Do's and Don'ts in Fashion

[LolitaHaze]

I am not sure if this thread has already been started, but I thought it may be a fun place to post our tips and ask questions about fashion do's and don'ts. For example... One should not wear white after Labour Day, but when can you start wearing it again? I think it is Memorial Day... isn't it? Also, are there any color combinations that should be avoided?

 

[Viola]

The only color faux pas I can think of are:

1) No brown shoes with black outfits

2) "Blue with green should never be seen" - which I observe, but I don't much like blue anyhow. I claim its because my eyes are green and I don't want to clash. lol

 

[LizzieMaine]

Don't wear stockings darker than your shoes.

 

[Lauren]

DON'T Wear a shirt so tightly you can see your bralines.
DO wear an undershirt with light or sheer blouses.

 

[LolitaHaze]

The only color faux pas I can think of are:

2) "Blue with green should never be seen" - which I observe, but I don't much like blue anyhow. I claim its because my eyes are green and I don't want to clash. lol

No blue and green? But I like that color combination.

 

[MissQueenie]

Never wear suspenders and a belt. People will think you are paranoid.

 

[Katydid]

What about hats, shoes, bags, gloves, and belts? I bought a dress that is missing its belt. Should I get a belt to match the shoes? Can I go for complementary colors or all the same? Should the accessories bring out a color in the dress or again, can they be complementary? And about the belt....what should I look for...skinny/wide/leather/cloth, and were buckles covered in cloth then or were they just plain metal? I have so many questions about etiquette. Like gloves....all the time year round? Should they always match your shoes or can you wear white all the time. I feel I'm too clumsy to wear white and they would be some other color by the end of the day.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Never wear black undergarments under white pants! (Honest--I used to see this in the workplace )

For dresses that are missing belts, a simple fix is to pick up a length of matching or complementary ribbon. Vintage clothing stores often sell belts that have lost their dresses, too

You can also make belts--vintage buckles are quite readily available.
Buckles came in many materials, including plastics, metal, and fabric covered bases.

Women actually were fond of color schemes, like green and rust, blue and orange, or navy blue and red (this one was very popular during WWII). Certain colors are known as complementary, and will make the other 'pop.'

Gloves were worn year round--the time of year determines the fabric of course. They came in lots of color, too, and coordinated with a lady's outfit. Hats, shoes, belts (if not in a self fabric to match dress) and purses were in coordinating fabrics to set off the main fashion the lady was wearing, like so:

 

[magneto]

. Like gloves....all the time year round? Should they always match your shoes or can you wear white all the time. I feel I'm too clumsy to wear white and they would be some other color by the end of the day.

I wear gloves all the time in winter. sometimes in summer. I have a severe addiction to buying white kid gloves, I sympathize. You should have something white in your outfit...I wore white gloves with a mostly-black dressmaker suit and light stockings at a holiday party and 2 people told me I looked like a BA air hostess :eusa_doh:

 

[Katydid]

Black under white?! Ew!

How do I make a belt and with the ribbon, should I tie it or should it lay flat somehow? What about using a scarf? In the one picture, it looks like the woman has blue and red fabric tied around her waist. Btw, great pictures. Thanks.

Is it imperative that I wear a hat as well? I realize it's probably the proper thing to do but if I don't have time (or more likely the money) to pick up a hat by the time this event rolls around, would I be committing a maor faux pax?

 

[decodoll]

Flower print under white is just about as bad...I worked with one of those for a bit.

I love navy and red together. That is probably my favourite colour combination at the moment. I have a lot of navy clothes. Amazingly no other fashion don'ts are coming to mind at the moment. There is a thread about glove etiquette around here somewhere.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

You can do either--it just depends on the dress! And the bow or tie can be centered, or worn to the side (when I wear mine to the side, I always do so to the left, unless the dress has a side draping to the right. See what looks best.)

I forgot to mention, sashes were also popular in the 30s-40s, and these are actually still somewhat popular now. You can find them for less then $10 at Target or New York and Co. This is the effect you are going for:

 

[LolitaHaze]

From the 1945 version of Emily Post's Etiquette

GLOVES

"Always wear gloves, of course, in church, and also on the street. A really smart woman wears them outdoors always, even in the country. Always wear gloves in a restaurant, in a theater, when you go to lunch, or to a formal dinner, or to a dance. Always take them off when you eat.
A lady never takes off her gloves to shake hands, no matter when or where, and never apologizes for wearing gloves when shaking hands. On formal occasions she should put gloves on to shake hands with a hostess or with her own guests. The only exception is when she is wearing earth-stained gardening gloves, or possibly golf or riding gloves, which might seem marring to the hand or the fresh gloves of another. In that case she would pull off her glove or say, 'I can't shake hands.'"

 

[ITG]

No blue and green? But I like that color combination.

Me too. I think blue and orange OR black and navy blue together are much worse combos.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

My mom doesn't like to see green and blue together (as in, a green top with blue jeans--I remember arguing over that in high school, when I still wore jeans ), but I think it looks fine.

However, I think blue and orange look fine together as well--they are actually complementary colors (orange and blue, purple and yellow, red and green). Navy with rust or gold accents can look rather sharp!

Another popular 30s-40s color scheme was yellow and brown:

 

[VintageJess]

Some more

How about dark hosiery with white shoes?

Or one that particularly irks me: wearing everyday accessories and outerwear with more formal attire...
Like when you see someone wearing an "everyday" watch in a prom picture or putting on their "everyday" coat over an evening dress!

 

[jitterbugdoll]

That just reminded me--the same woman who wore black underwear and white pants also wore black tights (completely opaque) with white sandals!

 

[Irena]

Wearing two shades of any one color. That is, the colors started off the same shade but faded at different rates. This is especially bad with blacks, as they tend to fade toward different colors (bluish-black, reddish-black, etc.).

 

[mysterygal]

I find the same thing applies to red shades as well. there is the pinkish-red, orange-red, blue-tinged red

 

[maisie]

I recently found another colour combination that goes great together, aqua and brown! I got and aqua blouse and put it on top a brown suit and it looks sharp!!