Bad Style Choices- An Epidemic

Chanel chain strap bag, check. Black boyfriend jacket, check. Patent ballet flats, check. Skinny jeans, check. A walking talking example of how to wear the trends?

A major STYLE NO NO in the flesh... I couldn't take a picture of it... Scott thought it was rude, but it was so perfect of an example I would have given into inappropriate social behavior just to share it with you...

Believe it or not, there is a difference between style and fashion. Just because a trend is in fashion, doesn't mean it's stylish. Do you hear me loud and clear?

I love a good trend as much as the next fashionista. But let's be realistic, not every body type can sport the current trends, whatever that might be at the time. One of those is skinny jeans. Being a curvy girl myself, I don't like to think of fashion being something unattainable. But that's where curvy girls fall short. Just because the skinny runway models and celebs wear a particular look and it looks good, doesn't mean everyone can or should dress that way.

I surfed the web for some great examples of bad skinny jeans to make up for not having a pic of the girl from Saturday. I kept running into curvy/real women blogs swearing "you too can wear skinny jeans."  Please understand, I don't disagree with them.  But the way they are styled (as pictured above), just makes their hips/thighs look larger.  Had they worn shirts that fell below their crotch line, their hips would have appeared to be smaller.  By having a visual line cut across the widest parts of their bodies, they actually look heavier.  Skinny jeans are tricky, even on a skinny woman.  There are other cuts of denim far easier to style flawlessly.

Pictures like above (top left) beg the question, "Why would you purposefully wear something that wasn't very flattering, when you know there are many other better option out there?" I have to assume it's because either the stylist for that pic was trying to showcase just the jeans (in which case would you want your hips looking like that?), or their client's desire to look like a celebrity overtook their sense of reason.

Forgive me for sounding harsh, but these bad style choices, in favor of following the trends, are an epidemic.

My solution for women who's hip/thigh ratio is large enough to warrant being considered "curvy", is to try straight leg denim instead. The wider-than-skinny leg of a straight leg jean will help keep you looking long and lean instead of having been stuffed into a sausage casing. America is doing it right (see far right photo).

For less than $60, you can try this skinny jean-alternative from the Gap.


Straight Leg denim picture courtesy of Gap.com