Clothes: US vs UK - Has your fashion sense changed?

Hi,

I have been looking online, and other various places for UK fashion and clothes, and in my opinion its different than the US fashion, at least where Im from.  It seems like US fashion is much more relaxed (jeans top sort of thing), where it seems leggins and a skirt are the in thing right now.  Since you have been in the UK have you noticed your fashion sense change?  Did you feel out of place wearing what you wore in the US?  How have you changed? 

I know sizes are different, and me not being a tiny skinny girl, I imagine I will run into problems and have to go ordering online, but Im very curious how I will fit in since Im a jean and sweathshirt type of girl. 

Side note: seems like girls over in the UK wear a lot of earrings?  I dont, but maybe Ill have to change? LOL

Hmmmm....people often bring this up on the forum from time to time.  I'm really a jeans & T-shirt gal (and white trainers!  ), and that hasn't changed when I'm at home, off work, relaxing.  I also like to wear really bright colours & I think I stand out sometimes, but I'm not bothered - I just like to be myself and be comfortable.

For work, I think I did change my style to try and fit in.  I wear a lot more black - that seemed to me to be a fairly standard office 'uniform' so to speak.  Might depend on where in the UK you are going to live - for example, London being such a big & culturally diverse city, you're probably going to see more variations in dress?  Also depends on what kind of job you're in & things like that.  I think people do tend to dress up a bit more here - but I don't, lol!

I used to have pierced ears when I was young, but I went without wearing earrings so long, the holes closed up.

I wear more small labels from mainland Europe and Asia, I guess. And less utilitarian outdoor clothes, as is more functionally required in Canada. And I still buy those kinda clothes there, as they are cheaper there but still practical here for hiking or crappy weather.

But I don't think my overall fashion sense has changed. I have pierced ears and never change my earrings. I like jeans and boots, and I am also into dresses (rarely wear due to weather) and love coats. But I think my fashion sense has remained the same, just matured. I would never feel comfortable wearing a short skirt like when I was a teenager. I took my nose stud and tongue piercing out before moving here and sometimes think I'd like to redo my nose.
 
*Edited for spelling

Moving to London from podunk PA has totally opened my eyes to a whole world of fashion I never knew existed before. Seeing really innovative styles every day (I've worked in Shoreditch for the past 7+ years) was a big factor in teaching myself to sew and I can now firmly say I'm much happier in expressing my personal style through clothes and coming up with my own designs and filling my wardrobe with quality pieces. I could never afford to dress the way I do in such high quality fabrics if I didn't make them myself.

I really start to get annoyed around this time of year because my walking commute means I'm stuck wearing sensible (rain-friendly) shoes and boots and trousers with silk long johns when all I want to do is bring out the pretty spring dresses, skirts, shoes and coats and dress fun again!

I haven't changed that much, only made some minor adjustments. For the most part, I swapped trainers for boots. I wear some Ugg style furry ones when just walking the dog or doing general grocery shopping or what have you (but I still wear my jeans, a t-shirt and some sort of hoodie) and when I go out to do anything else (town shopping, movies, restaurant, pub) I wear skinny jeans, knee-high high-heeled boots and a nice jumper of some sort and a bit of jewelry. Sometimes a hat.  Still pretty casual. I do have a pair of leggings and a long jumper that I wear sometimes with a belt. But I don't really do anything too special, as it just doesn't seem necessary to me considering the size of our village (though a lot of girls here do dress up a lot... for better or worse. ) I tend to stick with neutral colours a lot, though I do like bright colours. I guess I just don't get to shop enough, so I try to buy things that won't go out of style too soon. 

I don't wear the huge baggy t-shirts like I did in the US. I used to be quite fashion lazy in the states whereas here I make a bit more of an effort. I did get my ears pierced for a second time when I was here. I don't know why but I suddenly wanted a second set but I don't think it's because others wear more earrings in the UK than the US.

And leggings. Oh my god, leggings. I swear to god, if I see another girl walking around in a short t-shirt and leggings with her buttcheeks waving around, I'll scream. Who the hell thought to make leggings into pants/trousers? They're not! They're glorified tights. I hate them. And now people call them Jeggings, like having them look like jeans is going to make them any better. They're still tights.

I swear to god, if I see another girl walking around in a short t-shirt and leggings with her buttcheeks waving around, I'll scream.

    hello - waves back to the buttcheeks! 

And leggings. Oh my god, leggings. I swear to god, if I see another girl walking around in a short t-shirt and leggings with her buttcheeks waving around, I'll scream. Who the hell thought to make leggings into pants/trousers? They're not! They're glorified tights. I hate them. And now people call them Jeggings, like having them look like jeans is going to make them any better. They're still tights.

I think worse than leggings are the girls who wear nylons (pantyhose if you prefer!) with short shorts or just a shirt and the control top/underwear bit at the top sticks out. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. That part is never supposed to show. Ever. Funny enough my friend and I went into Top Shop yesterday (she was looking for sunglasses) and the mannequin was wearing the short shorts/nylons look and that top bit was showing. Shame on you Top Shop! And don't get me started on jeggings....

All in all, I'm having a really hard time with fashion right now. Now only am I STILL in between countries (after 3 years) I'm 35 and I feel like I'm in between age brackets for fashion. I don't look good in skinny jeans which are all the rage, but I don't particularly want to look like a senior citizen either. 

I think worse than leggings are the girls who wear nylons (pantyhose if you prefer!) with short shorts or just a shirt and the control top/underwear bit at the top sticks out. This is a huge pet peeve of mine. That part is never supposed to show. Ever. Funny enough my friend and I went into Top Shop yesterday (she was looking for sunglasses) and the mannequin was wearing the short shorts/nylons look and that top bit was showing. Shame on you Top Shop! And don't get me started on jeggings....

I think that's because Lady GaGa made it fashionable. She'd wear control top pantyhose and then a little bodysuit, so you could see all of it. Bleh.

That's funny. The other day DH was saying to me that I was "a bit  of a tomboy" because I don't wear dresses.

I pointed out that I do wear dresses at times - he has seen me in them.

Later I noticed when we were at the pub that most of the women there were wearing short dresses - this is winter in the north of England.

I don't dress like a slob, but I can't be completely oblivious to weather either. If it's cold out, my limbs stay covered.

ETA: I think lots of earrings is kind of a chavvy look.

I think that's because Lady GaGa made it fashionable. She'd wear control top pantyhose and then a little bodysuit, so you could see all of it. Bleh.

Lovely.

ETA: I think lots of earrings is kind of a chavvy look.

Hmm...glad you made sure to edit your post in order to tell Ashley you think her look is chavvy. 

Hmm...glad you made sure to edit your post in order to tell Ashley you think her look is chavvy. 

LOL. I don't take offence. To each their own. My top set are always little diamond studs, the bottom tend to be dangly earrings. I'd never wear what a colleague of mine wears which are these extremeley heavy gold hoops on all 4 of her piercings. That's a bit much for me.

I'm not sure that sweetpeach was intending anything personally about Ashley.  In any case, I wouldn't consider a double piercing (two sets) such as Ashley's lots of earrings.  I know it's a widely used British word, and it's just my humble opinion, but I'm not fond of the word 'chav', unfortunately - all the judgement contained therein, you know?  

Anyway, let's just have a good time in Chit Chat, and be kind to others as much as we can.  

Other then tucking my jeans in my boots to keep them dry, haven't really changed much.  Most of my friends, however, are not British and I find mainland Europe's clothing styles a bit more in line with mine, in that they cover up their limbs when it is cold outside.  Though some of the younger girls are changing their styles when they go out at night.    The people in my Masters class are rather tight and our first night out (roughly 15 of us) in the north of England was the most amusing night I have had.  I already knew the typical clothing patterns of college aged women in the north but the others did not and ALL of their mouths were wide open. I told them if they found another girl with jeans on (other then our group) they get 10 pounds.  It took them an hour to find someone and she wasn't from the UK.  Too funny!

BTW, don't get me wrong, some British outfits and fashion is super cute, some is not. 

Moving to London from podunk PA has totally opened my eyes to a whole world of fashion I never knew existed before.

I really second this, moving from small-town Michigan to Manchester (though we live in the countryside now) was a real eye-opener.  I dressed really trendy and wild in high school and college but after that I dressed mainly in t-shirts and jeans.  I really love clothes and fashion but I just can't afford to buy new clothes most of the time, and at the moment I never go anywhere so I have nothing to dress up for.  I go to the grocery store in a pair of plain levi's and a sweatshirt and white trainers with a ponytail, and I feel pretty un-cool compared to the other girls on the bus - it seems they get totally done up including lots of makeup and complicated hairstyles just to go to the shop!  I think I would dress better if I could afford to, and when I go out I do try and dress a little trendy with some skinny jeans, boots, a long sweater and jewelry as someone else has said, but I only have the one outfit (and I have ripped a small hole in the knee so it kind of ruins the effect).

This may sound really childish but I really want to buy some trendy new outfits before I go home in April so I can show off to my friends and relatives.  They all seem to think I've made a drastic mistake moving to another country, so I would love to visit looking completely cool and sophisticated.  I suppose that makes me look shallow but I can't help it, it matters to me.  I know it doesn't matter what a person wears really, but it would be so great to be able to trot out a new fashion when I know they won't see it on their store shelves for another six months!