In the summer, I am mostly a homebody, sitting in front of my computer and teaching Creative Writing and Introduction to Literature for several hours a day. But, I ventured out into the world in this ensemble. It was the first time all month that I could tell by the looks I got from others that perhaps I'd gone too far. It was perfectly comfy for a day of running various errands in the big city (Kansas City), BUT the sidewise glances with nary a comment or a compliment subtly let me know that I'd finally GONE. TOO. FAR.
I am not especially critical of looks I see on anyone in public although I find it tremendously interesting to watch people and make inferences about their life circumstances (this is how fiction writers think). I can only think of one look I have ever seen in public that I felt was over the top. A pair of aged twin sisters were in my local Walmart in MATCHING lilac polyester pantsuits. It was obvious that they had just come from the hairdressers and they were shopping together. Their look was memorable to me; I trust I did not embarass them with my gawking.
This raises the question in my mind of how any of us is to know. If you are experimenting with a new look and you can get beyond the initial self-consciousness, what cues tell YOU that you've somehow made a spectacle of yourself?
I love all the bright colors! I'm wearing a bright red skirt and a bright blue top today though, so I may a little biased in favor of brightness. I have yet to go "over the top," but I imagine that it involves a lot of awkward staring. Really, I think that until you're in a matching lilac pantsuit with your twin sister, you're probably in safe sartorial territory :)
ReplyDeletewww.academiasartorial.blogspot.com
Terri, to my eye you look far from "over the top" - nothing's too tight, too short or too revealing. Your colors make you visible, in a very pretty way.
ReplyDeleteBut I know what you are saying - it's a feeling, not a fact, right? I *feel* it when I've overstepped my own loose guidelines. I want to go home and change when it happens.
I don´t get this at all. Only, if you walked with the fan in font of your face all the time, I would feel funny. But maybe you only opened it up for picture?
ReplyDeleteI'm with all others thus far: it's all working for me. It's bright, but it's fun and fully coordinated.
ReplyDeleteAnd I generally have similar experiences to yours: not until I'm out in the world do I realize I've gotten it wrong. Days can seem VERY long in these cases!
Really? You got sideways glances wearing that adorable outfit?
ReplyDeleteMy oh my. Well, you wouldn't get sideways glances in San Francisco, that's for sure. Plus, we love our matching twins:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=9839
let em look...they just don't know that color blocking is all the rage now. i think you look fabulous...if i had seen you on the street, i would have paid you a compliment!
ReplyDeleteSee, I don't think you've gone too far at all. Then again, I've paired brights for my EBEW look too. And one of my co-workers called it "really shiny" so maybe that was *my* cue. I don't know. I would totally wear this outfit.
ReplyDeleteI love this look - these colors are fabulous together! I get stares quite a bit because I work downtown, where somehow everyone is still wearing a suit every day and tend to stick out... I'm used to it, though!
ReplyDeleteI'm not seeing you go too far at all. I'm quite taken with all the lovely bright colours. Any sideways looks you got say more about the looker, than the lookee, who looks pretty snazzy to me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's the snippy teenage punk who lives on in my heart, but I actively enjoy it when I can tell if somebody thinks I've gone over the top.
Usually they stare - or point and laugh if they are especially rude - who cares. If you like it wear it I say, those who can't deal are not interested enough in expressing themselves through dress and think we should all be just as uninteresting - yaboo sucks to them. I think you look wonderful in that outfit! The colours are so great together.
ReplyDeleteI love this look. The color blocking and great yellow accents are completely original and stunning. I'm sure any looks you got were from people trying to think if they could copy your style. - Katy
ReplyDeletePS I totally am with you on the people watching and analyzing as a writer. I'm constantly making up life stories in my mind as I walk by people!
Yes, you look colorful, but in a good, fun, stylish way! I don't think you went overboard here at all. Anytime you dress yourself in bold, bright colors I think people are more likely to look your way, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. Maybe they were thinking, wow, she's brave to wear those bright colors! Or that looks good--why do I always wear so much black? Sure, there are always people who think negatively, but I'm sure there were some admiring looks in there too. I think you look great!
ReplyDeleteI love all the colors! I'm a big thrifting fan too and actually host a thrifting link up on my blog every week. I'd love for you to join in sometime!
ReplyDelete-Meagan
http://spunkychateau.blogspot.com
love your color blocking! green, blue and yellow together is perfection!
ReplyDeletehmm...i sometimes think that just by being self-conscious of a look i can make a spectacle of myself. i don't think people are really thinking ALL that much about me, it's just me thinking that they're thinking about me :) an outfit looks best when i wear it with confidence!
loving the twins in the lilac suits!
spinning-threads.blogspot.com
I don't think you were over the top at all. I am thinking like Katy Rose, they were probably thinking how good you looked and wanted to copy you.
ReplyDelete"gone too far" nothing. you look awesome--truly--and i canNOT believe nobody came running up to you to compliment that fabulous yellow belt. and everything else here. love this.
ReplyDeletei don't know when i've gone too far. but now i wish i had a twin sister and a couple of polyester suits. THEN i'd be somebody.
-brittney
http://adayinlifetoo.blogspot.com (my daily outfit blog; come on by if you'd like!)
It's called color blocking, Kansas City! Deal with it! ha ha. I'm trying to get more color going in my mostly neurtalish wardrobe so I applaud you. At the end of the day, who cares what people think. You've always got your Blogger friends. :)
ReplyDeleteI adore this colors combination! When I dress for certain events I purposely tried to make a fool of myself. The way I see it why not have some crazy fun with your clothing because people are going to say something good or bad either way.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this outfit. Unless it looks more garish IRL, which I doubt, I think it's a win.
ReplyDeleteI do hate the feeling that I've gotten it wrong....
I think you look great! Could your feeling of discomfort be more related to your own inner preference for neutral and unobtrusive shades of grey, and maybe the looks were of admiration?
ReplyDeletePeople where I live don't really stare much,but sometimes if I can be bothered taking a photo of myself the picture can be a shock! Sometimes I think I look alright, but my outfit in a photo just doesn't look quite as good as I thought...
I don't think that you went too far at all! I love this! Absolutely love this. As for what prompts me? Sadly, it's an after the fact (after I've made a complete fool of myself!).
ReplyDeleteI don't think that you went too far at all! I love this! Absolutely love this. As for what prompts me? Sadly, it's an after the fact (after I've made a complete fool of myself!).
ReplyDeleteLove the colors. Love the ensemble. Be yourself!! I'm wearing a skirt today that would make heads spin when it comes to color--the one I call my Friday Kahlo Goes to Oz skirt. In decades past, I would have shrunk from wearing it for fear of reaction--now I think "this is what I want to wear, so I am wearing it!"
ReplyDeleteYou asked "If you are experimenting with a new look and you can get beyond the initial self-consciousness, what cues tell YOU that you've somehow made a spectacle of yourself?' I guess at this point I am CUEless and CLUEless.
You did a GREAT job with this outfit! I love this whole look. It's not over the top at all!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE all of the bright colors! You look lovely, bright, and cheery. I don't think you look "over the top" at all. I think those people are just jealous of how amazing you look and how brave you are to wear vibrant colors, in an excellent way!
ReplyDeleteWell, there are spectacles, and spectacles, you know? I don't think you've gone too far, personally, however, the whole 'colour blocking' trend might be unfamiliar to a lot of people and you might have surprised them. It is a new look, after all (Well, new-ish; I daresay I rarely know much about REALLY NEW trends. I'm always the last kid on the block to find things out. Never mind. I think the blue, yellow and green work really well. They may have just been...intrigued.
ReplyDeleteI am really tall and get a few stares when I wear heels. Sometimes that tells me that 6-inch platforms may be a bit high. But I love them anyway. They're fun.
ReplyDeletegone too far by whose standards is the question. people who don't focus on clothing/style/fashion/trends the way we do will always give us weird looks. doesn't mean there is anything wrong with what we are wearing! i think this is a fantabulous use of color and see nothing wrong with the outfit.
ReplyDeletei guess when my sister says something, i may have gone too far...but i try to be my own judge and edit before i walk out the door!
[oomph.]
Terri, You know what...I like it! A lot...I love solid shades together and these blend beautifully. My daughter would love to take your classes. She'll be a freshman this fall and one of her classes it Introduction to Fiction. She is so excited. Have a good weekend! Debbie http://thriftygirlvintage.com
ReplyDeleteEmily--I saw your outfit and it has Rags' July seal of approval! My day of wearing lilac pantsuits is undoubtedly coming, although I don't have a twin sister.
ReplyDeletePatti--Well, I persisted in the outfit, even when social contact and the once over began making me nervous...
Metscan--Mette, you are too funny. The fan was closed and in my bag! But, yes, it was a "prop."
A-Dubs--Yes, once or twice on campus, my little voice suggested I was trying too hard.
Susan--Do you know that I have never been to San Francisco? We keep discussing taking a train trip that direction and then driving north along the Oregon coast.
two birds--perhaps we need to start a city entirely inhabited by style bloggers! Thanks for visiting Rags.
ReplyDeleteGracey--I really, really liked your EBEW look, but then blue & yellow has long been a favorite combination of mine.
FutureLint--Yes, small town Kansas isn't the place to make fashion statements.
Ana--I kinda enjoy it too when I think I've challenged sidewise observers, but I don't do it very often.
Veshoevius--I wonder if you have ever read Katherine Mansfield's short story, "Miss Brill,". It describes the effect of rude comments in a devastating way.
Katy Rose--Yes, I felt I had to explain fiction writer's habits as sometimes a simple assignment to my students to observe closely makes them think I'm asking them to judge.
ReplyDeleteShea--You're right. I didn't actually know what they were thinking. Perhaps I wasn't as fully over my own self-consciousness as I thought.
Meagan--I will definitely join your thrifting Thursdays and I have just the item for the first post. Hope I can swing it this next Thursday. Thanks for visiting Rags.
Claire--I'm truly trying to get to a place where I care less about what people might think...but it is a process.
SheWhoAccessories--I prefer to think your way, and I don't have telepathy.
Your outfit is stunning, Terri, and very fashion-forward with the jewel tones! I'd totally wear it, even in our small town. I'm thinking people were staring just because you look so awesome. :)
ReplyDeleteBrittney--thanks for visiting Rags. Perhaps I would have felt better if my little sis and I had dressed identically for a day of shopping. SHE does have beautiful twin daughters. thanks for visiting Rags.
ReplyDeleteMaking50Fabulous--I'm so excited that you visited. You're right not everyone spends hours on the internet (or reading magazines) to learn these things.
Ofelia--I LIKE your approach. Need to work on strengthening that in myself.
LawyerDoll--Well, I thought it was perfect for a day of casual summer errands...before I stepped out.
Carolyn--In some ways you're right. I've challenged myself to do these bright colors...though I do prefer a subtler palette.
Kari--but I've seen you poke fun at your outfits and I couldn't see the problem. I really don't want to fish for compliments...
ReplyDeleteApril--your description of the Frida Kahlo goes to Oz skirt makes me wish you kept a style blog. Your writing has style in buckets!
StyleJourney--thanks for visiting Rags and for leaving kind words behind.
Kirstin--thanks for the support. I'm one of those folks who won't say anything if I can't say something nice. I think I interpreted the lack of comment that day as disapproval.
Shelley--thanks for the support. In theory these colors DO go together, but they are all fairly vivid too.
taimitogetdressed--Welcome to Rags. I'm only 5'8" and heels make me self-conscious as well.
ReplyDeleteoomph--yes, I need to have a live-in expert. I can't trust DH to tell me as he is happy with the tube top I've been wearing around the house today.
Debbie--Best wishes to your daughter on her first semester of college.
The Waves--many thanks for the vote of support. It may be that I have simply done a lot of experimenting in a very short period of time.
ReplyDeleteWhoever was gawking was only doing it because this is creative, fresh,unusual and fun. What a fantastic riot of color you've put together here!
ReplyDeleteI admit that I often think, "That person looks terrible!" But I would never say it!
ReplyDeleteI tend to only think positive comments about styles I love as I pass by. I don't really feel any negative comments although I may wish I had the courage that some people have to wear exactly what they want, whatever shape.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I love this fab colour-blocking outfit! Re cues - people staring and sometimes whispering? Or sometimes my friends tell me 'that passer-by said...' when it's a positive comment. Mainly, if people hate what I'm wearing, it only makes me more determined to carry my head high.
ReplyDeleteGone too far with this outfit? I disagree. I love the color blocking. You need to bring this look to NYC, you'd have Bill Cunningham taking your picture! (His latest 'On the Street' features the color blue.)
ReplyDeleteI always feel self-conscious unless I am in the most invisible of clothes.
If you do visit San Francisco, let's definitely have a blogger meet-up with Lisa!
ReplyDeleteSometimes I can wear something that I think is totally 'out there' style wise and no one will bat an eye, and then something pretty normal like a statement necklace will get me all sorts of looks and comments.
ReplyDeleteI think your color blocking here is quite nice, very summery and certainly not too crazy.
Chic on the Cheap
Vanessa--Actually, no one gawked that I could see...but I was uncomfortably self-conscious that day.
ReplyDeleteWendyB--your graciousness precedes you.
SmallFabric--yes, this year has been about experimentation, and a bit of crazy courage. There are many things I would never have worn without the world of style blogging.
Comtesse--Well, I do carry my head high--what option do we have. I notice when I am out and about with my youngest daughter that often people are outwardly RUDE towards her.
Jill--Invisible clothes are my comfortable choices, too. It would be cool though to find myself snapped by BC's camera!
Susan--I am fairly certain that my trip to SF is indefinitely delayed for reasons that will become very apparent in mid-August.
Lyddie--thank for for the vote of confidence.