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The best (and worst) fashion advice EVER
by Susan WagnerI'm on vacation this week, which means that I am pretty much alternating between my pajamas and my swimsuit (life is hard, I know). While I'm taking a break from getting dressed, I'm also going to take a break from giving style advice.
But wait, you say, clearly I am HERE, which means there must be SOME advice. Yes, but today it's going to come from you, because BlogHer is a community site and we value your voices.
Also because I need to get back to the beach, pronto.
What I want to know is this: what is the WORST fashion advice you've ever gotten? (Oh please please don't let it be anything I've ever said, I'm begging you.) Did you follow it? Why or why not?
I also want to know this: what is the BEST advice you've ever gotten? What made it such good advice? And are you still following it today?
Come on, you can tell us ... okay, I'll start.
Worst advice: I had a friend in graduate school (which means that I was in my twenties, you all, keep that in mind) who INSISTED with great authority that rompers were coming back into fashion -- you know, those one-piece shorts outfits that small children wear. And because I trusted her, I bought TWO, in big floral prints, and wore them everywhere, with Keds and ankle socks.
In the very few remaining photos of that phase, I look like an oversized toddler. But there are very few photos because I have been systematically burning them every time I come across one.
It's painful to even THINK about.
Best advice: Clean your iron with vinegar to remove hard water build up. Yes, that certainly IS fashion advice; I iron nearly EVERYTHING and I spent years having to rewash light colored things because my iron was constantly getting all gunked up, and the gunk would wind up on my pants and skirts and tops. Now I clean it regularly with vinegar. The process is simple: fill the water compartment with white vinegar, turn it on, and use the steam button to force the vinegar out the holes in the bottom. Take a Q tip and wipe off the gunk, and use a toothpick to free anything that is stuck up inside the holes. Fill with water and repeat; wipe the bottom with a dishtowel when you're done. Easy peasy! And no more gunk on your white pants. Or my white pants, really.
Good fashion advice of any sort is invaluable; thank god there are smart girls on the Internet offering their words of wisdom. The Fashion Police will keep you from making a fool of yourself (or at least make you laugh when other people do), while the girls at The Periodic Elements of Style offer practical advice for everyday dilemmas (and they're funny and personable, too). And The Fashionable Housewife tells you everything you need to know about being stylish in the real world.
Okay, your turn! Let's hear it.
Susan Wagner writes about style at Fashion Find and The Working Closet, and everything else at Friday Playdate. She will be dishing about fashion and shopping at BlogHer -- come join her!
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Comments
Oh, this is fun!
Ok...the best: Ignore the size label and make the clothes fit you, not the other way around. This way my friend's very nice way of telling me that the tight jeans made me look faaaaaaaat.
The worst: Remember those really cheap cotton clothes that were tubes that could be shirts, skirts, or belts? Right with ya on burning those photos....
: )
Best AND best
The best advice I ever got was from you, Susan (not to be a shameless suckbutt or anything) - I happened upon your blog late one night and read every archived post for three days straight. Your writing convinced me that it was just as easy to look good as it was to look bad. That khakis and a nice sweater took the same effort as seats and a tee shirt. And I have looked fashionable and put together (most days) ever since.
The next best advice was from Suburban Bliss blog:
I realized maybe the answer isn't asking Logan to sacrifice his designer jeans or regular haircuts for the kids. Maybe the answer is not asking myself to sacrifice those things in the name of motherhood or because I'm too fat so I don't deserve to look good.
This quote made me realize it was OK to go buy myself some pretty things THAT FIT ME because I deserve it!
Thanks!
Thanks for the mention!
Sincerely,
Sarah-Jean Ballard
aka The Fashionable Housewife
My mom gives great fashion advice
Best advice: If you're going to dream about it when you get home, buy it. if not, don't. From my mother.
Worst advice: Probably something to do with Sun-in and burgandy hair dye in high school. My mom warned me not to, but did I listen? Nooooo!
Nina Moon
http://www.charlieandnina.com
Let's not lighten my hair to "soften" my
face!
That's the worst fashion/beauty advice I've ever gotten... from multiple hair stylists. "Softening" my face makes it look droopy, which has been true since I was in my mid-20s and stick-thin, so I think it's fair to blame the color and let the face off the hook. There's truly nothing wrong with being a brunette, and it's not "aging" if that's your normal coloring.
Best? How about most-recent-best? Matching necklace shape and proportions to body and face shape/proportions. This is probably complicated and I don't have applications for everyone... but I know that when I saw someone with my same issues in keeping the jawline firm do a pointy pendant at choker height, it was a revelation, and it does in fact work for me.
Life is too short to be frumpy
The Glam Gals
Great to hear that you are finding success in getting out of the sweats, into some clothes...now, its time to find some FUN in fashion.
Take those boring khakis to the next level... try a casual skirt or colored pair of jeans. Letting your personality shine through what you wear can be life chaning!
Fat Girl Clothing
I just had a horrible experience at Cato Fashions the other day and got mistaken for being pregnant when I'm not. All the shirts these days look like maternity shirts. Not flattering for fat girls. Best advice: Buy it, go home and take a picture of yourself. If it looks good on film, it really does look good. Worst: Buy bigger. I have found that even as a big girl, buying clothes that are too big just make me look bigger.
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My Wooden Spoon ~ Where it's perfectly legal to use a little pot!
A Cowboy's Wife ~ Ranch photography and tall tales from Son up to S