Oopsie Daisy! : Fashion Faux Pas’ You Wish You’d Never Make
Fashion faux pas’. If you’re an 18 year old girl, you would have heard of that term dozens of times in your life thus far. In fact, you will probably continue to hear this term being bandied about for the rest of your life. I am specifically directing this article to girls in general because let’s just admit it: guys have it easy.
All they have to do is throw on a button down shirt, put on some pants, and perhaps add a necktie to their outfit for that extra dash of class, and they’re good to go. The most that can go wrong is that they make the embarrassing mistake of wearing a tie that can sing Christmas songs at the push of a button that’s conveniently located on the front of the tie (yes, this writer has had the horrifying experience of discovering that one of her guy friends had come into possession of one of these abominable accessories, but that’s a story for another day).
For girls on the other hand, the act of getting up every single morning and choosing what to wear is a much more difficult experience altogether. While some have a knack for putting together flawlessly stylish outfits every single day, there are others who have a much tougher time dealing with what should be a routine act.
And to make matters worse, not only do us girls have to work at looking presentable and fashionable on a daily basis, but we also have to work at avoiding the dreaded ‘wardrobe malfunction’. Camel toes, the V.P.L. (visible-panty-lines), lipstick on our teeth, etc. etc. Time and time again, these faux pas’ have ruined many a good outfit. Be it our friends or the random stranger on the street, we’ve all experienced our outfits backfiring on us.
However, contrary to what most people think, it is relatively easy to avoid looking like a complete fool for committing these horrible crimes against fashion. For example, if you’re planning on wearing leggings, please make sure you wear a t-shirt that is long enough to cover the upper area of the hips. Why? Because, while leggings do help to elongate your legs, they also have the ability to highlight any imperfections in the upper hip area. And trust me, unsightly stomach bulges and camel toes do not make a good outfit. Period.
Another common faux pas is the VPL. This is also related to the topic of leggings. Once again, this horrible outfit malfunction is also caused by not wearing shirts long enough to cover the upper hip area. Girls, nobody needs to see the outline of your underwear. No, not even guys find that attractive. Actually, this rule goes for all instances when an outfit showcases your underwear as outerwear: AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE.
Unless you are an aspiring Victoria’s Secret model, please keep your underwear in it’s rightful place: under your clothes! While this trend seems to have emerged on the fashion runways recently, please bear in mind that not everybody can pull this look off. It might look good on the 6-foot models parading in them, but unfortunately, may look a tad bit distasteful on us regular people.
Another common mistake is the notion that more is better in terms of accessories. In this case, let us remember the words of Coco Chanel: Before stepping out of the house, remove the last thing that you put on. What she meant here was that less is always better, which I most definitely agree. Often, I have seen girls who wear multiple bracelets, necklaces, rings and earrings, all on the same outfit! This combination only succeeds in overwhelming the entire outfit, making one look like an accessory closet just exploded on them.
Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that one must wear only a minimal amount of jewelry with any outfit. In fact, if the occasion calls for it, go crazy with the accessories if you must. But at the end of the day, just like most aspects of our lives, it’s all about balance. A final word of advice: when dressing up, please don’t dress up to look like somebody else.
Instead, dress up to look like a better version of yourself. In this day and age, most girls end up dressing up in the same way, following the same trends. The result is a horde of carbon copies, devoid of any personality. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Don’t be afraid to show off your individuality through your personal style. It’s not compulsory to look just like all the Britney’s, Hillary’s, Jessica’s and Miley’s out there.
Remember: style is about looking different and memorable, not like a mass-produced product from a factory line.
BY HARVINA KAUR
All they have to do is throw on a button down shirt, put on some pants, and perhaps add a necktie to their outfit for that extra dash of class, and they’re good to go. The most that can go wrong is that they make the embarrassing mistake of wearing a tie that can sing Christmas songs at the push of a button that’s conveniently located on the front of the tie (yes, this writer has had the horrifying experience of discovering that one of her guy friends had come into possession of one of these abominable accessories, but that’s a story for another day).
For girls on the other hand, the act of getting up every single morning and choosing what to wear is a much more difficult experience altogether. While some have a knack for putting together flawlessly stylish outfits every single day, there are others who have a much tougher time dealing with what should be a routine act.
And to make matters worse, not only do us girls have to work at looking presentable and fashionable on a daily basis, but we also have to work at avoiding the dreaded ‘wardrobe malfunction’. Camel toes, the V.P.L. (visible-panty-lines), lipstick on our teeth, etc. etc. Time and time again, these faux pas’ have ruined many a good outfit. Be it our friends or the random stranger on the street, we’ve all experienced our outfits backfiring on us.
However, contrary to what most people think, it is relatively easy to avoid looking like a complete fool for committing these horrible crimes against fashion. For example, if you’re planning on wearing leggings, please make sure you wear a t-shirt that is long enough to cover the upper area of the hips. Why? Because, while leggings do help to elongate your legs, they also have the ability to highlight any imperfections in the upper hip area. And trust me, unsightly stomach bulges and camel toes do not make a good outfit. Period.
Another common faux pas is the VPL. This is also related to the topic of leggings. Once again, this horrible outfit malfunction is also caused by not wearing shirts long enough to cover the upper hip area. Girls, nobody needs to see the outline of your underwear. No, not even guys find that attractive. Actually, this rule goes for all instances when an outfit showcases your underwear as outerwear: AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE.
Unless you are an aspiring Victoria’s Secret model, please keep your underwear in it’s rightful place: under your clothes! While this trend seems to have emerged on the fashion runways recently, please bear in mind that not everybody can pull this look off. It might look good on the 6-foot models parading in them, but unfortunately, may look a tad bit distasteful on us regular people.
Another common mistake is the notion that more is better in terms of accessories. In this case, let us remember the words of Coco Chanel: Before stepping out of the house, remove the last thing that you put on. What she meant here was that less is always better, which I most definitely agree. Often, I have seen girls who wear multiple bracelets, necklaces, rings and earrings, all on the same outfit! This combination only succeeds in overwhelming the entire outfit, making one look like an accessory closet just exploded on them.
Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that one must wear only a minimal amount of jewelry with any outfit. In fact, if the occasion calls for it, go crazy with the accessories if you must. But at the end of the day, just like most aspects of our lives, it’s all about balance. A final word of advice: when dressing up, please don’t dress up to look like somebody else.
Instead, dress up to look like a better version of yourself. In this day and age, most girls end up dressing up in the same way, following the same trends. The result is a horde of carbon copies, devoid of any personality. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Don’t be afraid to show off your individuality through your personal style. It’s not compulsory to look just like all the Britney’s, Hillary’s, Jessica’s and Miley’s out there.
Remember: style is about looking different and memorable, not like a mass-produced product from a factory line.
BY HARVINA KAUR
