I’m not exactly a natural when it comes to fashion. I’m more of what you’d call a “late-adopter.”
The earliest signs of my affliction were in elementary school in the 80’s when little girls started transitioning from leggings to jeans. I didn’t get it. Jeans were rough, stiff, hot, and stained easily compared to my flexible soft black leggings. How were you supposed to slide tackle someone in jeans? I wouldn’t wear those hideous, impractical, leg suffocators. End of story. And then one day in 8th grade I got a pair of Levi 501’s and never took them off for 5 years. I am to this day a jeans evangelist.
The first time I saw skinny jeans I laughed my ass off. I tried some on at the insistance of a friend and honestly thought they were a joke. The fact that 14 year old dudes were wearing them didn’t help. Years later, I own four pairs, including fire engine red, and I’ll wear them at least 3 years after they go out of style.
Gladiator sandals? Who am I, a Khaleesi from Game of Thrones? Then I gave them a shot two seasons later and didn’t take them off until they physically disintegrated.
I was the last of my friends to unhook one of my overalls straps like a G, wear knee socks like Alicia Silverstone, use a purse, embrace dangly earings, wear a dress that fit like a burlap sack, don a flowy sweater that had no buttons (wtf’s the point?)…but I get there eventually. And when I do, it’s not because I’m trying to be in style. It’s because I surpisingly love wearing whatever it is I’m now wearing (that I previously hated).
My latest discovery is the maxi dress. I heard they were coming back into style a couple years ago and tried a few on with one of my fashion-forward friends. Sure enough, I thought I looked like a cracked out hippy and threw them at the dressing room attendant. Last week I bought three and felt like a supermodel in them. That’s when it clicked. I stood there in front of the changing room mirror in my soon-to-be new dress thinking “What’s not to like about a maxi dress? What was my problem last time?” For the life of me, I honestly couldn’t remember.
Why does this happen? If I am going to eventually come around to new styles after they become old, why not just go for it right off the bat? Why not dive in head first? It makes more practical sense. If I’m going to spend the money on clothes now and then, I might as well get more than one season “in style.”
I don’t know if I could ever get the confidence to rock things when they first hit the racks. Why? Is it fashion’s fault? Is it that the catwalk is so over-the-top that I don’t trust it? Are these new styles objectively nice looking but I’m emotionally resistent to change? Or are they all ridiculous but after enough celebrities wear it, you think you like it? I have no idea. All I know is that one day I think it’s fugly and then a while later I freaking drool over it. And these maxi dresses I just got look effing fantastic. If you didn’t already buy some three years ago, you should totally get one.
I have a maxi dress that I love (I can look put together with minimal effort = win) and I just bought a black maxi skirt and it is perfect for summer. It is the most comfortable thing ever. I would pick just about any piece of clothing over a pair of jeans though. I only have 2 pairs that I actually somewhat like, and if it were up to me I would live in running clothes all of the time. I mean who doesn’t want to live in something that is MADE for comfort?!
It’s a rare thing when comfy and stylish go together, so when I find it, I cling on for dear life. And thank you for alerting me that the term “maxi” can also be applied to a skirt. Yep, I actually didn’t know that existed.
Haha! I was the same way for a long time with the skinny jeans, as well as boots over jeans. Now that’s all I wear 9 months of the year in Seattle. And yes, get thee a maxi skirt for summer! So easy to throw on with a tee or a tank top 🙂
I am the exact same way. I’ve still not given in to the skinny jean, however. I just don’t see how the hell they would ever be able to contain my hips and ass. Seeing my beanpole teenage daughter wearing them doesn’t help matters.
Clueless is one of my all time fave movies (and it’s free on Amazon instant video if you have Amazon Prime). I share your sentiment, Lauren… namely with Uggs (they are so damn comfortable and I used to think they were just plain hideous) and running skirts (actually I wouldn’t be caught dead in any one other than the Bum Wrap, but they’re good for maternity apparel to cover my expanding booty). Maxi dresses are fantastic! I just got a few Liz Lange ones from Target that are really cute and not super expensive, but haven’t bought any non-maternity ones yet. Anyway, just wanted to say that I love the new blog design, and I hope you’re enjoying your last few days as a family of two!
I discovered maxi dresses three weeks ago when my friend and I did a 50 mile run and the next morning she was wearing the softest most comfortable looking dress ever. And I can wear black and blue compression tights underneath with neon green compression socks on top of them and its not that noticeable. Can an item of clothing be any more perfect?
That was that and now I own two. And I’ve pretty much rejected all my other casual clothing.
Kindred spirits, you and I. Kindred spirits.
I’m somewhat the opposite as I scrolled through the credits of movies slowly (ok, fine, the Mary Kate and Ashley ones) to see where they got their clothes and I think I called Gap Kids one too many times in the 7th grade asking when they were getting new shipments in. I needed to be the first. Baby G watch. Capri pants. I was overly enthusiastic about it all (shocking, right? I’m touch a tough sell for merchandise 😉 ).
My main problems is that I buy clothes far too big or hang on to them when they are too big. I think I have some perpetual fear that I’m going to get huge tomorrow (I mean, I do have a sweet tooth) and I hate clothes that are so constricting. Maybe THIS is the reason I don’t have a husband – I”m wearing jeans that are too big! Yes, that’s definitely it.
I still dream of a closet like Cher Horowitz’s that you can rotate on a motor. So organized. Great reference.
I’m like this too. I remember the first time I saw skinny jeans on a woman walking ahead of me on the street and I was like GIRL! WHAT!? NO! Now I own six pairs.
And yeah, if I could, I’d wear running clothes all the time. That’s why I’m clinging to the leggings trend for dear life (even though at the beginning of said trend I was very much on the “leggings are not pants” bandwagon. Oh how wrong I was!)
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The holy grail for me is stuff I can wear running AND look cute in. It exists, I swear, even though it’ll never grace the pages of Vogue. I have several dresses that are made of technical fabrics and have a shelf bra, and I can run to work in them and then look cute all day at work. (I keep ballet flats and a couple of cute cardigans in my file cabinet drawer, and I run a flat-iron over my hair to get rid of the running frizz.) Skirt Sports and Patagonia and Columbia all make fun stuff with enough support for the girls.
Once a year or so I get this burst of inspiration: I’m going to be fashionable and on-trend! But it never amounts to a long-term lifestyle change. And, like you, I find that my impulses to be on-trend lag behind the actual trends.
You’re not alone! I wrote a blog post a few years ago about being “caught dead” in skinny jeans – they were awful in the 80’s, they are still awful! I need to eat a big plate of crow. Last year I rocked my skinny jeans and tall boots and felt awesome in them. When will Oiselle t-shirts and jeans become the “in” thing to wear? I’d be way ahead of the trends then! 🙂
Listened to you on Another Mother Runner. Fun interview! 🙂
I liken this to when I used to work in retail (clothing and also Williams-Sonoma). Every new item that came in was hideous or unnecessary and I hated it. Two weeks later, it wasn’t so bad, but I wasn’t jumping on board. One month later and there’s nothing that would stop me from having it. I was a skinny pant late adopter (by a LOT) and now I cannot believe wide leg pants are coming back in. Don’t people know how stumpy and unattractive those are on me (which was my exact complaint about the skinnies)?! I think I just need to gain familiarity with something before I can accept it into my life. I take the Drake line a little bit further: No new things, no new things. Until they are old. Then they are mine.
LoL the same to me :)) “late-adopter” :))
LOL Ive never been able to adopt to the skinny jean for some reason. I absolutly LOVE wearing my wide flare jeans (even though, like Meggie, I buy my jeans too long, hence my hems getting tattered and torn from them dragging under my shoes when i walk. Same for my overalls, I STILL have my oversized-over long overalls that I wore in Senior year from Old Navy. In fact, my boyfriend said that the day he first saw me, what drew him to me was me wearing the baggy overalls, I always tease him for it! But, they are SOO comfy, so much so that I could care less what others think, like “why do you have such a huge pair of overalls?” or “You know that your overalls are getting walked on? try pulling up the straps” they say. Um, no thanks, I like mine to be a little bit too long, its my style!