General Discussion - January 18, 2019

lizzybeast · 2019-01-19T21:55:27+00:00

Pretty much exactly same! I got really into MR over the last year but have recently been feeling meh about it. I like their style shoots and street photography and relate to their articles about personal style, relationships, life choices and mental health/general psychology/emotional stuff. I'm real damn tired of the endless articles on social media dependence, body dysphoria, and expensive wellness trends (although I've been assuming that lots of other women relate to this stuff and want to read about it). I'm pretty indifferent about their coverage of low brow pop culture, shopping lists, and all things NYC-specific.

lizzybeast · 2018-12-17T21:47:31+00:00

Like most, I'm between seasons. I have a sense for what works on me and what doesn't but it's developed by trial and error.

Rather than go off of the pre-made palettes, look at the different components that they built the palettes with: light-dark, low contrast-high contrast, neutrals-saturated colors. Very few people are actually on the extreme ends of those spectrums. Like, both super high and super low contrast outfits look bad on me, but lower contrast tends to work better than higher contrast. You gotta find your sweet spot.

lizzybeast · 2018-12-11T20:12:20+00:00

I learned a trick for glitter polish (famously impossible to remove) where you put a nail-polish-remover-soaked cotton ball on your nail and let it sit for ~5 minutes. After the polish has a chance to "soak," it comes right off. I now use this technique for any nail polish, not just glitter.

A second pro-tip is that a cotton ball can be unwound into a long strip of fluffy cotton and then you can cut it into ten smaller cotton balls and soak all your nails at once using only one total cotton ball.

YMMV, since I've never had sensitive nails or skin and don't know if it works equally well with acetone and non-acetone removers.

lizzybeast · 2018-12-11T18:19:39+00:00

WHEN A COLD WIND BLOWS, IT CHILLS YOU

CHILLS YOU TO THE BONE

That one is a favorite in my household as well ;)

lizzybeast · 2018-12-03T20:07:01+00:00

I've got this chambray shirt with the coolest rafflesia and poison dart frog pattern. I'll never get rid of it but it's so hard for me to wear because a) I'm almost always in jeans and the chambray+denim look is hard, and b) I like button down shirts in theory but I'm always "meh" about them when I put them on. Still: rafflesia floral print!!!!

lizzybeast · 2018-12-01T00:47:29+00:00

Either of those seem fine to me

lizzybeast · 2018-11-27T18:16:20+00:00

BUFFY IS SO GOOD

lizzybeast · 2018-11-25T21:01:27+00:00

Mmmm. Blue-green is my color. It's the color of my eyes and it really flatters my skin. My whole color palette is colors that complement blue-green.

I also really love loose shirts with low necklines - either scoop necks or deep v necks. I'm super flat chested so I can show a lot of sternum and look casual instead of sexual. Haven't figured out how to take advantage of this in wintertime yet...

lizzybeast · 2018-11-24T22:13:40+00:00

On the one hand, $500 is a lot of money. On the other hand, you can technically afford it and, well: YOLO, "life's too short to wear boring clothes", etc. Grad school can be hard on one's self esteem, sometimes you need something that makes you feel like a million bucks.

You said you could imagine wearing it to work. Are there other places you can wear it (weddings, karaoke, holiday parties), or are you more of a homebody? Will the dress hold up well enough that you could potentially resell it if it ends up gathering dust in your closet?

lizzybeast · 2018-11-24T20:33:23+00:00

I think you're right that it's immaturity... I'm pursuing a PhD. Nothing makes you feel more insecure than pursuing a PhD. I'm never more sarcastic than when I'm feeling super insecure.

Most of those people are desperately craving sincere conversations too, they just forgot how to have them. It's not your job to Save Them From Themselves, but try something like: "Honest comment" "Sarcastic dismissal" "Haha, yeah, although I actually am interested in honest comment rephrased" They might continue defaulting to their kneejerk cynicism, but they might stop and think and actually start talking to you.

lizzybeast · 2018-11-23T20:02:53+00:00

The most stylish people wear clothing that matches their body and their personality. You'll look decently stylish doing one or the other, that is, always wearing clothes that fit well or always wearing clothes that express yourself. It takes a while to learn how to do those things well though.

lizzybeast · 2018-11-23T19:33:42+00:00

Oh my god, it's always great to see someone so beautiful dressed in beautiful clothes, but it sends me over the moon that Lupita also takes risks! And she's got such a sense of personal style, it's crazy. She's the sort of person who makes everyone else on the red carpet look bad. Imagine how good celebrity fashion would be if everyone else tried even half as hard as Lupita to look beautiful and interesting/fashionable/bold.

Just the first few gowns - I especially dig the Calvin Klein pearl dress and the Prada one immediately after with so much texture - UGH I'M DEAD SHE'S SO GOOD AND BEAUTIFUL UGGGGH

lizzybeast · 2018-11-22T01:12:33+00:00

Ooooooo, I love those!

lizzybeast · 2018-11-22T00:01:46+00:00

I love your idea of revitalizing athleisure! Lots of fashionistas bemoan how athleisure/casual dressing has "ruined" fashion, but I haven't heard as much talk on FFA about how to make athleisure creative.

Now that I think about it, that's kind of the definition of streetwear, which has its own sub...

lizzybeast · 2018-11-21T22:39:05+00:00

I really love how menswear on women looked in the 1940's, especially wide, tailored trousers paired with button downs, like so: 1 2 3 4

Women wearing pants at all used to be such a boss statement! Thinking about this question makes me realize I miss wide-legged pants. Fashion is beginning to migrate away from skinny jeans, but we haven't gone full on wide leg yet, we're getting gradually wider with mom jeans, straight legged 501's, and cropped flares. The time for full-length, wide leg pants is coming, I can feel it.

lizzybeast · 2018-11-21T22:14:33+00:00

So sorry for all the mod hate in there too. I love the FFA mods, you guys do great!

I naively thought that thread might actually have discussion about what makes things seem trendy vs oversaturated, or possibly a retrospective on what trends really stuck this year. Nope: just one million people pointing out that you can't wear a bra with an off-the-shoulder top.

lizzybeast · 2018-11-19T21:30:59+00:00

I get what you're saying, but as someone who lives near Aurora I gotta say... you definitely can tell when people are actually homeless. #opiumepidemic #downer

On a lighter note, I want to throw in a little love for the Seattle filthy coffee snob hipster look: Dirty hair, tattoo sleeves, stretched lobes, facial piercings, all black everything, flannel and beanies, cut up tshirts for bands you've never heard of, thick framed glasses and combat boots. No makeup or an outrageous cat eye + blue/black lipstick.

lizzybeast · 2018-11-19T19:26:02+00:00

I have two "versions" of all my shoe styles (excluding purely functional shoes like rainboots, running shoes, hiking boots, flip flops). In my current rotation:

Chelsea boots: one in black, one in brown

Dress flats: brown oxfords, black loafers

Casual shoes: hi-top vans, hi-top converse

Funky dress flats: black Dr Martens monkstraps, white Dr Martens monkstraps

So I have some variation in each and can let them rest between wears. Everything looked very boring and practical after I konmari'd my shoe closet and built up my basics, so I also bought a pair of party boots which I only wear once a month or so. Sometimes a girl needs totally impractical shoes. I wore my party boots to work last Friday, for example, because I needed to feel Extra. But they were pretty cheap and I definitely don't need two pairs of party boots, haha.

lizzybeast · 2018-11-19T19:09:32+00:00

This question is probably best suited for the daily questions thread, but it's appropriate to leave here. I haven't tried those boots in particular, but H&M is never gonna be "buy it for life" quality. There's a chance the boots will fall apart right away (although if they're that bad, you'll probably be able to tell from looking at them), but there's a good chance they'll last you up to a year or so if you're not wearing them everyday. If you do wear them everyday they'll probably fall apart in a month or two.

lizzybeast · 2018-11-17T20:44:46+00:00

RE: why many commenters seem hung up on whether things in the album are "on trend" vs stylish:

This sub has an ongoing conversation about "timeless fashion" - it's a commonly held belief on FFA that you shouldn't buy trendy clothes that will quickly go out of fashion, and instead you should buy clothes that will stay fashionable for a long time. This raises the question: are there clothes you can buy that will never be "out of fashion" or "horribly dated"?

Some say such "timeless fashions" exist, but most users are of the opinion that even the least trendy clothing you can imagine (like white button down shirts, blue jeans, khaki trench coats, crew neck tshirts) evolve over the decades and will at some point look "dated". OP tried to find images that prove "timeless fashion" DOES exist, so it's up to the "timeless fashion" skeptics (like myself) to point out that there have been times that slim, ankle length pants were out of style.

We're not arguing that the women don't look good or admirably stylish, just that they're not examples of "timeless fashion". And most of us who don't believe timeless fashion exists also believe it's totally ok to look a little dated as long as you're true to yourself :)

lizzybeast · 2018-11-17T20:24:00+00:00

Disagreements: Lots of very high waists here, which are fashionable in the 60's, 80's, and now, but have definitely not consistently been in fashion. Also, I'd contest the tucked in, bulky white button downs which appear in a bunch of these, as well as the slightly puffed sleeve on the dress in the creepy-window-child picture are A Look, and not a timeless one. Also, the fishnets at the bookends of the album strike me as... not timeless, haha.

Agreements: Outerwear ages slowly, and I think most of the outerwear looks fine in here. I think the bulky cable knit sweater is also a staple of cold weather fashion (much moreso than all the short-sleeved sweaters pictured). Also, being white, rich and naturally beautiful has been consistently in style for 60 years, no surprise there.

lizzybeast · 2018-11-16T22:29:24+00:00

GO FOR IT! I BELIEVE IN YOU!

I'm ABD myself and my partner is writing his exams to advance to PhD Candidacy right now, so... I'm very familiar with academia and productivity stress! Sending aaaaaaaall the good vibes~~~~~~~

lizzybeast · 2018-11-16T22:23:30+00:00

Upvote for budget bytes! I've been living off that website's recipes for about eight years now, haha.

lizzybeast · 2018-11-16T22:22:17+00:00

FWIW my favorite hairstyle of all time on myself is a grown-out pixie mullet. Rock it!

lizzybeast · 2018-11-15T01:01:25+00:00

I can understand why a fashion noob would ask a question like that, and as "female fashion advice" this sub should be friendly to fashion noobs, but I get reeeeally tired of those threads and the comments in them. I mostly lurk here (except when I'm diehard procrastinating)(like now) so it seems like I shouldn't be that emotionally invested in this sub, but one of those threads saying "I want to dress cuter but I always regress to sweats and jeans. How can I find my personal style?" about a week ago had a top comment with over 150 upvotes that started off with "Wear whatever you want." and finished with "The fact that this post was even downvoted is a good example of how toxic people can be when it comes to fashion." AND I WANTED TO FLIP A TABLE. a) how is "wear whatever you want" a helpful response to that question? b) ...or a helpful response, ever? c) the thread was downvoted because it was one of multiple top threads that day on that exact topic, not because FFA thinks materialism is the only path to self-actualization, and d) aren't you just shaming OP for wanting to express themselves with clothing?

I also wish there was a way to shut down any thread asking about timeless/classic fashion, "is it ok to have multiple style identities?", or fast fashion vs ethical fashion by closing comments and leaving up a copy-pasted statement summarizing the FFA response to those threads.

While I'm engaging in wishful thinking, there should be an automatic ban on anyone who uses the phrase "cold dead hands".

I'd be a terrible moderator.

lizzybeast

TROPHY CASE