How to Learn About Clothes?

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Over the summer I did a lot of research and learning and so forth about hair and makeup and I now some basics about that. There is much about that which still puzzles me of course, but now I actually know what mousse is and how to pick out and use hairspray, and what bronzer is for example.

But one thing I find pretty overwhelming is fashion and clothing. Hair and Makeup at least don't change so much, it seems. Plus I was able to find good, basics books written on those things for people who know absolutely nothing about them.

Not so with clothes. Now I know that I am not supposed wear clothes that have stains or rips. But after that it all gets sort of fuzzy. What clothes are people supposed to wear in certain situations? What on earth is buisiness casual? When I look at magazines I see all these different things every few months and much of it costs a lot of money. I know I can't seriously be expected to go out and spend a thousand dollars or so every few months, so there must be something in between that and my cluelessness. I just don't know what that is or how to find out. All the books and things I see seem to assume that I would know something. Other than what I stated and that I should things that fit, and ask honest people if purple shades I like clash with my hair (ginger).

So any ideas? Someday I would like to know stuff and have a nice wardrobe.

Hmm, I seem to have a naturally good sense of what colours go with what because my mother was always very artistic and colour co-ordinated.
I would say that a fairly smart pair of black pants/trousers is always a good starting point for smart/casual
And a few ladies shirts in different colours, not too bright.
Jeans are a good staple tho they can be uncomfortable.
I wear leggings a lot...not sure what those are called in the usa. But you can wear so many different tops with them.
I always used to look at a lot of teen magazines and the fashion so I guess I worked out a lot from that.

kyethra, Graelwyn gave good advice! I actually happen to like clothes, but I do ever overindulge and am not bound by 'rules.' I do not know your profession, lifestyle, or where you live. But, for clothes, here's some ideas for you: First, ginger hair is beautiful. Do not be bound by rules saying you cannot wear certain colors (ie: that will clash with your hair/coloring). You can wear virtually any color group - with discretion.

1) Like Graelwyn said, start with a few classic staples and this is will be your basis - allocate more of your money for these foundational pieces. Classic cut black, tan, navy (actually, I never wear blue, green instead for me. For you, how about deep violet?) solid slacks and skirts. Jeans are a good choice - choose a good cut for your body (not what's in a magazine). Try these pieces on in the fitting room!

2) Tops: Yes, a nice white or pastel (ivory would go well w/ your ginger hair) blouse is a classic. If in doubt, wear a DARK color for skirts/slacks and LIGHT for tops. No need to be 'fussy' or rigid - I personally do not wear button down men's cut white shirts. Choose something you like (for me, I can wear lacy or Victorian blouses w/ jeans). Choose what you like and makes you feel comfortable.

3) Big tip: Keep a close palette of colors to coordinate with those basic pieces. I like autumn colors (I bet this would look great with your hair too). But keep it simple. This will save you money too, I promise. If you buy a bunch of scattered pieces then nothing really matches - chaos! I do like prints, which is fine, but remember to keep it simple (ie: one print pieces with your basic). With prints: This depends on your body type. I am fairly petite so I always choose smaller prints. Taller or bigger women can wear 'splashier' prints. Professional dressers will choose a client's 2 favorite or best colors and stick to that palette with limited deviation. You like purple? Choose that, then maybe another 1 or 2 colors to shop for only. And, for pants, keep your socks and shoes NICE and matched. Have shoe polish.

4) Always remember to have nice undergarments - it matters. With skirts, always have nice nylons (please not those awful tan pantyhose!) - opaque is best, that coordinate with your item and with your shoes. You want one continuos line from your waist down, color-wise (slimming too). With tops you can have more leeway, and fun, if your lower basic half is in check. Do watch your jewelry. No gaudy or excessive jewelry with too many prints - overload! Do you have a couple of special signature pieces that are special to you? No need to be spendy. Focus on one piece (I like dangly Victorian earrings and little else).

5) For outer-wear (I do not know where you live - climate?): Match or coordinate your coat/jacket with boots, hat, gloves, etc. so that it goes with your color palette. When unsure, go basic. Outer-wear is usually best as solids, not prints. Save your 'fun stuff' for your tops or one special piece. This goes for your handbag too - coordinate. I think a lovely dark purple coat with matching accessories would really pull everything together.

6) About proportion: If you wear one fitted item, choose the other looser fit. In other words, not a skin-tight look or a baggy-look. This does not look good on anyone. For ex: If I wear a fitted little black skirt, then I may wear a looser cut top or sweater: BALANCE your proportion. Also, if you show some skin (you know, low cut top or short skirt) keep the rest of your outfit conservative.

7) Did you know less clothing items is better? No need to spend a ton of money on trendy items (they'll be out of style soon anyway). Just the basics and a few fun pieces. Yes, you can wear pearls with t-shirts! Just follow the basic rules and the rest is fun to show off your personality style. Choose nice quality shoes - fewer is better. Try to not wear outrageous high heels with jeans (ie: use common sense). A tip: A little bit of high heel looks good on any woman with virtually any outfit. I shy away from flats - remember a smooth continuous line for your lower half especially.

Dresses are great (that is, if you like dresses) because they're already done for you - no coordinating separate. A pretty dress is a safe bet and looks 'pulled together.' Print is fine, but watch to balance the rest of your look. Also, if you wear a dress (or any garment really), regardless of your size, wear a simple belt or tie so you do not without a waist. Baggy can look sloppy and does not show off your figure.

9) For me, personally, here's what I would NEVER consider wearing! Tie-dye anything. Sloppy 'sneakers' (unless your a kid). Blocky bold stripes (certainly not for socks - too distracting). Shy away from t-shirts with logos, words, cartoons, etc (professionally, this is just bad! exception: a discrete logo or refined design is ok). Tight sweater over a baggy top. Too low-rise jeans or baggy/sloppy (this does not look good on anyone).

10) Choose what makes sense for you - not someone else. No need to be inhibited though! Have some fun and show your personality. If you see or know a woman whom you admire and looks pretty to you, LOOK at what she's wearing and emulate her style (not copy though). Here's some women, historically, who are known as good dressers: Jackie Kennedy, Lady Diana, Katherine Hepburn.

11) Vintage is great! You can find perfect pieces at vintage/thrift shops for your accent pieces. I wear shawls a lot (Russian style - I live in Alaska too though).

I'm sure you'll look great. Some women carry in their handbag a color palette for shopping - good idea! Like Graelwyn mentioned too.

Phew, glad you padded it out, I was just feeling too lazy and because I tend not to work right now, wasn't totally sure of what would be best.

Colourwise, I would give the following as good combinations.
Black/white
Red/black
Yellow/black
Green/black
grey/black
Orange/dark blue(work pretty well actually!)


I tend to have a lot of clothes, from long, flowing skirts to crochet tops to shirts to t-shirts to jeans to leggings to cardigans.
That is always a good thing to have. A black cardiganor long jacket as black tends to go with every other colour just about.
I tend to stick to black for my bottom half then tops in various colours.
It really is a question of trying on different colours as it is true, some colours really don't flatter certain complexions and hair colours.
Green looks good on people with ginger hair, I believe, as does blue...darker blue.
I cannot get away with pink mostly or certain shades of yellow.

Oh and a big warning...when buying anything in a pale colour like white or yellow, make sure it isn't see through or it could get embarrassing

Colour and clothing are two of my perseverations. I am frequently complimented on my clothes.

I'd advise, if you don't feel you understand fashion:

Keep it simple. Avoid frills and patterns. Solids will not steer you wrong unless you violently clash the colours. I like to have lots of black pieces for that reason, as black goes with everything (and doesn't stain).

Keep accessories simple and uncluttered in style, and don't go overboard:

* I rarely wear belts except when it really seems to make an outfit "pop". Most of my clothing is cut very fitted, so I don't usually need them. But the ones I have are all very simple in style.
* My purses are very small and streamlined; I haven't been able to buy a new one in years because of the fashion for huge ones covered in buckles.
* I never wear scarves unless I need one because it's cold.
* I do wear hats for weather protection - sun in summer, rain in winter - but with very clean lines, solid colour, mostly cloche or sun hat style.
* I agree with the advice to have one eye-catching piece of jewelry on at a time, and keep the rest low-key or do not wear at all.
* 90% of your shoes should also be simple, classic styles. But have a few fun pairs too.

Spend most of your clothing money on classic, well-constructed pieces. I love vintage because they simply do not make clothing of that cut and quality anymore, unless you go high-end couturier.

I am a pale-skinned green-eyed redhead, and purple looks great on me in any shade. I also look good in black, brown, whites and ivories, dark red, navy/royal/sky/pastel blue, hunter/kelly green, pastel pink, gold, silver, and sunshine yellow.

I avoid aqua/turquoise, pepto-bismol pink, tomato red, tan, and bronze (the latter fights the hair and neither win).

Redheads rule! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hair

http://www.realmofredheads.com/store/

Last edited by juliekitty on 16 Aug 2007, 9:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.

I personally don't think magazines are the best place to start.

Also, when people say, "take a classic like blue jeans"- there's, like, infinite variation in blue jeans. If your goal is camo, it needs to be a little more specific.

Also, how old you are matters.

At my age- 22- on down and up to. . .maybe 30ish? depending? Go to the mall and watch close. Not so much at what's in the windows- but at what people are wearing. You could apply this tactic to any group of people you wish to blend in to. The first really important thing is not so much beige vs. brown or cami vs. tee- the first important thing is line.

The classics change every five to ten years, in terms of what versions of them you can get away with without standing out; when the current version resembles a former version is the most usual time for vintage to come into play. Pay close attention to

-What part of the garment hugs the body and what part is loose

-Where seams and details are

-Where and how the waist, ankles, and cuffs are fitted

When you have (the current version) of this information for the garment you wish to shop for, then consider color, etc.

Personally, I believe in the high importance of fabric, drape, and fit. "Body skimming" is the classiest fit- and if it doesn't hang right, it's not worth it.

BTW, if you have hair and makeup sorted. . . kudos, that's way beyond me. Fashion seemed worth investigation because I'm a bit of a textile freak, but hair and makeup always seem like so much trouble. . .

Oh, I forgot 'Murphy's Rule.' If you wear anything white or pastel then you will invariably spill coffee on it

I turned a lab coat pinkish once from Nitric Acid fumes. I'm not sure, but that's probably a fashion Don't!

I almost never spend serious money on light-coloured clothing for that very reason.

If somebody told me not to wear tie dies or T-Shirts with cartoons or comments, I would tell them where to go. I am what I am and that's all there is to it!

I meant no offense - really. I know this works just fine for many, but for me it wouldn't. I would never marginalize someone's look, their diversity, or lifestyle - ever! I just meant certain looks work certain people and I recognize this. I admire those who have fashion initiative, actually. I am not judgmental, I would not dictate to anyone what they should or should not wear.

Also, in this context, "learning about clothes" almost certainly means "learning how to make one's clothes blend in." If you want to wear. . . whatever you want, go for it; I do. It's just nice to have the option of looking like an NT clone

As long as you don't have a meltdown over it like I did when someone told me I should dress better. At the time, I was wearing my best clothes!

These are good things to consider. A bit overwhelming at the moment, but good to consider. Someday I might go back and get a colour pallete. According to the whole Color Me A Season thing, I'm an Indian Summer, whatever that means colour wise. I think its Autumny Summer.
I know I look nice in greys and blacks because I have grey eyes. I can wear all shades of blue and green including aqua. Brown looks nice on me, I'm told it looks a little better than black on me, but I tend to like black better. Ivory is nice. I can wear pink. Not yellow. I don't like orange, but that would be shade dependant on the type of orange I suspect. Purple is like that. I can't wear some shades of it, but some shades I can... I can wear red, but it isn't one of my better colours. Those are really blues and greens and browns/blacks.

I've been losing a lot of weight lately. I had the lap band not that long ago. I suspect I'll lose all my excess weight within 2 years if not sooner. So that does give me some time to learn. My husband has a lot more clothes than I! Shape wise I don't know what always goes the best. That can be hard to tell. I'm a perfect hourglass, actually, and that is supposed to be good. But clothes aren't cut that way. And recently I went from wearing plus sizes to where the cut on those is too generous so now I just need larger misses sizes (like a size 16, 18 USA). So since I basically only used to shop at one store and that isn't an option anymore, I'm stumped.

I'm 24. And I own about 6 pairs of shoes if one counts all of them, including things like boots and birkenstocks, and gym shoes. I can't buy shoes at stores because my feet are too large, but there are places online now for me to order from. I'm starting graduate school. While I work at home now, grad school might mean interacting with people in more professional settings. In classes it won't matter if I wear the sloppiest thing and carry my skull purse. (I like skulls). But there will be things like practicums, maybe student teaching, maybe an assistanship next year, etc. And since at least 85% of my fellow students are females, likely more, I will like I might be scrutinized. Now I'm not in a field known for being fashionable, but I still think these are valid concerns. And if I actually get a job someday... Well that involves knowing how to dress as well. and knowing if I am dressing correctly for social events, etc.

I can say "who cares" when I want to. And I do do that at times-- ok many times. But when I do care, I want to be able to look certain ways. And not look odd trying to look that way...

I would say, keep it simple.

You might get a book. I had a look on Amazon, perhaps this one :
Secrets of Style book at Amazon

... if anyone knows of a teenager's guide to style, then post that aswell, I think books for teenagers are appropriate for aspies.


The other thing to do is to buy a woman's fashion magazine and flick through it until you find an outfit you like. Often they will say where the clothes come from and how much. Then you can go shopping and get the outfit.

Or you can take £80 to Monsoon (they have nice stuff) or Zara (very good) and ask one of the assistants to pick you out an outfit. You can even ask the other customers if they like it.

Is there anyone else here in their 30's? I always wonder what I should be wearing in my late 30's as I don't know anyone my age to compare to. Everyone I work with is mostly below 25 and the rest are over 45. I tend to get in this rut of wearing hoodies all winter which is what all the other young people wear at work; however I worry that I should be wearing something else at my age. Because my feet hurt a lot (arthritis) I wear sneakers so I don't wear dress slacks as that combo looks stupid. I have such a maculine face despite my hairstyle so when I wear real feminine clothes I think I look weird in them. I also have a hard time finding clothes that will fit because my height and proportions are not that of the average WASP and petite clothes don't fit right either. I tend to wear jeans and polo shirts a lot.

I also have trouble matches colors. Like I have these light blue sporty capris and have no idea what color shirt to wear other than navy blue.

That's the case with myself, with my leather jacket, drain pipe jeans and England T-shirts. I also know of only one type of hair style...Punked-up! I'm also more into British Football and food, than make-up.

Sid