r/womensfashion

At what age is a woman supposed to stop dressing up and being seen?

I’m genuinely curious.
The other day I put on a lace dress, wore a silly Fourth of July hat and twirled around for a video.

I smiled. I laughed. I had fun.And it made me think about something.Somewhere along the way, women seem to be given an invisible set of rules about getting older.

Don’t dress too young.
Don’t show too much.
Don’t try too hard.
Don’t draw attention to yourself.
Age gracefully, but apparently not too visibly.
I must have missed the meeting where we all agreed to this. 😂

I’m 56 years old and I still love beautiful dresses. I love getting dressed up. I love being silly. I love dancing and twirling and smiling when I feel like smiling.
I’m not trying to look 25.
I don’t want to be 25.
I’ve already been her.
I actually rather like the woman I am now.

Maybe that’s the part I’ve been thinking about. As women get older, are we expected to slowly make ourselves less visible so everyone else feels more comfortable?
Because I don’t think I can do that.

My dress might be too lacy for someone.
My hat might be ridiculous.
My twirling might make somebody roll their eyes.
That’s okay.
I had a wonderful time.

And I’m beginning to think that one of the loveliest parts of getting older is realizing that you don’t have to attend every meeting where other people decide how you’re supposed to live.

So I’m curious.

At what age is a woman supposed to stop dressing up and being seen?
Because I think I missed that meeting too. 💜

Ladies, when you purchase a clothing item and leave a review on the product page, please add details about your body type and your size, measurements, etc. This information is so much more valuable than “…this dress is so cute! Will look great for my vacation to XYZ”. It’s really difficult to gauge a product and sizing with those types of reviews.

Also, if you say “size up/down”, please explain why. Is the bust too large? waist too wide? Just giving this directive with no context is very unhelpful.
This will be a great service to women everywhere.

Here's my problem- I live in Denver, Colorado, the most casual place on planet Earth. I wfh, so I spend most of my time in athleisure. I have some "professional" outfits for when I'm teaching/recording video, but they're like my muggle clothing and I would never wear those clothes in normal life. I am a big live music fan, mostly EDM and jam bands, so that's what most of the rest of my wardrobe consists of- clothes that are cute at shows, but not really in normal life.

My style leans towards lots of black, simple silhouettes, and statement jewelry- mainly large earrings. Kind of rocker with a little maybe boho mixed in. I'm 46 and I think I dress pretty age-appropriately. I don't mind body con dresses or skirts above my knees, but I don't tend to expose a ton of extra skin. (Would I wear this around my 20 y.o. son's friends? If the answer is "iffy" or "no", I don't wear it.) I have a large collection of flat brim baseball hats. lol I spend most of my life in Chacos, Birkenstocks, Vans, or Doc Martins. I always look appropriate and fine...in Colorado. But I laugh bc I feel like whenever I'm anywhere else, I just SCREAM "I'm from Colorado!!", but not in the stereotypical outdoorsy kind of way.

I have dresses and other items of clothing that are kind of my go-to for when I go to other cities like San Francisco or NYC, but they are more cool weather wardrobe items.

I've searched for Italy capsule wardrobe ideas, but I don't wear white or beige/tan -ever- and that seems to be what everyone is putting together. I should probably also mention that I'm over 6', and probably between a size 10/12

I don't want to only take black dresses and black flowy pants, but I'm kind of at a loss and am not really sure what other directions to go in. I want to look appropriate and fashionable, but also to look and feel like me, you know? I'm going for three weeks at the end of September, so I assume it will still be fairly warm.

I would love to hear some ideas and suggestions if you have them! TYIA!! ❤️

Hi guys! I dont really like to wear polyester or synthetic fibers. Mostly I wear cotton, merino wool, etc. I really like the stuff that Brandy Melville puts out as it is nice clothing and almost 100% cotton, however I am 4'11 and everything is wayyyyyy too long for me. All the new Nike and other sports brands are entirely polyester now. Was just wondering if anyone knew of any natural material brands that are suited for someone who is short? I have been searching and unable to find anything. Thanks in advance!

I really want to own a pair of jeans but I have struggled so hard to find any that work for me. I tried men's jeans but they look awkward on me in the lap area. Women's jeans often have too high a rise (I'm only 5'6'') and look ridiculous on me and also it is really hard to find women's jeans with a large percentage of cotton. The Levi's line I used to wear (311/312) is only 60% cotton and when I looked at it yesterday I just...they did not look like real jeans, more like jeggings. Looking for a midrise straight leg jean that has a very high cotton content with inseam options so I can cuff them. Budget would be...let's say under $200.

ok so a few days ago i posted here about matching sets from the manufacturing side. honestly i thought maybe 10 people would see it. it got 404k views and 682 upvotes which is… insane?? my english isnt great so i was kinda nervous posting here lol. thank you for being so welcoming.

i actually read every single comment (all 87 of them). and wow i learned a lot. here's what stood out:

sizing is the #1 pain by far. not "i wish this came in more colors." it's "i physically cannot buy matching sets because my top and bottom are different sizes." some of you said you just stopped trying. as someone who works in clothing manufacturing, this is genuinely embarrassing for the industry. we've been cutting corners on fit for years and you're the ones paying for it.

if it cant be worn separately, you wont buy it. someone compared a set you can only wear together to an ice cream machine — you use it twice a year. that metaphor hit hard lol. every piece needs to earn its spot in your closet.

pockets that arent real pockets? you notice. fake flaps, decorative seams, pockets that fit 3 coins — you see right through it. brands treat these as design details. you're asking for actual utility. there's a big gap there.

tall + slim is basically invisible to the industry. multiple people said if you're 5'7"+ and wear a small, nothing fits. petite is too short, regular is too wide. that's a whole group of customers brands just… forgot about.

genuine question since im taking notes for future projects — how many of you wear different sizes on top vs bottom? and if you're comfortable sharing, what's your inseam? just curious what the actual split looks like outside of factory size charts.

I am looking to buy a really nice dress as a gift for my GF but I have no idea about women's fashion and which brands to go for. My GF is a 30 yr old girl who wears XS or S size clothes generally and I am based out of the US.

Which brands would you recommend I look into to get her something nice in the $100-$200 budget range?

Extra brownie points if the packaging is really fancy or else I can gift wrap it up myself.

TIA!

Every summer I end up wearing the same thing as always a tshirt with short or jeans or just a simple skirt because its just too hot for anything else, like any jackets and layers are not really an option either even at night. I always feel like my outfits are kind of plain and thrown together. How do you make summer outfits look more stylisht? But most importantly whats the best material for these hot days ty!

Hello! I wanted to ask for some recommendations for wide, comfy shoes that could work with dresses or wide-leg flowy pants. I pretty much just dress for comfort and don’t like tight-fitting anything. Recommendations for dress sneakers, flats, sandals, etc are all appreciated :). I’m trying to update all my footwear to not aggravate the bunions.

I’m looking for something higher quality but low cost. So I’m not interested in Athleta/LuluLemon.

I used to be Old Navy activewear loyal and always bought the powersoft. The last set of leggings I bought from them I noticed the material has gone seriously downhill the seams are falling apart after only a few months of wear.

I need the tall sizes. I just tried Fabletics Powerhold and despised the material so I’m looking for other options.

Thanks in advance!

Hosting a discussion at a Women's Legislators event in North America. It is a Tech conference and I am at wits end on what to wear to the event.

I am from tech background and have never worked or met any women politicians. Help please?

hi ladies,

i (22f) am currently sitting here with yet another miserable sunburn despite reapplying sunscreen every hour and sitting in the shade at the beach. I go on a cruise to the Caribbean in a month and i would really like to not waste the whole time being burnt, but im also a Young Ho and want to look cute on my vacation lol. Any recommendations for CUTE and EFFECTIVE sun clothes/shirts? especially those that can be worn in the water and to go snorkeling? clearly just sunscreen isnt gonna work for me 🥲 also any advice? TIA!!!!!

love,
a very frustrated woman 🤣

What are your favorite female clothing stores where you find clothes that you’ll be able to wear for years?

Is it just me? I thought it would be just one season - then another - then still - when will these atrocities be sent to die? I don’t want to look like some weird milkmaid! When will it stop? Are simple set sleeves so hard? Why is the only choice puffed monstrosities or sleeveless?

Adding to that, can we please be rid of ruffles, frills and flounces on dresses, and high choking necklines? It’s summer, we need breathable fabric without multiple layers and nice free v necks or generous boat necks. Anything else is too hot. Why is it so hard to buy a cute and practical short sleeve summer dress these days?

I’ve worked as an undergraduate in a research lab for about 3 years now and I usually wear boring outfits to the lab, as I tend to not go every day of the week. Well I’m starting graduate school soon and I enjoy dressing up in cute outfits like with skirts or tank tops, but I struggle with lab appropriate outfits that aren’t just jeans and a plain t shirt. I’ve worn long skirts a few times before but I feel like they end up getting in the way a lot. Please share recommendations!

Tomorrow will be my 28F first day at a new job at a marketing agency.

I’d like to go in a bit more formal than jeans, so currently planning black slacks and a white cotton button up short sleeve shirt.

It’s a hot and steamy week 35C, so I’d love some recommendations for the rest of the week if you can!

i worked in garment manufacturing for a few years, mostly with factories in china. been reading some matching set discussions here and thought i'd share some stuff from the production side. a few things that surprised me when i first started: - a lot of matching sets from different brands come from the same factory. same fabric, same stitching, different label, sometimes 2x the price. if two sets look almost the same on different sites, honestly they probably are - cheaper sets with "XS-3XL" sizing are usually just one base pattern scaled up and down. thats why the fit feels weird at both ends. it was never actually designed for those sizes - fabric that looks good in photos is not always good to wear. some stuff looks amazing under studio lights but starts pilling after 3 washes. you cant really tell from the product photo alone not trying to bash any brand here. just thought this might help when youre deciding what to spend money on. my english is still not great, sorry if some wording is weird lol genuinely curious — what's the most frustrating thing when buying matching sets? fit, fabric, shipping, something else?

I’m trying to build a small office wardrobe after getting upgraded at work. I want fewer pieces but better ones linen shirts, trousers knits, dresses, maybe a blazer. Where should I start if I want to look a bit more put together at work?

Hello! I’m going on a trip to London this fall and I live in the desert so it never rains here 😂 Summer is the worst time to get a raincoat and I can’t find any in the stores, plus it’s hard to find them in winter anyway. I want something with a hood that’s long and ideally like $150 or less since I rarely need one here and I don’t want it to be super warm or anything but maybe a little warm. I love RainSisters but they’re waaaayyy too expensive. I’d like to ideally have something like that, it definitely needs to be waterproof. I’m hoping to get something with a belt and buttons like a trench coat or even more like a peacoat. Bows and puff sleeves would be awesome. I want it to be fitted and girly but even just a more fitted trench coat is fine. I don’t like olive green orange, or yellow but black, navy, pink, red, tan, blue, green, brown, or purple are fine. Patterns are okay too. I really just love the silhouettes of the fit and flare RainSisters coats. Wolf & Badger has some nice ones too. Finding something similar would be amazing. Thank you so much!