Dressing Up With The Occasional Woman
Dear Readers,
Welcome to yet another episode of rants from Lorraine, the Occasional Woman. I was thinking about topics for this column and decided on one of the most important facets concerning dressing well — proportion. You know how they say “everything in proportion?” No? They don’t say that? Dang… Well, I do.
Big bag, small woman. No, no.
What I mean by proportion, when it comes to dressing oneself, is a balanced, flattering and eye-pleasing way of fashioning your individual look. It starts with something like this: If you are a tiny human, don’t carry some big-ass gold purse; the bag will out-shout you. Similarly, if your shape runs to the more hearty, statuesque variety, then never opt for a teeny little flowered bag — it will look like a pea on a tortilla.
Get the idea? Keep your look in proportion. Smaller ladies will disappear when cloaked in a huge print, and look as if they are trying to hide. Bigger ladies can usually carry off a bigger print; a tiny wittle pattern will look like you have grabbed Laura Ashley’s sheets off a clothesline on your way to a Fascinating Womanhood lecture.
Single-color suit.
The petite among us can look lost in long, shapeless, flowy clothing; the small girl will look most snappy in tailored, nicely-fitting garments in a single color palette, like white with touches of red, or blue with maybe darker blue accents. The single-color idea will also make the wee lass appear taller and not cut into little blocks visually. The more goddess-shaped vixen also looks her best when well-fit, but can more easily pull off floaty garments, batwing sleeves (if you must) and dramatic stuff like capes and wide belts. Tunics look lovely on the tall; on lower-altitude women, tunics, when longer than finger-tip length, just make it look like you have gotten into your (taller) mom’s closet.
My parting shot — cropped and capri pants. On tall broads, with heels and snazzy jackets, the cropped pant can look smart and stylish, even though I personally detest them. But slap a pair on a petite lady, and you may be asked to join the Lollipop Guild. They truncate the body, and make you look shorter, and as if your pants got hemmed too enthusiastically. I know many of you will be festivating it old-school at the Keystone Conference this week — I had hoped to join you-all, but the dang snow and ice caused me to slip and crash into a trash can, breaking two ribs and most of my dignity. So, no driving, no dress-up, and weeks of groaning and pill-popping. I hope you all have wonderful time, dress beautifully, and I’ll catch you on the flip side!
Keep looking good, and remember your dignity.
Love, Lorraine Anderson
Proprietress — The Occasional Woman
Category: Style, Transgender Fashion
About the Author (Author Profile)
I am a native Californian who has been based in the Philadelphia area since 1984. My first CD fashion creation was a gold lamé dress for the now esteemed editor of this publication. Since then I have made tons of fabulous frocks and other fashion apparel for the crossdressing and transgender community. Contact me for custom clothing or alterations via email: [email protected] Visit my Facebook page, @alterationsbylorraineSubscribe
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