No, not those either, but yes to these

Now I’m being asked if formal shorts are okay. I love that you’re writing me for fashion advice! Yay! Cause I have the requisite strong opinions, but can you do a little research first? I’ve been over this one before.

Formal shorts are an abomination. They are worse even than footless tights.

You know what isn’t an abomination?

Awesome hand-made T-shirts like this one. I wish Scott had taken a photo of Liset’s face as well because she also had the coolest make up and hair, but he’s been scared off by all those schools that have no-photo policies.1 For the record: We always ask when we take photos and if it’s also okay to post them.

What other clothing are you guys loving right now? Share!

I saw a woman at Seattle airport who had gold strands woven into her hair and the whole thing was pulled up into the most amazing do. I wish I’d taken a photograph. She looked like a goddess. And her hair perfectly matched the rest of her outfit which was also black and gold. Hmmm, it prolly sounds a bit dire, but, trust me, she was turning heads in a really good way.

  1. Often for very good reasons. []

26 comments

  1. David Moles on #

    What are formal shorts? I’ve heard rumors about German businessment wearing gabardine suit shorts with Birkenstocks back in the 70s, but I’m pleased to say I’ve never actually seen proof of such an abomination…

  2. Lauren Cerand on #

    Agreed on the shorts thing—blech. I wrote about this once.

    I just got back from Japan so right now i am crazy about this one particular look where you basically paint your face like a panda! it’s hot.

  3. Justine on #

    Lauren: Show me the links to the panda faces! And, well said on the formal shorts.

    David: Here are some examples for you.

  4. Kadie-Wa on #

    At our school, we have lots of layers. anything that you wear has to be layered to be “cool”. but i like the layered look. i think it looks cool. but you get really hot somtimes, if you have too many layers on.

  5. zebediah on #

    i like plaeted skirts.

  6. shloopy on #

    Personally, I never wear any type of shorts. But dress capris I love. (Actually they’re semi-formal capris. But whatever. At least they’re not shiny.)

    Because of my school’s dress code, we can’t wear shorts. At least, not really short ones. So, girls wear footless tights underneath those dress shorts to get by the dress code. It’s a 2-in-1 abomination.

  7. hillary! on #

    HAHAHA! Sadly I love the whole punker’80’s look. I know, it’s quite sad. But most of the time I like what lokks good regardless of wether or not it’s ‘in’. I still love the whole ’70’s flare look.

  8. molly on #

    Formal shorts – or dress shorts, as i call ’em – are an abomination. i used to have a coworker who wore them and it made me angry. which isn’t fair, but whatevs. they were formal short shorts, no less. ugh!

    as for nice things i’m liking right now? a friend of mine just bought this coat and i am, um, red with envy.

    i am still in search of the bestest black knee-high boots ever, but this is an ongoing quest that i begin to believe will never be resolved.

  9. janet on #

    I have decided that the only type of shirt that looks decent on me is a button-down shirt with darts or some other sort of shaping. I should really purge all other types of shirts from my wardrobe. I wear my shirts untucked because I like to pretend that this camouflages my butt.

    I have a toddler, and these days I think about her clothes a lot more than my own because they are always needing to be replaced due to being outgrown and/or stained. Also, Alice usually goes through more than one outfit per day, so I’m always having to think about what I’m going to put on her. Leggings actually do look good on little kids, and they are eminently practical because there are no cuffs or loose fabric to get caught on things as the child scampers and crawls and climbs.

    What I really hate are “skorts” (a pair of shorts with a little drapy panel in front so that it looks like a skirt). Alice has a few that I think were hand-me-downs, and I just loathe them. What is the point of these garments?

  10. penni on #

    Sorry but I have recently embraced footless tights. I heart them. i plan to go out and buy scores of them so I can still wear them when everyone else wakes up and realises the eighties were crap the first time round. It’s a whole I had babies, got girth and wobbles and suddenly realised i needed something under a skirt that wouldn’t add bulk because I still have quite a small head thing.

    I loathe and detest and detest and loathe and also detest stirrup pants and body suits (for anyone over the age of two). You know those tops that button up at the crotch. Ugh. I mean okay, the eighties were silly, but the early nineties were just so blah – why would we want to go back there??

    I don’t really believe in tucking in unless you are Josh Lyman.

  11. calliope on #

    i honestly love leggings with skirts, just not macro-miniskirts/jeanskirts. it looks really cute!
    that being said, never, ever, ever wear brightly colored legging or leggings with just a shirt. also, not a really baggy shirt. its okay if its just long and you belt it, but not baggy.
    also. if you are over 40, do not wear a deep v-neck shirt. you are not 20 any more! give it up! no one wants to see your cleavage! it just looks really nasty.

  12. Kadie-Wa on #

    since we are talking about fasion here,do you think that colored highlights (colored as in blue, purple etc) look good at the ends of your hair? only the last couple inches.

  13. Justine on #

    calliope: that’ll be shocking news to Salma Hayek! She looks great when she wears v-necks.

    Kadie-wa: coloured highlights can look fabulous.

  14. calliope on #

    kaide-wa: i think it would look better if you died a few strands of your hair colored, not the ends. just my opinion.

  15. calliope on #

    justine: celebrities are exempted from fashion rules that involve age/how you look at that age. salma hayek does not look 40: she looks gorgeous, so she an wear stuff other people can’t.

  16. Jack Heath on #

    I saw this guy at the TINA (This Is not Art) festival in Newcastle. He was wearing a business suit, but with shoulder pads made of nails. As in, he’d turned his suit inside out, driven a whole lot of nails through the shoulders, then turned it inside in again and put it on.

    It looked really cool, but he didn’t seem to appreciate how dangerous it was.

  17. janet on #

    You know, Calliope, you might want to think twice before describing the bodies of a particular class of people (as opposed to their fashion sense or clothing) as “nasty.” You might offend someone. Not me, of course, because I know a lot more about my cleavage than you do, and I’m confident that it isn’t nasty.

  18. ariel cooke on #

    janet, skorts are a wonderful thing when your girl gets a little older and wants to hang upside from the monkey bars without either showing her underwear or giving up skirts. my girl is girly but she loves to play hard so i always try to find compromises that work for her. by the way, of course little girls look good in leggings. they look good in gunnysacks too.

    calliope, i hope when you turn 40 your cleavage is as juicy as mine. I reserve the right to flaunt it.

  19. simmone on #

    i am packing for england and have decided to only take two outfits – I concur with joan juliet buck in July’s Vogue “the truth is that women don’t want single garments, they want a system to live by” BUT as Dave Graney says there are “no pockets in a jumpsuit” – once you go there you cannot go back.

    Come to think of it, I like pockets. I like a simple tunic top with pockets for my keys and snacks …

    also – can someone explain diane keaton’s wardrobe to me?

  20. Liset on #

    mmm reading about fashion *and* watching america’s next top model… i think that messes with a girls mind…

    i feel so *cool* to be mentioned *again* haha!!!!
    here’s a pic of me and scott


    i was so ***star struck*** that i forgot to take one with you justine! AHHH!!! not cool…

    but yeah, i’m 18 and in college (sfsu) so that whole policy doesn’t really apply! (and yes i know, i look 14 not 18…!)

    also, my hair *is* blue… not green… -_-

    and last but not least, i have formal shorts, and i think they’re cute… but they’re not shiny or anything, just grey and plaid. also 10% cause i bought them at mervyns where i worked! oh yeah!!!

  21. Carbonel on #

    Whenever anything is “the new black” so that I can find inexpensive shoes and slacks that are not dead boring not black.

    Also, if they let you off the leash long enough in Seattle, Romy skirts are to die for.

    If my Mighty Mite’s cough doesn’t turn out to be fun-shattering event (as opposed to “childhood cold. again. poor sod.”, I’ll wear one to the Lafferty lecture tomorrow.

  22. Carbonel on #

    Heh. It looks like my strikeouts are also all yours. oops.

  23. Kadie-Wa on #

    Thanks justine for the comment about hair highlights. i really want to get blue at the ends of my hair, but not quite so sure of how it will look. but loads of people are telling me it’ll look cool!!

  24. Sabrina on #

    Im doing a book report on you and your book (Magic or Madness) i hope i get an A+ What would you put as the rising action and the climax and what are the 5 items that are significant to the story? I would also like some more Author Information if you would like to share that with me.

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