MetaChat - I need your fashion opinion

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24 April 2008

I need your fashion opinion →[More:] Warm weather being what it is, has put me in the mood to shop for summer dresses. My search led me to this.
I love love love this dress. I love everything about it. My concern is with its relative 'youthfulness'. I am in my mid-30's, and this dress looks decidedly like a dress meant for a girl, not a woman. I have always been a sucker for eyelet lace, though. And I really love this dress. If it makes any difference, I am built like a twelve year old boy.
What do you think, can a thirty-ish (*cough*) woman pull this off?

post by: msali at: 09:54 | 32 comments

Yes, but here's the catch: It's too short. Have you tried it on in person at an actual Urban Outfitters store? Because there is the chance it would be a bit longer on you than it is on the model.

Seriously, though. No minis, as Stacey and Clinton so sagely say.

posted by brina 24 April | 09:58

The dress is all kinds of lovely, my only concern (because I'm such a PRUUUUDE) would be hem length. You comfortable with a lot of bare thigh showing then my all means, oil up your tanned legs, grab a pair of cute sandals and get that dress. Dunno what's with me recently, I used to wear skirts as short as ten inches but now I'm a stickler for nineteen. Age I guess. (and less toned thighs perhaps)

I'd add a second bold colored skimpy skirt (underneath) to get a contrast clash and a single extra inch OR wear leggings with it. Probably some (modern) lace ones.

posted by dabitch 24 April | 09:59

If you want to show off your legs, go for it!

posted by brujita 24 April | 10:00

If it makes any difference, I am built like a twelve year old boy.

I think that does make a difference, in your favor. It would be a tough look to pull off for anyone past the first blush of youth, unless that someone was slim and lean. On you, it might just look fresh and summery!

posted by Elsa 24 April | 10:07

That's the thing - I know the rule about no minis after age 35. However, my legs are the best part of my body! I have no boobs, no ass to speak of, but damn, I've got nice legs. I can rock the mini skirt, I just don't want to look like one of those women who is trying too hard to look young, you know?

posted by msali 24 April | 10:07

models are often strangely proportioned, that dress might not be so short actually. Go try it on!

posted by dabitch 24 April | 10:08

First off, mid thirties is still young. Trust me on this. So yeah, you can totally wear that dress - eyelet lace is for everyone - but I would add the same caveat as everyone else: it's really short. I mean short as in "hey lady you forgot your pants!" short. But it would look really cute with leggings or even patterned tights.

posted by mygothlaundry 24 April | 10:10

I would agree with all of the above, especially Elsa; if you're thin and not-too-curvy, it'll likely work well, assuming it's not uncomfortably short.

And to the no-miniskirts-after-35 rule, I say "Feh." Tina Turner rocks the house.

posted by occhiblu 24 April | 10:11

I'm with mygothlaundry. I was thinking to wear it over cropped leggings with flats. If you love it, go for it! It will probably look great on your lean figure.

Personally, I would look for something with a longer hem. Something a bit more sophisticated. Like this.

posted by LoriFLA 24 April | 10:13

My wife is in her 50's and could pull that dress off. She shops in the teen section usually.

It's more body type and attitude, I think

Go for it, if it works on you.

posted by danf 24 April | 10:14

Tina Turner DOES rock the house!

posted by msali 24 April | 10:16

Oooh, pretty Lori.

Other eyelet stuff from Nordstroms.

posted by occhiblu 24 April | 10:17

It is quite short. Also, what's the deal with the hem? Look at the close up- it's all scraggly. I generally dislike Urban Outfitters, though, as I find their stuff horribly overpriced, so there's my bias. You could probably find something just as cute, that's a little longer, and cheaper.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 24 April | 10:19

Oh, I might also throw out there that I have been continually disappointed with the quality of Urban Outfitters, though I haven't shopped there in a few years. If you have more recent info then ignore me, but one thing that might push the dress more toward "too young" is if it's kind cheap-looking. Again, though, if you've seen it in person, or if UO has gotten better lately, then ignore me.

On preview: More or less what TPS said!

posted by occhiblu 24 April | 10:21

I think cropped leggings would look cool with that dress, too. Plus that way you don't have to worry about bending over or sitting down or dancing in it or having the dress blow up at an inopportune moment. And fuck what they say about minis after a certain age--as said above, if you've got the legs and the body type, go for it.

posted by elizard 24 April | 10:30

My quibble with UO is that the owner is someone who supported Santorum.

posted by brujita 24 April | 10:35

I personally like it, tho I'd check the length. What's appropriate on one thirtysomething may not work on others and rules are meant to be broken.

I wear a short ivory eyelet sundress with sandals and a big sun hat as an apres-bike-racing outfit; it's cool and comfy when it's 100 degrees out, and I've never received anything but raves about it. It is a couple inches above the knee. I am 40, and definitely NOT built like a 12-year-old boy. I have a bike racer's build: my legs are huuuuge, but muscular, not flabby, and I have a tiny waist.

I think the no-minis-after-35 rule was mainly written with the muffintop and mom-jeans crowd in mind; a lot of folks in their mid thirties tend to, er, let themselves go a bit. If your legs look nice, show them off!

posted by lonefrontranger 24 April | 10:35

LoriFLA, I really love that dress you linked to. It's very pretty and much more flattering for a woman my age, I would suppose. It is far too fancy though for the functions I have in mind. I want a cute summer dress to wear around my neighborhood, drinking beer at our local (very casual) watering hole, and dancing with the hippies at our local co-op. I haven't shopped at UO for years, but I used to love the Free People brand. If I do end up buying it, I would get it online, and if I don't like it, I can always take it back to the local Urban Outfitters franchise.
Thanks all for your input. Danf, I am glad to hear that your wife still shops in the Jrs. section. I usually do, too, because I wear such a small size in general.

On preview, Brujita, is that TRUE!?!?!? They supported Santorum? Please tell me they support the brown frothy mixture resulting from buttsex and not Rick Fugging Santorum. If that is true, never mind. I won't ever shop there again!

posted by msali 24 April | 10:42

That's a Free People dress, being sold at UO. Free People (at least when I last bought their stuff 3-4 years ago) makes quality stuff although they do tend to go with raw and unfinished edges on many things. They do exterior seaming, often as well.

You can also get Free People at Nordstrom & Anthropologie, if you wish to avoid UO (unfortunately, I did not see that dress at their own site).

posted by crush-onastick 24 April | 10:50

Oh shit, it's true

From the article:

"When PW asks Hayne about his financial support of Santorum, he initially denies it. And when presented with a computer printout of Santorum's campaign donors from the Center for Responsive Politics website--which cites a $4,650 contribution from Urban Outfitters--he responds: "I'll have to look into this. I don't think this is right." In fact, he and his wife have contributed $13,150 to Santorum and Santorum's Political Action Committee over the years."

AND he owns Anthropologie as well! Shit, that's another store I have to delete from my favorites.
Thanks for the heads up Brujita. To everyone else, never mind. All of the input is appreciated, though.

posted by msali 24 April | 10:53

But for future decisions along this line, msali - don't hesitate to show off your lovely legs (as you say, for a casual dress to wear about the neighborhood, go for a beer, etc.) You have this great physical feature that you feel confident about, and you are going to let some arbitrary number decide that it's now off-limits? NAY, I SAY NAY.

We see people wearing painfully age-inappropriate attire for many reasons - none of which, I think, apply to you. The coolest people in the world wear clothes that The Rules say they shouldn't (also the uncoolest, but you get what I am saying, yes?), when they know what is right for them. When you're 50 or 60 or 70, you'll think you were insane for hiding your nice legs when you were 35 (or 45, or 55, or as long as you have them great gams). :)

posted by taz 24 April | 11:18

Thanks Taz, you're the bestest.

posted by msali 24 April | 11:26

Taz speaks the truth. Honestly, that "rule" about no mini-skirts after 35 makes me fume. I know a few women my age who would look smashing in a mini, and don't wear 'em because they think they're too old.

Me, my mini-skirt days are over. Happily, I can reflect on my long (and long-legged) misspent youth in micro-minis. I am content that I went over my mini quota between 16 and 30.

I generally think "Is this too young for me?" is best judged on a case-by-case basis. A few times lately, I've tried on something and realized that, for whatever ineffable reason, it was too youthful a garment for me. But I cannot find any common traits to those garments.

posted by Elsa 24 April | 11:38

msali, you would rock a dress like that! it would complement* your complexion and gorgeous dark hair, and yes, with legs like yours you SHOULD show them off!

*I'm having a brain fart. It's not "compliment" is it? I don't think so, but am currently a bit addlebrained.

posted by Stewriffic 24 April | 15:05

This looks like a nice alternative. It's still girly but a little longer and to me, more appropriate.
(Also, those types of tops help the more boyishly built have some breasticles.)

posted by rmless2 24 April | 15:12

I can't really speak to the quality of the merchandise, but UO also has a long and fairly sordid history of ripping off the work of independent artists/designers and putting very-similar-versions in the stores. They've also been in more-than-their-share of racist-t-shirt-logo fracases.

posted by box 24 April | 15:17

Man, I always use too many hyphens. But that last comment has way too many.

posted by box 24 April | 15:21

Stewriffic, "complement" was correct. Go, you! :-)

The "Go, you!" was a compliment.

posted by occhiblu 24 April | 15:35

Thanks occhi. Reading back now, I believe the fact that I was being so complimentary of msali (as I should be, given how cute and nice she is!) created the complement/compliment problem in mah mahnd.

posted by Stewriffic 24 April | 17:05

It's way cute. That model might be pretty tall, although she should stand up straighter. If you get it, and love it, and it's too short for you, and you sew at all, adding a ruffle of scalloped white or eyelet fabric or sheer fabric would give it some length.

posted by theora55 24 April | 17:52

Just for the record, he owns Free People too.

posted by birdie 24 April | 19:19

(FYI, I didn't mean no mini-skirts after 35. I meant no mini-skirts, period. But then, I am a stick in the mud. Today one of my friends was sporting the cropped legging/too-short-dress look and my initial reaction was, "Ick!" Not because she looked bad, just because it was too reminiscent of the things about the 80s I'd rather forget.)

posted by brina 24 April | 20:21

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