FIghting the Frump

Fighting the frump? Want to maintain your relevance? Wondering how to bring a little wow into your t-shirt, jeans and flip flops? Check out the latest segment from WSBT - click HERE

I've received a lot of questions about this segment - below are some more tips:

Mistakes ladies make at work to look dated or frumpy are:

• Being too matchy-matchy
• Thinking the good suit they purchased to get the job 10 years ago is still relevant today
• Playing down accessories

One way to look dated at work is to not change your style of work-dress. Ladies can get in a rut with the typical black suit, white shirt. The last thing you want to be seen as at work is ‘out of touch’, “irrelevant’ or ‘outdated’.

Mix it up a little. Mix fabrics – here we’ve taken a basic suiting pant, and mixed it with a black linen jacket. We replaced the typical white shirt with a pop of summer blue, and added layered necklaces and a pin.

Basic mistakes ladies make when they are in a t-shirt, jean, flip flop phase of life are:

• Over sized t-shirts (maybe husband’s?)
• Jeans that don’t fit (too big or too small – from another ‘decade’)
• Shoes / accessories, or the lack thereof!

Comfortable doesn’t have to mean a lack of creativity or style. Many ladies I talk to are Mom’s…and when I ask what they typically wear, its jeans and a t-shirt. Although that is a simple way to dress, it is a very easy frump-trap to get into.

Stay away from your husband’s t-shirts, and look for t-shirts that have some kind of detail on it that makes it more feminine (cut, color, detail like a bow). Once you have found a great tee is a size that fits you, and try a color other than ‘white’.

With jeans, a dark wash is always more dressy, and more flattering. TO really take the fashion quotient up a notch, look for a trouser cut jean.

Flip flips do not have to be the $5 ones - look for something that is more sophisticated.

Mistakes with date night include:

• Revert to jeans and a tee or work wardrobe
• Don’t look like you’re trying too hard
• Wear something that is way outside your comfort zone, and it shows!

Most women feel so out of their comfort zone, they go back to jeans and a tee, or they pull out a work outfit. Yes, you can use those pieces for date night, but remember that the men in our lives like to see us looking like…WOMEN!

Another mistake I see is women in their late 40’s thinking they can’t wear the cute flippy skirts that are so ‘in’ this season.

Grab one of those great little skirts, and dress it up with a ruffle tee and a cardigan. You are making the outfit more sophisticated with the cardigan, great shoe by Stewart Weitzman and handbag (as seen in the video).