Clothes and accessories and growing up

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I grew up being teased a lot for wearing hand-me-down clothes as a kid. My parents always did their best for me, but they were poor. Now, when I actually buy clothes, I buy occasionally and fairly expensive, so I get good quality. All those years of teasing never did much to motivate me to actually follow fashion. It's the same with accessories. I don't own a tonne of handbags I don't need lots of fashion jewellery that will irritate my skin.

Whilst I hate standing out, it makes me shudder to dress in any way except what's the most economical (in terms of lifetime of garment vs. cost) and what's aesthetically pleasing to me. I think my obsession with things being well-made and durable comes from growing up poor. I also need a good level of comfort because of sensory issues. Is anyone else similarly peer pressure proof with clothes? I didn't even inherit any fashion sense off my parents, who were both fashionable in their day. Apart from my collection of novelty t-shirts, I basically buy clothes like a computer. The socialisation of clothes went missing on me.

Yes, I can relate.

When I go to work, I look like I'm ready to paint a house . Well, at least as long as I'm not meeting with clients or CEOs (and even then, I'll wear comfortable business casual). Those are rare occasions.

Comfort, durability, and ease of care are my primary concerns with clothing...and usually black.


I didn't get hand-me-downs being the oldest, but I wore my favorites until they were threadbare, or until my mom dropped them in a clothing drop box, or said she "accidentally" ruined them.

I've never been a stylish person. I dress for comfort and what pleases me - not what society says I should wear. I don't remember ever being teased by kids at school for my choice of clothes, but my more fashionable siblings pick on me sometimes.

I remember one time I was wearing a silky babydoll top with green and yellow wavy patterns on it and my sister asked me "Where did you get that?" "Oh," I replied, "I got it at Walmart. It was marked down." Then she laughed and said, "Yeah, that's what I figured." My feelings were hurt because I thought that that top was one of the most stylish items in my wardrobe. She has also told me that it was stupid that I wore sweatpants every day until I was a teenager even though I did it for sensory reasons and because I had bathroom difficulties.

My brother has told me that sometimes he is embarrassed to be seen with me out in public because of the way I dress and because sometimes I have food or drink stains on my clothes. I wish he would tell me to change before we leave so he wouldn't feel that way about me...

I really enjoy dressing up, and used to dress up even when I wasn't planning on leaving the house all day. Dress, hose, bra, heels, full makeup, jewelry, hairstyle, nails. It made me feel so much better.

Lately though, I have been feeling so bloated. Since I started on my antidepressants about three weeks ago I went from 131 to 148. I'm eating less than I was before too. It all feels like it's in my belly too, so my clothes don't fit now. It's all tight. They don't look tight but they feel tight and I can't stand that anymore, like I used to be able to. The meds never did me this way before. So, lately I have been wearing one of two pairs of sweat pants, one v neck white tshirt, and I have two pairs of dress pants and two nice shirts I've been wearing when I have to. I haven't worn a bra in weeks, and even though I'm small, I think you can tell, so I wear a loose cardigan over my shirt.

I'm all about comfort right now, not fashion. Although I wish I felt like being all about fashion again, I do miss it.

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I've never dressed in the height of fashion. Today, for instance, I'm wearing charcoal jeans, not tight, straight legged with a slight flare, a knitted jumper, a short parka, which matches my jeans, and brown suede walking shoes. The only jewellery I'm wearing is my wedding ring and a watch and the only make-up is some concealer. I'm clean, tidy and co-ordinated, but, above all, I feel comfortable and dressed for the weather. I tend to buy quality clothes and shoes (our family was poor too, when I was younger). But, I do well in the sales and don't buy a lot, so I don't spend a fortune. I also buy some clothes from Lidl, which is cheap, but the clothing is good quality and the waterproof clothing is truly waterproof (unlike more expersive brands), which is all that matters. Handbags and I do go toether and I only have 2 for special occasions. I have a few other bags, but they are miniature rucksack style.

I have some nice clothes for going out (a couple of dresses from Wallis and a few knitted dresses). And I go to burlesque parties and really dress for the occasion then, but they are very infrequent. Even then, only my corsets cost a fair bit (and they'll be worn over and over), the rest of my outfit doesn't cost much (my skirt for the last party was £10, reduced from £40, but that was a major bargain).

I'm not a fashion fiend either and I can relate to your post. Some girls obsess over collecting clothes, shoes, handbags and jewelry but I never got into collecting them. Funny because I work in a fashion jewelry industry. When I go shopping I try to buy classic pieces that I can incorporate with other items that I already own. That way I can still manage to look "good". Sometimes I do buy trendy clothes that are cheap and disposable after couple of months.

I never cared about fashion BUT I cared about looking nice TO ME. What I like isn't exactly what other people like, but if I get dressed and I'm not wearing what I deem "nice" then I get upset and I feel stupid and self conscious (well, more than normal) walking around, even though what I think looks good on me probably gets more negative attention, and "should" make me feel embarrassed or ashamed. (according to my sister :/)

People think that just because I don't wear make-up and style my hair and wear plain baggy clothes that I don't care about my appearance but I do, just not in the same way as them!

I like to look CLEAN for one, and make-up is DIRTY. Hair products (not counting shampoo and wash out conditioner) are greasy and DIRTY. Glitter on clothes is DIRTY... The list goes on.
And I may not STYLE my hair, but maybe having it long, down and natural IS my style!? Did anyone stop to think about that??

I wear baggy clothes because form fitting clothes show off my fat. Fat isn't nice to look at, for me at least, and I know it would attract the wrong attention. baggy tops even me out and make me look more in proportion, even if that proportion is a little more "round" that I'd like to be perceived, it's better than everyone being able to see my rolls!

So, to everyone who judges me on the way I dress - JUST because I don't spend 2 hours in the morning getting "ready" that DOESN'T mean I don't put effort into the way I look. It takes me AGES to find clothes I like in shops and as far as I'm concerned, just as much effort goes into ONE shopping trip for me, than it does for you get get ready every day for a MONTH.

I've been criticised for only having one handbag. My mum's like, ''most girls have more than one handbag!'' but I like to stick with the same one. This is because usually I need everything that I carry around, and it's no good keep on converting everything from one bag to another, especially if it's a smaller bag. I can't fit anything into it, and the things I don't take out with me I tend to find later that I need those things for some reason, even if I didn't think I would. So I might aswell just stick with the same bag and be done with it. At least then it makes it easier to be more organised. No wonder some women are so unorganised - they're too busy fussing over which handbag to take out more than anything else!

As for fashion, I do like to dress stylish, but I don't go over the top. I wear clothes that make me blend in and look nice, but I don't wear things that are too ''dressy'' (in case ''dressy'' is British slang, it means ''clothes you would wear to a formal occasion''). But I see some people wearing formal clothes for everyday wear, but I wouldn't like to. I don't feel right wearing dressy clothes, unless I'm going to a special occasion, but even then I like to get straight out of the formal clothes as soon as I get home.

I don't know why, but I seem to resent wearing jumpers and T-shirts with collars and buttons. I prefer hoods or just ordinary round-neck ones.