International Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
s/o the pretty lady
What are the beauty standards where you are? Do you "try" to keep up?
Here in the north of Spain, people seem to be very concerned about outward appearances. In general, people dress well and spend good money on clothes, shoes, and hairdressers. I've figured that I'll just never fit in and I'm now comfortable with that fact. I don't think I'll ever wear nylons and heels with shorts. I didn't wear nylons at my wedding and I think it was a shock to the locals who saw my legs when I was dancing. Oh well!
Re: s/o the pretty lady
Thankfully regular German fashion (at least around where I live) is still something I usually feel comfortable in - not the extremes I've seen and heard of elsewhere (like hose and heels with shorts, for example). The "traditional American" uniform of a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers would be too casual and mark you out as a North American pretty clearly, but I usually wear jeans, black kind-of-dressy shoes, and a fitted top and am good to go. Shorts are starting to come into fashion here in the summer, but mostly women still wear pants or skirts. The summers aren't as hot, though, so it's not a big deal.
That's just standard student and casual dress, though. Of course there are plenty of women who try harder and have skinny jeans with boots or long shirts with leggings, etc. I care so little for fashion that I don't even make an effort to go along with that stuff.
When I lived in France I made sure that I was dressed with hair and makeup done before I even ran to the bakery.
Where I live now ... people think I "over dress" for occasions. Probably because I wear a bra AND shoes at the same time.
Back during my first year in Spain, I wore heels nearly every day. More than once I almost fell when the bus was standing room only. Heels + heavy school bag + curvy roads = issue
There are definitely beauty standards in NYC and a wide variety of styles. The ladies are usually fashion oriented but depending on their "field" their style varies. Stilettos for corporate ladies, pumps for everybody else
What I do tends to be physical so changes of clothes and shoes have always been my friends. I usually leave the house all put together wearing some sort of heels, or nice boots in the winter. If I'm going to work I change into a more comfortable outfit once I get there. I have a hard time in heels and if I have to wear something higher than 3" 3/4 I make sure there's an emergency pair of flats in my bag
Also, I have this natural predisposition towards over dressing. No matter how hard I try to guess the right outfit for the occasion, I always end up wearing something completely over the top. Meh.
When I lived in London I wore my usual lazy wardrobe with a bit of trendy Topshop thrown in, same with Vancouver when I wasn't working.
Now back in the US and I wear a uniform of Chuck's, jeans and black tees. Luckily I live in a college town so the dress code is lax
Ha! Love it.
Cape Town is actually a really trendy place. Because we live in the centre of town and both of us work on campus, we're around young people a lot. Very hipster/granny/surfer chic with a bit more color and adventure thrown in.
Of course, I don't keep up with them at all. I shouldn't. I'm not 23 anymore. But I do take a few more risks. And have been adding more color to my wardrobe.
When I lived in Frankfurt, the women at the playgrounds were nutso with their stylings. There was once a women in short khaki shorts and a tweed blazer with patches on the elbows. Lots of skinny jeans and heels (yes, heels at the playground) or leather boots.
Now that we've moved out to the German boonies, the women around here seem much more laid back. Hiking boots and Columbia-style all-weather jackets. But there is also what we call "village chic." This includes elaborate nail tips and purple hair highlights.
this quite accurately describes my town, too. if there is a fashion trend here i'd label it hippie beach attire... very different from the preppy new england culture i grew up in. i love it though. i don't have to try hard at all and i'm still one of the nicest dressed ladies in the room. and in the summer it's perfectly acceptable to go grocery shopping in my short knit dress over bikini. flipflops optional.
You're my neighbor aren't you.
All I have to do is shower and shave my legs and arm pits and I have exceeded all expectations. Oh, and brush my hair since I don't have dreadlocks.
That's really true. Back when I lived in the Bilbao metro area things were a lot more prissy. Here where I am now (just a bit west) are definitely a little bit more relaxed. I noticed this just today. A lot of Bilbainos are here in town for Easter weekend, opening up their summer homes. Good lord I forgot how these people dress. I feel poor.
Speaking of style, another one that cracked me up in the Bilbao metro area were the "Mercedes"s of the stroller world:
MIL is dying to get one when she has grandkids but I've already shot her down, at least for when DH and I have kids. I won't be shocked if SIL gets one. I can't deal with something so:
1. Bulky
2. Impractical
3. Creeky
4. Nicer than my car
5. As a boy on "Big Fat Gypsy Wedding" put it: "A rolling coffin"-y