Truth be told, I've only ever come across this item of advice the once, in an article by a particular women's fashion expert, Cynthia Nillis. It just seemed such a strange, pointless and just plain wrong thing to suggest, I feel obliged to refute in this series. You need only look to Channel to realise that tweed isn't always reserved for the making of matronly suits, and there are plenty of other, cheaper labels out there that use tweed to produce perfectly lovely looking clothes.
Myth No 3: Tweed is a fundamentally frumpy fabric, suitable for really old/old-fashioned ladies only.
Having said that there's no need to avoid all tweed on the grounds that it is a fundamentally frumpy fabric, I would like to suggest that woman of all ages approach it with caution. Certain outfits might seem to look acceptable on younger women, and, as a general rule, I don't consider 'acceptable' anywhere near good enough to warrant adding to my wardrobe. Take Karen Millen's neon tweed dress as an example. It's so obviously designed to only be worn by a youngster with a seriously good body, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, not even if it is on sale at a reduced price as I write.
By way of a contrast though, Shea of www.curvesandconfidence.com manages to look seriously fab in her knee length tweed pencil skirt. Her outfit isn't the tinniest bit frumpy looking, thus I see no reason to suppose it would cause a women in her 40s, her 50s or even her 60s to look frumpy. (I know a lot of women who might prefer to avoid the kind of heels Shea is wearing, not because they're particularly high or uncomfortable-looking but because the heels are a tad delicate and might wear down a bit too fast to be bothered with on a hugely regular basis.)
Having said that there's no need to avoid all tweed on the grounds that it is a fundamentally frumpy fabric, I would like to suggest that woman of all ages approach it with caution. Certain outfits might seem to look acceptable on younger women, and, as a general rule, I don't consider 'acceptable' anywhere near good enough to warrant adding to my wardrobe. Take Karen Millen's neon tweed dress as an example. It's so obviously designed to only be worn by a youngster with a seriously good body, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, not even if it is on sale at a reduced price as I write.
By way of a contrast though, Shea of www.curvesandconfidence.com manages to look seriously fab in her knee length tweed pencil skirt. Her outfit isn't the tinniest bit frumpy looking, thus I see no reason to suppose it would cause a women in her 40s, her 50s or even her 60s to look frumpy. (I know a lot of women who might prefer to avoid the kind of heels Shea is wearing, not because they're particularly high or uncomfortable-looking but because the heels are a tad delicate and might wear down a bit too fast to be bothered with on a hugely regular basis.)
Read the next post in this series here.