Reddit reviews Women in Clothes

I saw Women in Clothes recommended in this sub, so I checked it out from my local library. I loved it so much I bought it! It's really fun to hear very different perspectives on how other women think about and wear clothes, and the format is super fun--short essays, photo galleries, interviews, even a few poems.

Women in Clothes is great for reading about different women's styles and fashion journeys. A lot of the book is in interview format with really interesting questions about personal style.

On another note, there is a fascinating book called [Women in Clothes] (http://www.amazon.com/Women-Clothes-Sheila-Heti/dp/0399166564) that tackles a lot of similar questions.

Onward!

>>What do you remember your family wearing during your childhood? Did this change into your teenage years?

>>How did your family feel about the way you dressed as a child or teen? Were your clothing choices ever a source of tension?

As a child, I didn't have much say in what I wore. But through middle school/high school, I remember there being a lot of tension about wanting to buy/wear the same branded clothing as everyone else and not getting to do so. I grew up in a suburb in the late 90s/early 2000s, so it was all about the obnoxiously branded clothing from Limited Too, AF, American Eagle, etc.

A lot of these brands were extremely expensive, and my family never wanted to buy that stuff for obvious reasons. When I went off to college, I lost quite a bit of weight, started taking care of my appearance, and started dressing in a more "provocative" fashion (at least by the standards of my immigrant Indian family), and there were always (and continue to be!) arguments about my dresses being too short or me revealing too much cleavage (even when it really wasn't that bad by my own standards.) I think they get nervous when I look overly done up or overtly attractive. I find their fixation on me looking as frumpy as is socially acceptable quite strange.

>>Where did your family buy most of their clothing? Did you go on shopping trips with them?

My parents are Indian immigrants, which influenced a lot of their ideas about "Western" clothing. My mother isn't necessarily the most fashionable woman when it comes to American/Western-style clothing. She's very conservative and set in her ways when it comes to fashion, so she always bought conservative clothes for me from large department stores or from mall stores, even as a kid. Indian fashion is a totally different story, though - her eye for color, cut, and overall style in a Indian clothing is fantastic. If I go shopping for Indian clothes, I always take her with me, because she knows exactly what to get. Western clothing was another story, especially when I was younger. Mall trips were always difficult because I didn't have the frame needed to wear a lot of the clothes that the so-called "popular" kids were wearing, and my Mom was absolutely not in favor of me dressing that way.

My dad is drawn to nice, tailored shirts and business wear for the daytime. When he's not at work, he's also pretty standard "Dad"-like in his fashion choices -- his standard non-work uniform is a Hawaiian shirt with khakis. (LOL) Interestingly, he has very good taste in jewelry.

>>Did you wear hand-me-downs from older relatives? Did you get to choose which hand-me-downs?
How did/does your family dress relative to their community? Was your family's clothing or style ever a source of embarrassment for you?

My sister and I steal each other's jewelry/clothes/etc all the time. Growing up, I would feel self-conscious and shy if we were wearing Indian clothes in public, but these days, my mom loves wearing long Indian tunics and pants underneath. It suits her, and as an adult, I'm less pushy/concerned about what other people are wearing. My grandmother pretty much lives in Kanchipuram silk sarees, which I think are beautiful.

Overall, as a child/teen, I never enjoyed shopping because I had little control over what I could wear, and I had well-intentioned but not-so-savvy parents who didn't really get the point of being fashionable by American cultural standards or what that meant. Now that I'm slightly older, I can wear what I like, but whenever I go home, my clothing choices are a constant source of tension and consternation, so I try to dress a little more modestly in front of my family to avoid that tension (which still comes up since it's never really modest enough).

I got Women in Clothes as a Christmas, gift, and have enjoyed it so far. It gives a lot of different perspectives on fashion and style, more lifestyle-related than specific fashion advice.