When Clothing Designs Don’t Make Sense
When I thrifted this sweater dress I had no idea that it would be like wearing ten very well fed long haired cats wrapped around my body.
It keeps my core hot and my arms cold. I tried wearing a long sleeve tee underneath but it looked odd.
I love the colours, the shape, the collar-I-can-hide-my-face-in on this sweater dress but I have a feeling this may not stay in my closet for long.
My body temperature is already all over the place, I don’t need ill designed clothing turning me into a source of geothermal energy.
I could supply my neighbourhood with heating for a year wearing this dress while my arms turn into icicle appendages.
While I adore the look of thigh high boots I’m not keen on the elephant leg look.
I feel like I constantly need to be pulling these boots up to flatten out the wrinkles. I thought they were going to cover up my wrinkly knees! Now I have wrinkly knees and ankles.
I figured out a way how to avoid this look here. The only issue is people might inadvertently catch a glimpse of your garter belt. This could either be considered very sexy or very weird depending on your level of confidence. The older we get the more likely it will be construed as weird.
Sometimes the clips don’t always stay fastened as they aren’t super strong. I need to find a garter belt with alligator clips. Or maybe Mel can make me some extra long clips I can just attach to my bra straps! Ha ha! Mind you, I don’t need anything extra pulling down my chesticles, gravity has already worked its magic in that department. Thanks for nothing gravity!
Update!
I’ve found a new solution here…I think it would work better than mine although it does require some DIY skills and a bit of time. Also, you will need to add a velcro strip into each of your boots. I’m going to try this solution and will let you know how it goes. The added bonus with this method is you can wear the boots with jeans.
I’ve since sold this jean trench coat. I own another one that is longer. They are one of my favourite pieces to wear as they work with everything.
No chesticle clips required!
How much do I love a piece of clothing that doesn’t require a portable fan, a case of clips or a small instruction booklet on how to deal with people you’ve offended?
Do you ever wonder about ill conceived clothing and how you’re supposed to wear it?
Have you tried any successful methods to keep up your thigh high boots?
Also…I will be exhibiting at the Toronto Vintage Clothing Show Mar 3-4 at the Queen Elizabeth Building, Exhibition Place in Toronto. If you are in the area stop by and say hi. It’s guaranteed to be another great show.
Linking up with the lovely Patti over at Visible Monday.
Quote of the week: “Thanks for nothing, gravity.” Word, word, word. This dress *looks* amazing, as do the boots, but will you need pre-chilled underthings? Knock em dead at the show, I know you’ll shine. xox
-Patti
http://notdeadyetstyle.com
Oh yes- short sleeved or sleeveless sweaters and I don’t mix either! If I’m cold, it’s my arms that need warming up, not my core!
That is an ingenious idea for the boots too- I don’t have any over the knee boots, but I can see how frustrating that would be!
Armlets, Suzanne. Then you just need to wear elastics on your upper arms AND on your thighs. Nunh. You could attach the mitten clips to your undies but, uh, yeah, that would not work very well. Hahaha. I have cashmere/wool designer hotpants. ???. We should charge for the heat coming off our bodies, right? We’d get rich! Warm sleeveless dresses would fly off the shelves for other women wanting to get in on the action. Nunh. Hahaha. You’re going to knock ’em out at the vintage show!
Well you look absolutely amazing even if the dress doesn’t make sense. I often think that certain trendy looks don’t make any sense. I would never have a blanket scarf on while wearing cropped jeans and the resulting bare ankles/feet, or shorts but also a jacket. Sleeveless knits have never made sense to me and definitely not thick ones. Sleeveless garments in winter don’t make sense to me, I suppose. Just gotta say those are very stylish looking elephant legs.
Verdict: great looking outfit-better you than me!
mwhaha, it’s a lovely dress and it fits you like a dream with your red boots!, you look gorgeous!, but it’s a shame that it’s not a (minimally) sensible or comfortable dress!
I totally agree with Melanie: armlets! You always could cut out the sleeves from another garment to sew them on this dress!, but it would be a high-end DIY.
In the ‘designers nonsense Winter edition’, I think that a turtleneck and no-sleeves knit dress is the worst thing. In the second position is the ‘long sleeved with a ridiculously deep neckline’ dress. Really uncomfortable too!
besos
That is a very Missoni looking type dress!
I love the thigh high boots and if it’s any consolation my OTK boots do the same thing; wrinkle round the ankles – I just keep on hitching them up because they do keep my legs lovely and warm!
And as for weird clothing; yes I’ve had a few. Mysterious shaped tunic that looked weird no matter what you did to it; a longer length jacket that looked lopsided even though it wasn’t an asymmetrical jacket; sandals with lumps under the heels…good job they were all from charity shops and didn’t cost the earth!
tight high boots would not make sense with my midi skirts ;-D
@designers: out there are good and worse ones like in every other industry – and success has not much to do with the quality of the actual garments……
that dress got bought twice, after all 😀
xxx
It’s a lovely dress, but I do see your point, Suzanne! I’ve never really understood the use of sleeveless sweaters or sweater dresses. Especially with a high collar. You’re right, it doesn’t make sense. And although I love the look of thigh high boots, I’ve never considered the impracticalities. The thought of those extra long clips to attach them to your bra staps made me crack up. Oh dear! Love the jean trench coat. I think I need one of those now. xxx
A high necked dress in a heavy knit, but with no sleeves? Wtf. Love those sassy red boots!
Theresa
Lovely dress, but yes a stupid design flaw. We did have a phase when “armery” was a fashion here – well I say fashion, but maybe not exactly mainstream – anyway it was designed to be used in situations like this but honestly it crashed and burned almost as soon as it hit the shops. And don’t get me started on thigh boots! I have still to find a pair that don’t make me look like one of Santa’s helpers.
Anna x
Showing garters is sexy imo!!! Or you could grow your legs fatter to keep the boots up!!!! LOL!!! I hate when clothing doesn’t work quite r…
I love the colours and the huge neck on your knitted tunic. Like Beate says, there’s often a reason why good quality stuff ends up in charity shops. If you love wearing it I’d do as Monica suggests and make my own sleeves (or cut them off something else and make a Frankenstein dress!)
I wore thigh length boots in the 1980s when I used to wear leggings as trousers and micro mini dresses. I spent so much time hoisting the damn things up I ended up taking them to the charity shop.
Like the idea of a Velcro strip. xxx
Your velcro strips sound like the boot bra (although I don’t know this for certain, just what I imagined the boot bra to be). I have 2 pair of OTK boots like this, and my other 2 stay up just fine. I’ve vaciallated whether to try the boot bra (and now that I’m writing this, I’m not even 100% sure that’s what it’s called….geez,a mess this morning…)
I can totally see why you picked up that sweater dress thought. The pattern and colors are just so lovely. One of my friends always loves the short sleeve sweater dresses, but I’m more like you. I need coverage for my arms, because I’m always cold.
XOOX
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
Ha! Apart from the humor, this post reminds me of how different most men are from women. Most men (your hubby excluded) don’t care a whit about how their clothes look and only how the items feel. Here you’re describing that in a way that a guy would get. Women, dealing with the comfort of clothes, go a step further and want them to look nice, too. That’s a lot of work. Women try so much harder than men!
P.S., I was thinking recently that you are one of my most cherished friends. Someone I respect, admire and care about. Not sure how to convey this properly so I’m just blurting it out. 🙂
So, first, I’ve never understood the following: Sleeveless or short-sleeved sweaters, faux clothes (like where it looks like a blouse and a vest but it’s all one piece), pantsuits (I have to pee and let that whole thing lie on the bathroom floor?), short sleeved blazers (although I own one that *is* great for a statement sleeve blouse) and dickies. Just, No.
Secondly, I really like the OTK boots that wrinkle at the knee, and I even have a pair of jeggings (they are black) that are extra long on purpose and I like to have that happen at the knee right above my boots. It’s a sci-fi / moto type look that I find delightful. But for me, OTK boots tend to fail because they won’t stay above my knee or they give me a thigh muffin top. So I will be very interested in your experiments to get them to stay up….
As always, you are stunning and amazing! XOXO
Suzanne
I do really love the dress on you, but I know where you are coming from.. I feel like a furnace most of the time! You had me laughing about hearing the neighborhood!!I can relate 🤔😁 Last night it was 55 in the bedroom and I loved it, perfect sleeping conditions!
Don’t know why a designer would not add sleeves to a sweater dress..
Oh and your jean trench looks fabulous♥️
It’s too bad about the flawed design, because the dress really does look great on you. I don’t understand sleeveless or short sleeved sweaters either. I would wear a solid colour (blue?) arm warmers with that dress and then you wouldn’t have to worry about any added bulk on your torso.
I’ve never owned or wore a pair of thigh high boots, so I can’t help you with that one!
Despite sll of the comfort flaws in this outfit it LOOKS fabulous!! Very Missoni too! How many times have you seen outrageously uncomfortable and impractical designs on a runway or magazine??? I have even wondered if some designers have a suppressed hatred of women!
There is however… something intriguingly conflicted about a super covered neck and naked arms perhaps?
You look terrific in this outfit top to bottom. Call it a “poser” and pass on dress but keep the boots.
PS. I think Ally’s blurt is wonderful.
I really don’t mind the “wrinkles” of the boots. They clearly aren’t wrinkles and nobody will think you have elephant legs. The only thing which would bother me, is when I have to hoist them up all the time because they drop. The velcro solution wouldn’t work for me, because anything I have with velcro, like the end of belts which I don’t want to flap, always cause damage. While putting the belt on, the velcro always manages to get hold of a delicate blouse, skirt or thigh highs and ruin them. Also, the velcro band might be elastic, it would drop down anyway.
As for the “makes no sense design”…. I am so with you. I could never understand how woman could wear boots in summer with a tanktop. Or a dress in winter with no sleeves. Today you proved my suspicion that such things don’t work.
And you wrote this post so well. Had to laugh several times. Thank you.
Greetje
The sweater dress is drop dead gorgeous. The red boots are fabulous too, and I admire that you wear them so well.
I understand what you mean by being a furnace. Long-term steroids have done that to me as well. Plus the itch factor. As beautiful as this is I would not wear it for long. But perhaps you could wear with long gloves ? To keep your hands and wrists warm. It is so very stunning maybe it’s worth a try.
I almost recently bought a sequined top by a coveted designer. But the sequins were so scratchy and there was no zipper. I realized that if I were to pull ton over my head I would probably scratch myself tans bleed onto the costly garment..
So I know what you mean by ill conceived clothing. It also, was beautiful. Have a wonderful week.
I am away on vacation but I am trapped in paradise, it seems. A big storm is coming to New York as our flight arrives. Eek.
❤️❤️❤️
Elle
https://theellediaries.com
I loved the dress, the colors are amazing, but you are right, if you can supply energy to the whole neighborhood (I love your jokes!), then it’d not that good, with the arms being cold. I loved the boots and the jeans coat – it was a great solution. But having 20 well fed cats around is really what you said, design that doesn’t make sense – although it looks great! Wishing you a nice week!
DenisesPlanet.com