<p>Oh, I always knew there were reasons to love Vermont. Here’s another one.</p>
<p>Bethievt: Too funny! 
Believe me, the same could be said for Rochester NY.</p>
<p>Ugh…mom jeans. Even mom bodies look better in a cut more flattering. Thought I was too heavy for something a bit lower cut but it makes a world of difference!!!</p>
<p>Capris, skirts, sundresses: how I spend the majority of my time</p>
<p>It’s too hot in the south to wear capris all summer. I am not a small person but I still wear shorts. I’m thrilled that the longer shorts are in style. I have several pairs that come down to my knees. I recently bought a pair of Clarks black leather “flip-flop” sandals. They are so comfortable. I wear them all the time.</p>
<p>I saw that high-cut jeans are coming back. Jean Paul Gaulthier apparently showed them. Well, $400 is a little rich for Alumother for jeans. I will wait until they bump downmarket a little bit. SOOOO looking forward to buttoning at the waist. Gives me an odd sense of security.</p>
<p>The ballet flats with the medallions, the originals, are Tory Burch. On a rare moment in a trade show break I was strolling through Nordstrom in SF. Saw them in black. I am always on a hunt for black flats that aren’t too dowdy. Bought a pair. Only to discover that they were The Thing in NYC in the fall. Oh well. Silicon Valley has high fashion flexibility…</p>
<p>I happen to like the lower cut pants - I have a short torso and no waist (my hips are small in proportion to my waist, I guess…or maybe it’s the other way around?) but anyway, I’ve been wearing lower cut pants a size larger than I usually wear and I no longer feel like my breathing is cut off. Sure, they’re a little baggy, and I have to wear a belt (have the but crack thing if I don’t) but they are infinately more comfortable than “Mom” pants. In fact, I look at the women in my office who are still wearing the higher waisted pants and I think they look fashion backward now. I do get a lot of complements, and everyone thinks I’ve lost weight when I havent. I have had to buy regular sized shirts, though–I’m only 5’3" and I can usually wear petite shirts but now I need to buy a regular sized shirt. I still have the love handles, they’re just not being convered by my pants anymore–they’re being camouflaged by my shirt or jacket.</p>
<p>I was SOOOO against the lower cut pants, and I had a pair that gave me a “muffin top” that made me so aggravated I started exercising. Now that I have a tight tummy and my behind is no longer trying to escape to my knees, I actually find them more comfortable than the high cut pants. I am short, too, though, 5’4", so they are perhaps a bit higher on me, too.</p>
<p>Baby doll dress (very comfortable and flattery if you are short), high waisted long jacket with tights or jeans, crisp white shirt with jeans, linen pant/skirt suit for work. I try to stay current, but not overboard. My Ds think I dress cool, but like a mom.</p>
<p>Oh! I would love to wear linen suits to work, but, alas, I teach second and third grade so that just wouldn’t work! I usually wear crisp blouses or sweaters with slacks and low heels and on Friday (spirit day) jeans and school polos. I like the layering effect so often wear colored t shirts under the blouses so I can leave the front partially open instead of pulling across the bust. Think casual professional. Not a lot of jewelry either.</p>
<p>I’ve been wearing a lot of capri’s, tunics, and Minnetonka leather slides.</p>
<p>I wear running skirts on the weekends- with a tshirt. To work, lower waisted khakis and polos or Limited, JCrew or Banana trousers with tailored shirts. We are business casual. I also have cute summer print skirts that I wear with polos or summer blouses. I always have a blazer handy if I get cold or want to appear a little more formal. With the crutches as an accessory for the forseeable future, my footwear is MBT sandals (expensive but worth it), Birkys or running shoes.</p>
<p>Ahhhhh, my area of expertise. It’s been over a year since the uber-skinny jeans came into style…now it’s the wide-legged pants and jeans. Still plenty of skinny legs though. Thr Tory Burch flats (the ballet ones with medallians) are knocked off so well…save your money for the chanel ones (or tuition). Also, pencil skirts, high waited and fit.</p>
<p>Weenie and BethieVt, we’re also fashion-challenged here in Buffalo. Everyone is so sweet about it, and appreciates if you go off in any tangent. If we had a designer jean it would say “No Judgment.” We’re just trying to keep each other amused, basically, living too far from NYC to be influenced by trends. We think “Bloomies” are roses.</p>
<p>So I do whatever I doggone please, lately: ankle length skirts of silk or rayon that move well, topped with long cotton T’s. Long tunics and unstructured blazers. Ethnic jewelry. Grrr – had to give away every pair of high heels forever, not politics but physical need, leaving just me and my walking shoes.<br>
To get dressed up, for weddings and such, I can’t do the cocktail dress thing, so I go sideways with a Salwaar Khameez.</p>
<p>I am definitely not skinny by any means, but once I bought a pair of the lower rise jeans (not super low), I never turned back. They are sooo much more comfortable than jeans that sit at my waist and dig in. When wearing these jeans, though, at my age, I only do it with a top that is longer and won’t ‘show’ anything that isn’t meant to be seen. </p>
<p>Ha! As I’m writing this and watching Live Earth, they just spanned the audience, and a younger girl was sitting on the shoulders of some guy. The shot they got was from the back, and you could see her crack on TV. Not a pretty site even if you have the figure!</p>
<p>p3t</p>
<p>I also wear Asian clothes to dress up. Indian, Pakistani, whatever–I feel so exotic. If no one else gets it, that’s ok too.</p>
<p>I’m tall- I wish they would put the extra inch in the torso my mom used to when she sewed for me when I was a kid- hard to not show skin ABOVE the waist when bending… My husband would still be shorter than I am if I were barefoot and HE wore heels… I’m one of the few women in Western dress at Indian dominated functions we go to, suits my different coloring… Also I value comfort over style always, if guys can dress comfortably, why can’t women? Maybe in my next life I’ll be fashionable, by then the styles may be to my liking and my body may be more average… When I worked I spent most of my time in scrubs… Howcum the cutest clothes are Petites, Women’s sizes are typically cut for short women, they only make a few of the larger shoe sizes… Back in my younger days I couldn’t afford clothes, now I’m too old for the youthful ones… Junior sizes always were too short-waisted… And, I’m too cheap to spend much on clothes. My only saving grace is that H and S don’t care about clothes either…</p>
<p>Aside from my personal lack of fashion, “What Not To Wear” would have years/decades of episodes in this area.</p>
<p>C’mon, fess up. Someone must be wearing those Crocs in some hideous color.</p>
<p>antilaw- second thread this morning where you have me laughing. My daughter and I can not understand the Croc-thing! Talk about hideous- only appropriate for keeping in the travel trailer to walk to the bathroom at the campground.
(and I’m speaking as one who considers herself the “heavy half” in marketing terms- meaning I tend to “buy” into the latest and greatest)</p>
<p>I don’t get the crocs thing, either. (although I wore clogs all through college and I guess they’re pretty homely, too.) I started being a little more interested in looking better when the kids got older (I wasn’t covered in peanut butter) and when I turned 50. I just didn’t want to give in to my age, I guess. I’m WAY too cheap for REAL fashion, per se, but try to keep in things that are flattering. Plus my mother gave me some very good advice which I’m trying to follow, “No black at your age dear. Its aging”. Having lived in NYC for a number of years I LOVE black, but H says I look like a widow and I think it does age me now. Any black crazies like me out there?</p>
<p>I like to wear black: black pants, black hoodies, black T’s, black shoes. If I had a look I’d like to emulate, it would be Steve Jobs, with his black (expensive) T-Shirts with (sometimes) a sports jacket over that.</p>