Does anyone else have those dresses that ride up as you walk so that once you’re half way down your street (and it’s too late to turn back and change) the hem is around your waist and you’ve shown everyone your knickers? Well, this dress is one of those. It was a terrible choice for a walk up Beacon Hill with my mum but it’s just so beautiful I can put up with the regular skirt tugging and cover it with a long jacket for the walking around part of my day. I feel very much like Willow in the later college episodes of Buffy which is a look I’m always trying to emulate. It sits much better if I’m not wearing a coat or carrying a bag but I live in Scotland so that’s a rare occurrence. I wanted to show you my dress in it’s full glory but it was just too cold to take my jacket off – sorry everyone! My shoes were a much more sensible choice. If you’ve read my outfit posts for a while you’ll know that I am continuously moaning about how hard it is to find nice, good quality, vegan shoes for every day wear. The cut out boots trend was infuriating – I want my boots to be warm and not have holes in!! Cheap shoes with fur on the outside that doesn’t continue inside the shoe make no sense to me. I like to have one pair of boots that I wear every day and they inevitably fall to pieces in a couple of months. I’ve realised recently that only women’s retailers get away with making things of such poor quality – men would never buy them – so I’ve started shopping in the men’s section. These boots were such a brilliant find – they’re sturdy, warm, vegan, designed for men and they were cheap!
Outfit Details: Dress, Velvet Cave / Denim Jacket, Vintage (Shrub Coop, Edinburgh) / Shoes, Emilio Luca X Brantano / Hat, Second Hand (Loros, Loughborough) / Jumper, Vintage (Tunnel Vision) / Denim Coat with Faux Fur Lining, Vintage (eBay) / Lipstick, Lime Crime Squash via Depop
It’s completely bullshit that men have access to both more affordable and better quality clothes than women do. I’m lucky that with size 7 feet I can fit into a men’s size 6, but most women don’t have that option. It’s not just with clothes that this happens – a recent study found that on average, products marketed at women were 37% more expensive than the exact same product marketed at men, despite the fact that women (on average) earn less. Eugh. It’s good to know so that you can buy the men’s version where possible (clothes, cosmetics etc.) but the gender inequality of it all still sucks. As if the tampon tax wasn’t bad enough by itself!
That’s a good solution to the boot problem! I am always buying men’s sweaters and shirts because I like menswear colors and fabrics better–it’s back to that personal aesthetic of liking deeper and subtler colors. But I hadn’t thought of shoes!
Ahh, mens jumpers are so good, they’re so snuggly and I like the aesthetic too. James and I share most of our jumpers which is a bonus and I have been known to steal jumpers from my brother! x
Excellent on the boots front Jess!!! I bloody love your lips and dress combo in this post as well – you look stunning. I quite like Wills Vegan Shoes for shoes but it’s expensive xxx
Aww thank you. I do browse Wills often but it’s expensive and I’m not keen on many of the styles. Underground do some vegan creepers which are mega pricey but look amazing! x
Love your outfit, Jess, and thank you for pointing out that we can buy men’s items cheaper (when we can get a good fit). I agree. It’s ridiculous to be paid less, but have to pay more for poorer quality.
I never used to browse the mens section, but I’m so glad I’ve been doing it more! x
PS/ Try a slip for help with the cling problem. (wink)
Great idea – I forgot that that’s what they’re for!
aw no, i’ve had too many dresses and skirts like that which has made for far too many embarrassing walks to and from uni! (and like someone’s said above, with lots of dresses a slip will help!) as soon as you mentioned willow, i was like yes that’s exactly what this outfit looks like! and that lipstick shade is incredible! xxx
Yeah, I think with fast fashion especially, the clothes are never actually tested for how they look on people day to day – they seem to make them so a model can look good in them for 10 minutes on a photoshoot. This dress is gorgeous and well made though, I just need to try a slip underneath and see if that helps. Willow is my style icon, always! x
Your Style is really nice and you have right!
Thank you! <3