All of fashion was for the anorexic then and no matter how bad it is now, we are better off.

And yes, short women, tall women, thin women…we all get told lots of silly advice that may sound good on paper, but doesn’t work in reality for a large percentage of us. For instance, I was always told that as a petite it was important that I keep my jewelry very tiny. Even when I was quite slender, that just didn’t work on me. My personality and bone structure both demanded bigger jewelry to look right. I tended to concentrate once upon a time on the advice for the petite, since that was me, but the same articles usually had equally strong advice for other builds, and I’m sure it was about as much use.

saidee, I think that is excellent advice for us all: concentrate on feeling fabulous. A good, critical eye for whether something is actually flattering is important, but most of us do look our best when we feel our best. Why? Because we’re glowing from the inside. And that’s when we get noticed for us rather than for our clothes.

Looking over some of my recent photos, I’ve realized I look my best in clear, light colors - even pastels. They don’t “add pounds” like the old saw goes. And if I’m happier in a pale-yellow top instead of a plain, severe navy blue shirtwaist, I WILL look better - because I’ll be smiling and my complexion will be flattered. And small patterned fabrics look good on me. And small jewelry seems to suit me better than the “big, chunky” pieces often recommended for bigger girls.

And it helps for me to have a waistline. And Empire stuff looks okay on me. And princess seams look fantastic.

Everyone is different and “blanket rules” do no good.

I would actually recommend that the ladies try this out (if they haven’t already): get your digital camera and have a friend (or set the camera on “timer” if you have one) take pictures of you in a variety of outfits - against the SAME background and in similar poses, at similar distances from the camera. It’s kind of eye-opening and I find it actually gives me a better idea of how I look - for some reason - than looking in the mirror does. (There have been times I’ve looked at photos of myself and thought, Dang, I look good there, when I didn’t notice looking particularly good in the mirror)

Do tall women get this kind of junk told to them (”Don’t wear polka dots dear, it will make you look like a giraffe”)? Or very slender women?

cautioned her readers NOT to tell her they couldn’t possible wear that style dress with tiers starting almost from the shoulders because it would make them look FAT. Her question for us was what would the rest of our lives be like if we never ever worried about that again, focusing rather on how our clothes make us feel. One of those luscious tiered dresses would be so twirly and fun to wear, who cares about the rest of the world????

Bless Erin for this! and for all the dresses…