite right....especially with my super short hair, which is growing, but still only about a half an inch long...I look in the mirror and just dont recognize this person :) will keep trying different tops to soften up my look!

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    1. Vicki, this is a woman's shirt but it is a straight cut, so no darts. But I think the idea could still work with darts - it would just be a matter of scrunching the right volume of fabric into the tie. How did your shopping trip go?

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    2. Shopping was so-so..I fell in love with the JJill kimono top in the catalog, but once on, it was just too much volume for me and the scoop neck was not flattering. I did end up getting the Elliptical v-neck tee, which is a nice tshirt, not too casual and not too dressy. Sort of flowy....I got it in black. And wore it with white jeans and a bright necklace, and was happy with it.

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  3. Great outfit. You look great x
    theenglishrosegirl.blogspot.com

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  4. Thank you so much. It is a fun outfit.

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