I love them both on you, too! I can't say whether it's a Gen X thing or not but I immediately looked at that second dress and thought, "I could never wear that because it would make my arms look huge." So, I have a "thing," too. I hope younger generations aren't as hung up as we are because it's an exhausting way to live.
Maybe it is a generational thing – my Gen Z kids and their friends don’t seem to have the same body issues that we had. But also, they don’t have my boomer mother hanging over them, going on a different crazy-ass diet every couple of weeks, criticizing the way their outfits look and asking if they don’t want to maybe go to aerobics with her [MEANINGFUL LOOK].
On another note, I like the idea of dresses, and I like them on other people, but on me, they sort of feel like grown-up lady cosplay. Pants and shorts for me, unless I’m going somewhere really formal – then I want to really dress up with a great dress and heels. But that’s like maybe twice a year. 🤷♀️
My mother (silent generation) once told me that she always felt overweight and unattractive even when photo evidence proves otherwise. She definitely passed some of that anxiety down to me, though I think she tried hard not to.
Oh for sure - my Silent Gen MIL not only gave her daughter, my sister-in-law, a world class complex about her body, but also still - at 87 years old – talks about her own “figure” and was pleased with the weight loss that happened after she had a medical crisis recently. That’s a type of brain worm that goes pretty deep.
My boomer mother never urged me to diet, but she has always weighed less than me and when she's at her largest (which is 20 lbs less than my current weight) calls herself "fatty fatty boombalatty." Which is a saying she got from HER mother.
I love the muscle tee dress. And now I hope you get more into dresses so you can steer some my way. I've waited out the tiered prairie dress trend and I'm ready to buy. Ideally in colours, but I always reach for the black on my closet, so likely would stick to black too.
100% GenX thing (she says, as a fellow GenXer who is bitter about constantly being the forgotten generation. We're here! We matter! We're just so damn exhausted from caring for kids and aging parents in tandem, it's hard to be loud about it). I think the second dress looks better too, fwiw. I hope you can learn to feel fabulous in it! I've had a few pieces over the years that I had to kind of get over myself about wearing and often ended up being great in the end. If nothing else, the experiment is useful, I find!
I get it. Used to have a flat stomach but... menopause weight gain! (or too much sugar YMMV). So I would wear a button down over the dress as a jacket and tie it at the waist to have some more camo. Or a denim shirt also tied at waist hanging down the back like we did in the 90s grunge days... I agree with Leandra--it is an exhausting way to live.
Welp, I just bought the Muscle T dress bc it looks great on you! I hear you on the stomach thing. Mine used to be completely flat but that has changed radically in the two years since I turned 50. And it’s not just concern over my looks; I can’t stand the feeling of anything clinging to it (shirts, PJs, whatever). It’s like my skin got more sensitive. :-(
You look amazing in both! I can see why you like the rib knit dress - the material does look luxe. But when styled in the last photo, that other dress looks fabulous! I'm pretty sure it looks exactly like you want it to, vibe-wise, with the casual and easy thing going on.
Ugh... re the stomach thing. I am GenX too and I *hatttteee* that about our generation. But I do love seeing younger women looking amazing and dressing in all sorts of ways with (seeming) confidence!
I so agree with you, I do think it's generational. I think i'm too far gone to change my self loathing ways, but I try. you look beautiful. and I know what you mean about obsessive online shopping spiral.
I am a bit older than gen x, and believe me, we had it beaten into our heads that clothes should be flattering. Years of listening to Stacy London and Clinton what's his name. I like both dresses on you, I agree that the muscle dress is slightly better, but my real feeling is that anyone who can WAIL on a mountain bike like you can, can relax and not worry about their body!
I love them both on you, too! I can't say whether it's a Gen X thing or not but I immediately looked at that second dress and thought, "I could never wear that because it would make my arms look huge." So, I have a "thing," too. I hope younger generations aren't as hung up as we are because it's an exhausting way to live.
Maybe it is a generational thing – my Gen Z kids and their friends don’t seem to have the same body issues that we had. But also, they don’t have my boomer mother hanging over them, going on a different crazy-ass diet every couple of weeks, criticizing the way their outfits look and asking if they don’t want to maybe go to aerobics with her [MEANINGFUL LOOK].
On another note, I like the idea of dresses, and I like them on other people, but on me, they sort of feel like grown-up lady cosplay. Pants and shorts for me, unless I’m going somewhere really formal – then I want to really dress up with a great dress and heels. But that’s like maybe twice a year. 🤷♀️
My mother (silent generation) once told me that she always felt overweight and unattractive even when photo evidence proves otherwise. She definitely passed some of that anxiety down to me, though I think she tried hard not to.
Oh for sure - my Silent Gen MIL not only gave her daughter, my sister-in-law, a world class complex about her body, but also still - at 87 years old – talks about her own “figure” and was pleased with the weight loss that happened after she had a medical crisis recently. That’s a type of brain worm that goes pretty deep.
My boomer mother never urged me to diet, but she has always weighed less than me and when she's at her largest (which is 20 lbs less than my current weight) calls herself "fatty fatty boombalatty." Which is a saying she got from HER mother.
I love the muscle tee dress. And now I hope you get more into dresses so you can steer some my way. I've waited out the tiered prairie dress trend and I'm ready to buy. Ideally in colours, but I always reach for the black on my closet, so likely would stick to black too.
I love this! If it is a genx thing or gen x and older, that's awesome! Grow out of this crap, young people!
100% GenX thing (she says, as a fellow GenXer who is bitter about constantly being the forgotten generation. We're here! We matter! We're just so damn exhausted from caring for kids and aging parents in tandem, it's hard to be loud about it). I think the second dress looks better too, fwiw. I hope you can learn to feel fabulous in it! I've had a few pieces over the years that I had to kind of get over myself about wearing and often ended up being great in the end. If nothing else, the experiment is useful, I find!
I get it. Used to have a flat stomach but... menopause weight gain! (or too much sugar YMMV). So I would wear a button down over the dress as a jacket and tie it at the waist to have some more camo. Or a denim shirt also tied at waist hanging down the back like we did in the 90s grunge days... I agree with Leandra--it is an exhausting way to live.
Welp, I just bought the Muscle T dress bc it looks great on you! I hear you on the stomach thing. Mine used to be completely flat but that has changed radically in the two years since I turned 50. And it’s not just concern over my looks; I can’t stand the feeling of anything clinging to it (shirts, PJs, whatever). It’s like my skin got more sensitive. :-(
This. But also, it just makes me aware of my clothes in a way that I don't love. It feels too tight even if it's not really too tight, you know?
Yes, exactly!
You look amazing in both! I can see why you like the rib knit dress - the material does look luxe. But when styled in the last photo, that other dress looks fabulous! I'm pretty sure it looks exactly like you want it to, vibe-wise, with the casual and easy thing going on.
Ugh... re the stomach thing. I am GenX too and I *hatttteee* that about our generation. But I do love seeing younger women looking amazing and dressing in all sorts of ways with (seeming) confidence!
I so agree with you, I do think it's generational. I think i'm too far gone to change my self loathing ways, but I try. you look beautiful. and I know what you mean about obsessive online shopping spiral.
I like the dresses, but man am I tired of black, navy, beige, gray… how many neutral outfits do we need??
I am really struggling to find any good colors these days! I just carry a red bag or wear my red Birks to break up the black.
I am a bit older than gen x, and believe me, we had it beaten into our heads that clothes should be flattering. Years of listening to Stacy London and Clinton what's his name. I like both dresses on you, I agree that the muscle dress is slightly better, but my real feeling is that anyone who can WAIL on a mountain bike like you can, can relax and not worry about their body!
Honestly I like both of them on you! I actually just bought a version of the first dress from gap and am planning to wear it to work today.
I totally get it re the stomach thing. It’s how I feel too. My 18yo models healthier body image than I do so I’m using her as a guide 😂