Redirection

Friday, January 16, 2015

Feminine Clothes, Part 2

So today I finally have time to upload the pictures I took two days ago. Here are examples of different styles from an old copy of Verena, my favourite knitting magazine.

Formal:

Formal, evening variety:





Ethno:

Casual:






Sportive (a skirt is a bit on the short side, but you get the meaning):


The styles are obviously different but still distinctly feminine.




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30 comments:

  1. Housewife from FinlandJanuary 16, 2015 at 6:07 AM

    I love the last picture. I personally would never knitted things when dressing formally. For me knits are always a tiny bit dowdy, propably because they are so "hairy". Jersey is then another matter, it can look very tidy indeed. But this is only my opinion, when it comes to my dressing and I know I am rather sensitive when it comes to "looking tidy".

    Isn't it annoying that skirts are so often "bit on the short side" nowadays? Or then they drag the floor? It is really hard to find I skirt that is really knee-lenght or even better, 30's lenght. I love that lenght, you don't have to mind the hem even if its wet outside and you don't have to be so cautious when you sit.

    Oh, and finnish winter makes all this becoming more feminine -thing so very easy. We have a dog so I have to be out a lot. Now i like it very much but nobody would propably know wether I am a man or a woman. When I google "feminine winter clothes" I find clothes that will work maybe in big cities -if you walk only short distances and it is not raining. But this winter we have had first heavy rain. Then snow. Then -20 C. Then rain an extremely slippery. Then wet snow and slush. This goes on and on in two weeks periods...

    Well, that's enough complaining. Some ladies seem to manage to look relatively feminine even in dogpark. And I could try more, especially when I go run errands without the dog.

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    1. MiriamJanuary 17, 2015 at 8:11 AM

      I share your frustration about decent skirt length. I never found something I liked in stores when we lived in Finland. Women are very feminine here where I live now (Estonia) and they are proud of being a woman. There is a certain problem of immodesty, but in general, they don't look so drab than women in Finland (in general!!). So, if you live in southern Finland, you could visit Tallinn with a wider range of feminine clothing in mind.

      Protten makes very 'tidy looking' clothing, though I don't know what they do have right now.

      http://protten.ee/category/kauplused/

      Valik roivad is another my favorite, but unfortenately they don't have a store in Tallinn. I found a very nice skirt for winter there, with a hem line under the knee.

      http://www.valikkauplused.eu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=47&Itemid=55

      I prefer long skirts, the longer the better :-) We also have a dog :-) And yes, I do wade through slush/drifted snow in my long skirts, with my long coat on, 3 times a day...

      Delete
  2. SanneJanuary 16, 2015 at 6:42 AM

    I am a knitter myself so I'll admit I do love knitted things. right now I'm wearing a long knitted skirt and it's warm and comfy:) I agree that woolen things aren't really very formal, however since I used a knitting magazine that was the best I could find.

    Here in my neck of woods I have little trouble finding knee-long skirts or dresses, in fact, most of my skirts are knee-length, but I noticed this trend of either very short or very long, too.

    As for Finnish winters, I sympathise and yet I wonder how did ladies do it in the 19th century when it was normal to wear a dress, or even in the 1930s or 1950s?

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    1. MiriamJanuary 17, 2015 at 8:23 AM

      Believe or not, long skirts are warmer in winter than jeans/pants (they are also cooler in summer) There must be a mini-climate underneath, otherwise it couldn't be possible, right? ;-)

      Under a longer skirt you can have anything you like. You don't embarrass yourself By wearing thermal leggings, because nobody can see. During the time of wearing stockings, every woman had woollen ones for winter. They had woollen' underpants' too, and when skirts became shorter, the legs of the pants became shorter too. I remember having short woollen underpants in the 80's (factory-made). They were very warm and handy.

      We'll see if the maxi skirt stay in fashion. I think it will, because of the hijab fashion that's going around.

      Delete
    2. SanneJanuary 17, 2015 at 8:31 AM

      Miriam, I love long skirts, unfortunately, my husband hates them, so to keep peace in the family I generally wear something just below the knee:)

      Delete
    3. MiriamJanuary 17, 2015 at 8:45 AM

      We can compromise our taste for the peace in the family sometimes, can't we? ;-)

      Delete
  3. MariettaJanuary 16, 2015 at 6:44 AM

    I like those outfits! They are put together well, but does that take a fair bit of shopping? Here in Canada, I see a lot of casualness, but personally I'm tired of jeans and see too many women wearing leggings that look horrible on them. Summers are easier but cold winter weather makes a warm coat, mitts and scarves very necessary.

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  4. SanneJanuary 16, 2015 at 7:04 AM

    I like Verena partly because of the outfits they feature, they are often quite sophisticated. Quite expensive as well, but they can give you an idea about your own style and how to achieve it.

    I call jeans Mao uniform:) There is a time and place to wear them, but every day?

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  5. SanneJanuary 17, 2015 at 2:37 AM

    Here is a blog about feminine fashions, for those interested:

    modestbudgetbelle80.blogspot.com

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  6. Housewife from FinlandJanuary 17, 2015 at 7:55 AM

    Women of old days most have been stronger built -and more used to uncomfort. During the war, we had patriotic ladies organisation called Lotta Svärd. Those ladies took partly care of soldier's catering, sometimes even in the front line. Some of them even took care in air control (unarmed). Winter could be very cold, even -40 c. Then they would dress like this:
    http://img.mtv3.fi/mn_kuvat/mtv3/ohjelmat/talvisota/sodan_arvet/851759.jpg
    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Finnish-lotta-svard-watching-the-skies-winterwar.png

    And their uniform was like this:
    http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130802172823/warrior/ru/images/b/b0/Lottapuku.jpg

    I admire these women greatly, but I must admit that I am a lesser woman and would propably just lie down and die in those circumstances. :)

    I actually do own one padded skirt that I could were more.

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  7. SanneJanuary 17, 2015 at 8:29 AM

    Interesting. I always thought the key to being warm in winter was layering, When you read books like Little House On The Prairie, you'll see that the pioneer women wore long woolen underwear in winter which they removed inside, plus long warm skirts.

    When i used to wear jeans, long ago, I never found them particularly warm in the winter. Now, granted, we don't often have -20*C over here, but we have minus temperatures nearly every winter. I usually wear woolen tights, woolen skirts, long boots and a long coat, generally it's enough to keep warm for me.

    As for previous generations being tough, yes, I noticed, but I think that if we lived in the same circumstances, we'd probably be tough, too.

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    1. MiriamJanuary 17, 2015 at 8:41 AM

      Layering, yes. But wearing wool and other natural fibers. Many layers of polyester don't keep you warm.

      The 'Lotta' uniform was made of cotton, I think, but they did have woollen underwear and cardigans. And long fur coats for duty outside.

      Delete
    2. SanneJanuary 17, 2015 at 9:14 AM

      I think this uniform made women look dignified and still distinctly feminine.

      Delete
    3. SanneJanuary 17, 2015 at 9:29 AM

      Yeah, I know about synthetics, but it can work OK if you pair an acrylic skirt with a long woolen coat, in our climate, anyway. When it's freezing, I only wear woolen skirts/dresses.

      Delete
  8. SanneJanuary 17, 2015 at 8:36 AM

    Also I once looked through an old magazine with the pictures of one of the first ski competitions for women in Switzerland, to my surprise all the ladies wore long skirts. Now I have skated in a skirt, but they were not so long. Anyway, this proves that it's possible to wear skirts in winter and lead an active life, of course, now it would probably look ridiculous so if we ever go skiing I'll just use a normal thermal ski suit.

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  9. SanneJanuary 18, 2015 at 2:38 AM

    Ladies, here is the British site which features 5 000 dresses:

    http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Dresses/S301,default,sc.html#http://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/Dresses/S301,default,sc.html&ajaxsearchrefinement

    Five thousand!:)

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  10. Housewife from FinlandJanuary 19, 2015 at 4:30 AM

    About ladies of the past: If we forget wartime, ladies, even farmers wife's, didn't really spend that much time outside at winter. They went to cowshed to take care of the cows, but it is allways plus-degrees in cowshed. What they did outside was to get some water from the well and some firewood -that me usually chopped ready, women just carried it in. No matter how cold it is, you can do thins like that in almost every clothes, if you just keep your head and hands warm. I have read Little House On The Prairie and I recall that Laura hated it, that she was forced to be inside so much.

    Of course it is possible to ski in long skirts. You just must ski very slowly. Same thing with all sports; you can do them in traditional feminine clothes, but not very well. I know many feminine dress -bloggers claim that you can do just about anything in long dress. Well maybe you can, but there are activities where trousers are very much more convenient -and more modest. I think modesty is also about dressing for the occasion, so you don't pull attention to yourself by looking like you are in a wrong place.

    Layering is easier with skirt, thou. And nowadays there are lots of short "skiing skirts", and just regular people seem to wear them. I assume they add nice warm layer around your thighs that get so easily cold. I really don't know if really looks feminine any more:
    http://indulgy.ccio.co/0s/1N/8M/314548973668947698pTD7Wxgc.jpg
    http://www.thegearcaster.com/gcimages/6a01156f7533eb970c012877273a27970c-320pi
    http://skhoop.pl/userdata/gfx/b276e659912054c8cb5ffc0cbdc881d5.jpg
    http://www.openmindfashion.com/uploads/1/0/1/0/10103104/4180411_orig.jpg

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    1. MiriamJanuary 20, 2015 at 3:56 AM

      Anteeksi, tarkoitukseni ei ollut kehuskella koiran ulkoiluttamisesta pitkässä hameessa, ei! Yritin olla inspiroiva, tyyliin, että on ehkä hauska tietää että on olemassa joku sellainen hullu, JOS se on se mistä haaveilee. Siis että ei tunne/tiedä olevansa ainoa... Joskus sitä vaan on niin kömpelö millä kielellä tahansa! :-)

      Delete
    2. MiriamJanuary 20, 2015 at 3:57 AM

      Excuse me for using Finnish!

      Delete
    3. SanneJanuary 20, 2015 at 4:16 AM

      It´s OK.

      Delete
  11. Housewife from FinlandJanuary 19, 2015 at 4:37 AM

    ^^Look at the amount of typos... Sorry, but I am having a brainfog day.

    Do you think sportsclothes can ever really be feminine AND modest? I am coming to the conclusion that maybe not.

    That is propably one of my problems when I go out. I go with the dog for long walk/dogpark, so I put some more or less sporty on. Everything is black for some reason. Then I cover my hair with hood and voilá; no one can tell if the poor doggy has a master or mistress.

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  12. SanneJanuary 19, 2015 at 6:57 AM

    You know, it's the first time I learned about the existence of a ski skirt:) I guess one learns something new every day. Have never seen them sold, either, but then I'm not really into skiing.

    For me skirts vs pants isn't that much about modesty (some of the clothes I own would probably considered immodest by more conservative among us, such as some formal dresses I have), it's more about the male-female distinction.

    As for sports, I think it depends on which sport it is, whether you do it professionally etc. For professional sporters there exist uniforms so you'll have to wear it, whether you like it or not. For amateurs, it's up to you what you wear. Personally I skated, bicycled and climbed the mountains in skirts, but they were neither too long not too wide. Mountain climbing I did in summer and I wore thick leggins under my skirt, which is also essential if you go into the forest, as tick protection.

    It's true what you say about Laura Ingalls, but in later books when they lived in town, she was more active in winter, they went to school, etc, and, as I said, in the 1930s and 1950s women seemed to be more out of the house and still did fine.

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  13. Housewife from FinlandJanuary 20, 2015 at 5:59 AM

    I have now tried wearing skirt also outside couple of days. Just to test myself. I noticed that I don't get cold as long as I keep moving. I just feel weird, because people seem to pay much more attention to me when I wear a skirt, especially men. Nothing disrespectful, they just seem to be happy to see a woman in a skirt. I kind of like it. :) But then again, is it really modest to enjoy when you get attention? For me modesty is mainly not seeking attention (here in Finland it would be ridiculous to be worried about men lusting after me, because of our Sauna culture. They have all seen so much flesh.)

    Delightful little dilemma: if I try to be more feminine I will get attention that I don't want to seek.

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  14. SanneJanuary 20, 2015 at 6:40 AM

    You know, I see male attention as a compliment, especially at my age:) I kinda like it when guys say `hello´ and smile. As long as it´s polite, of course.

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  15. MiriamJanuary 20, 2015 at 8:14 AM

    There are two kinds of attention. Negative attention is what you get when you seek and get male attention using 'feminine weapons' aka revealing and tight clothing, high heels, flirty behavior, lots of make-up and so on. Positive attention is what you get when your clothing and behavior express dignity and modesty. You might stand out of the crowd, but in a positive way. If you don't want to get any attention, you should dress like everyone else, which is not modest nor feminine.

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  16. SanneJanuary 20, 2015 at 12:57 PM

    Exactly, and most women know the difference:)

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  17. Housewife from FinlandJanuary 21, 2015 at 4:39 AM

    Miriam: very well put.

    I am overly sensitive about this getting attention -thing because when I was younger, I sometimes seeked attention in the very wrong way. You know, I had so much make-up and so little clothes... I don't want to make same mistakes over and over again.

    But as Sanne said, one does notice the difference. It is extremely flattering when man for example lends his hand for you if you have to step over ditch or something. When I was younger, I was so brainwashed that I took it as an insult: "What? Do you think I can't cope with everything on my own? Do you think I am weak?" but nowadays I realize that they really don't think there's something wrong with my legs. It just is something gentlemen do.

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  18. SanneJanuary 21, 2015 at 7:57 AM

    The key is to look feminine, not overtly `sexy`. When guys just smile, say `how do you do` and open the doors, it´s fine, when they start running after you in the streets and asking your phone number, you are overdoing it:) After all, you are a married woman now!

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  19. MiriamJanuary 24, 2015 at 9:21 AM

    http://shesbeautifulingodseyes.blogspot.com/2015/01/with-respect-my-thoughts-on-dressing.html

    ReplyDelete
  20. MiriamFebruary 4, 2015 at 12:35 AM

    Sorry I have to shout that there's sale at Victorian Trading Company, too!!

    http://www.victoriantradingco.com/category.asp

    As usual, there are also dresses that aren't too modest, but there are some decent ones, too.

    ReplyDelete

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