Fashion Lab: Giant Shoulders
Here it is, my $1 vintage 1980s leather jacket. With skinny pants …
and wide.
Agathe at Style Bytes blogged a few days ago about the possible return of giant shoulders. I suspect we will see, not what was overdone in the 80s, but an updated take on wide shoulders.
But who cares? I am going to wear this jacket. Any guesses with which pants?
skinny jeans definitely look better, IMO
LOVE the skinny pants with that jacket! Very nice…
Skinny jeans work better. I think we have a winner!
Rebecca, that is so beautiful! A wonderful jacket for you - wear it in good health and happiness. How interesting that the wider pants make *the jacket* look wider, puffier! I would not have thought of that effect.
BTW and unrelated, I took the fashion blog research survey over at The Bargain Queen and specified yours as my favorite because, among other reasons I listed, you bring your values into focus on this subject and do not seperate it out and that was even how I found your blog. I was looking for observations on modesty and dignity in dress and getting lost in complex Quaker infighting about whether or not plain dress was now an affectation that called particular attention to oneself.
Well, maybe not totally unrelated because if you search out timeless values you can look at wide shouldered proportions straight on and evaluate them as a design element vs. a cultural throwback.
Funny, I was thinking you would wear the wide pants simply because they make your shoulders look more balanced. I *like* the skinny pants, but since you are specifically concerned about your shoulders, I thought you would prefer th wide pants.
btw, I’ve been lurking for quite a while, and I thoroughly enjoy your blog. Great job!
Hmm. I have naturally Amazonian broad shoulders, so I’m not sure this is a good thing for me!
Skinnies!!!!
Thanks for leaving a comment, all of you! I am planning to wear the top outfit tonight to watch a bunch of 8 - 18 year-olds singing and performing monologues to audition for plays. (More on that event next week.)
I wonder a little if the wide pants had been a heavier fabric if they would have tended less to emphasize the drapyness of the sleeves. The skinnies definitely emphasize the midriff and waist - always a good look for me.
Damselfly ~ I’m no fortune-teller, but I’d spend some time and effort building a basic wardrobe of blazers right now. There are lots of them available that are both washable and without shoulder pads.
Tonia ~ welcome! Thanks for de-lurking!
Vildy ~ thanks for the wonderful compliment!
Funny you should mention Quakers: Just after I first trusted Christ as Savior in 1991, we became members of a Friends church for a few years.
“Funny you should mention Quakers: Just after I first trusted Christ as Savior in 1991, we became members of a Friends church for a few years.”
I had a close friend for a number of years and though we had many differences of experience or taste, we understood each other intuitively.
I have a strong Conservative Jewish background and we found that both our traditions encouraged quite a lot of self-examination. I think both the Conservatives - and they’re my favorites on this account - and the Quakers are especially “angst-y”, as my college kid son says. So while the Quaker plainness discussion was not what I was looking for, I could totally understand it! BTW, my friend bought a pair of Cole Haan glazed metallic loafers right in the Quaker community she lived in and was reproved by her grown daughter for being a bit flashy.
ohhh, I hadn’t noticed the sleeve/arm thingy before! Yes, I think the skinnies make the fuller sleeve look right on trend and not as though you might be beefy.
That’s funny about the loafers; I would call them a conservative purchase (classic style, neutral color, quality workmanship).
I think self-examination is just my hobby. Conversation is good for me, it keeps me from imploding! LOL
[…] In addition, I propose that wide-legged pants make short legs look shorter. You can see my in both skinnies and wide (although they aren’t jeans) in this fashion lab from last March. […]