Comfy Arty Androgynous?

I’ve been thinking about the 53 styles post ever since it was posted, and I find it so hard to pinpoint my style. I’m attracted to some of the fashion in the 1920s, specifically art nouveau. But as far as the other styles I would say my base outfit is comfy and basic, but the details tend to be arty and androgenous if you define androgynous as a mixture of masculine and feminine. I would love to know if you see this as well or something else?

Outfit is frayed and faded cropped jeans, pale gray combat boots, light blue lace trim Cami under a rose brown cashmere sweater. Accessories include bronze art nouveau Style earrings with bits of blue and green enameling, light Blue and brown floral leather cuff bracelet, Blue stone and bronze necklace, Floral print scarf and blues and greens and pale gray backpack.

Original post :
https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....tyle-types

1
2
3
This post is also published in the youlookfab forum. You can read and reply to it in either place. All replies will appear in both places.

24 Comments

  • Angie replied 1 year ago

    KILLER Fab!

    Love this on you!

    Wearing patterns with white in them are excellent with your hair! Loving the pearl grey complement of shoes and bag too. Everything works well together.

    I see "tough", arty elements, casual, and comfy :)

  • slim cat replied 1 year ago

    Great look! I see tomboy-ish with gamine mixed with fab accessories with artistic ease! Loving it!

  • kellygirl replied 1 year ago

    I see arty tomboy casual. You look fab, btw!

  • Bonnie replied 1 year ago

    Everything works so well together. 

  • Lana replied 1 year ago

    Thanks Angie, I think you’re right it’s more about toughening up feminine for me. I used to call my style edgy romantic but it was my version of edgy not necessarily A look with lots of black.

    Slim cat, I like the words you used “artistic ease!”

    Kelly arty tomboy sounds good, I just need that feminine in there somehow too.

    Thank you so much Bonnie!

  • Synne replied 1 year ago

    Always such an interesting exercise this, to try to pinpoint a style! I find it so useful for [finding] my own style. It's already inherently hidden somewhere inside the giant rock of marble, but I want it chiseled out!

    These are great looks for you. I definitely see the art nuovou elements in your style. Especially with your gorgeous flapper hair style, the drape in the top, and the long pendant necklace.

    I wouldn't say this is overtly androgynous, aside from the already androgynous elements inherently in Art Nouveau. I would rather say you have elements of trendy, modern casual. Sort of an Art Nouveau Girl Next Door?

    Would love to see more outfit examples from you to dive deeper in an attempt at style analysis!

  • Sloper replied 1 year ago

    All I know is I like your outfit and you do certainly look FAB!  I don't have a style name for it though - I'm not into that as much as other fabbers seem to be - just a personality thing.

  • rachylou replied 1 year ago

    You look great, the outfit is smart and well-composed. I see what Angie sees. The term androgynous is interesting. I tend to think of it as both overtly masculine and feminine elements in the same outfit. To me what you have here has ‘universality.’

  • Synne replied 1 year ago

    Interesting Rachylou... To me androgynous reads "neither".

    I consider myself to have quite a lot of androgyny to my overall look. But I am fighting it, hard! I am slowly starting to come to terms with it though.. I have learned that when I try to go too far in either of the opposite directions I look very ... parodic almost?

  • Style Fan replied 1 year ago

    I would agree with Angie.  These looks are fabulous on you.  Comfy, arty, and casual blended into an outstanding style.

  • Lana replied 1 year ago

    It is so interesting Racheylou and Synne! I would really like to figure it out. I know how it feels when it’s wrong and when it’s right there’s a “click” and an “ah” because it feels authentically me. I wish there were words to describe that feeling. I also see androgynous as either/or but when I looked up images of androgynous dressing, it was women dressing in more masculine clothes, or men in more traditionally feminine clothes. I just know an overly feminine OR masculine outfit doesn’t feel right to me till the opposite is present.

  • Jaime replied 1 year ago

    Well whatever you call it, you look fab. I am wondering if what you are describing isn't closer to unisex than androgynous, at least as used in clothing descriptions. 

  • Runcarla replied 1 year ago

    I see the arty tomboy that Kelly girl sees, when I look at the outfits you have posted in the past week or so.  Would need to see more, and what you do for different life scenarios to winkle down farther.  Your style has something in common with Janet, who is also an artist.

    2 years ago, Jenn posted this ‘style your wardrobe’ challenge https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....-challenge

    The 5 challenge outfits were:

    - date night

    - important meeting

    -a wedding

    - working around the house

    - running errands

    You could really see (and identify) the distinctive styles of members who participated in the challenge.  It would be interesting to see if the style projected in your recent outfits is consistent across all scenarios.  (I’ll lay money down that ‘arty’ is.). Maybe art nouveau or ‘20’s comes out more with dressy occasions, and androgyny with ‘business’ and tomboy when you dress strictly for casual?

  • Jessikams replied 1 year ago

    Your hair is SO good! Great outfit.

  • Stagiaire Fash replied 1 year ago

    Great outfit. That’s a cool scarf and I like the nonintuitive pairing with the color of the top. I think the thing that makes the outfit lean more tomboy than androgynous is the cut of the jeans, which lets your feminine curves through.

    Carla, i didn’t see that challenge from 2 years ago. Must’ve been just before the pandemic, looking at how few of those things people have done for the last couple years. I could probably dress for most of those, even though I’m unlikely (pandemic or no) to do most of them.

  • Staysfit replied 1 year ago

    Lana, you have a wonderful sense of personal style.  I find describing style tricky.  I definitely see comfy, basic or modern classic.  I also see either arty or soft edge.  Finally I see something I might call “rugged natural” or  “Midwest natural”, “north woods natural” or maybe “north woods rugged”.  Maybe Midwest rugged?  I’m originally from Michigan and I am trying to describe a certain natural look, which is perhaps subtlety unique as compared to the rugged/natural looks out west or in the northeast (I have lived in all three regions, longest in Michigan and NY).  Maybe it’s more hiker/camper/rural farm and less western or eastern equestrian?


    I use both a style statement and style adjectives.  The idea of a two word style statement came up many years ago after I read a book suggested by Suz (a lovely member of our forum).  “Style Statement, live by your own design” by McCarthy and LaPorte.  My statement is “Genuine Composed”.  I have tried a few others but always return to this one.  

    I also use style adjectives because I find them very helpful.  My style adjectives have changed over time.  For example for many years I used: Fresh, Classic, Sleek, Practical, Light.  This year I changed them to: Sleek, Classic, Fresh, Functional and Fun.

    To generate style adjectives I asked friends, and family to describe my style and then I picked out the words that repeated most and I narrowed it to five that felt right at that time.  



  • Lana replied 1 year ago

    Thank you Jaime, Jessikams and Style Fan!

    RunCarla, I just spent some time looking at Janet’s WIW posts and her finds, and you are spot on, we even have some of the same clothes. I think “arty” is a solid bet, and I will take you up on the challenge you mentioned — maybe others will join in again. I think I can find most of those outfits in my photos.  


    Stagiaire, you hit on something important in my aspirational style — I like something unexpected somewhere. I’ll start a new post with a new challenge if you want to try it with me. 

    Thank you Staysfit, i like your descriptions!  I too had a style statement and style words, but they were feeling too restrictive.  I think I need something descriptive and aspirational. I need to revisit that. 

  • Stagiaire Fash replied 1 year ago

    Ohh, SF’s descriptors are good (she & StyleFan had the initials first, so my short name is Stag)

    Juxtaposition/something unexpected is pretty much the defining characteristic of my style. If you start a thread, I’ll see if I can put on something worth posting.

  • RobinF replied 1 year ago

    I am not good at the style descriptors and haven't been able to pinpoint them for myself, one of these days I'll have to focus on that because I really want to figure it out. I do see the arty tomboy aspect of your style.

    Love this outfit, the blue/brown color scheme is fab on you and I love the boots with the frayed jeans.

  • unfrumped replied 1 year ago

    Super look! I’m not arty buy I love juxtaposition. I think juxtaposing
    ( traditionally) masculine & feminine items, or tough with girly, is not the same as androgynous— at least the way I think of it.
    I also like the results of finding a more tough item - like combat boot- in a softer or just unexpected color, or some element of refinement.

  • Zaeobi replied 1 year ago

    Glad you found the origin post helpful as a starting point - I'll admit I'm still in the process of mulling over my style descriptors too, lol.

    I'd like to pull the Midwest direction @StaysFit mentions to 'Softly Rugged' - does that resonate with you? I think it encapsulates that 'tension' or juxtaposition between masculine & feminine better than Androgynous does, whilst also alluding to your colouring & fabric choices (which doesn't feel as harsh as, say, the 90s grunge look popular in PNW). What do you think?

  • Mary Beth (formerly LBD) replied 1 year ago

    Whatever you’re calling it, I think it works!  You look gorgeous!


    I’m not sure about “androgynous”, because I grew up in the 80s, and I think of Annie Lennox, Grace Jones, and New Wave.  So I think I view the word as sharper, sleeker, harder and more deliberately ‘sexless’ to the eye.  HOWEVER, it’s been four decades (gulp), and I’m certain the 2020s “androgynous” is far different than last century.  

    “Androgynous” got you these beautiful results, I vote keep it in your style lexicon!

  • Lana replied 1 year ago

    I think you both are right, Zaeobi and Mary Beth, there are specific masculine and feminine elements here that are combined to hit the sweet spot for me rather than that whole look being sexless or genderless.  Softly Rugged is getting there — might be the same as “Gentle Strength” or “Yin-Yang” where the juxtaposition is necessary. Btw I love Annie Lennox and Tilda Swinton, but would feel uncomfortable dressed like them — too far masculine or feminine does not feel good to me.  Thank you both!

    Here is an example of me dressing more androgynous, but honestly it’s just me in a tuxedo jacket, a silk drapey camisole, pewter coated jeans and metallic brogues, a silver metal clutch, and moonstone chandelier earrings. Mostly masculine with some feminine elements and I love it!

  • Zaeobi replied 1 year ago

    Yes, this sounds similar to the extent to which I can push the 'masculine' envelope before I feel uncomfortable about the level of juxtaposition with my natural features.

    I once posted an interview outfit here of a bottle green pantsuit but with a cream pussybow blouse & shiny gold belt buckle, & someone mentioned how it looked like a 'female Dandy' to them. Another style descriptor to consider - though it might be a tad too 'British menswear' inspired for you?

You need to be logged in to comment