In today's video, I'm sharing the story of my biggest dressing faux pas. This story is the major catalyst for why I decided to finally live like I lived in Paris...
You might think that once I got back to America from Paris that I'd immediately jump into my new way of life. But actually it took me several years and much contemplation to decide to want to change and live more like Madame Chic. In today's video I share a story about a very embarrassing dressing faux pas and how it spurred me on to create my ten-item wardrobe and also admit that not only what we wear matters, but how we wear what we wear too.
I'm wearing jewelry pieces from Rachelyn Jewelry. Rachel Carns is a Daily Connoisseur and Madame Chic reader and is also an artisan jewelry maker.
She hand makes her beautiful, modern, dainty, gold-filled jewelry and sells it on her Etsy store. Rachel sent me these beautiful cracked glass and gold necklace and earring set. The earrings have a lovely flower detail. Use code Jennifer15 for 15% off your order. Also visit her on Instagram. We are running a giveaway over there so be sure to enter. Thank you, Rachel!
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Whitney at Come Home for Comfort writes, "Yes! This resonates with me for sure. I didn't begin to truly love and embrace my role as a homemaker until I dealt with clutter and organized my home. I love your homemaking series so much - thank you!"
Thank you, Whitney! I truly believe the two go hand in hand.
I would love to hear your own fashion faux pas stories. Have you ever had a bad faux pas moment that really made you reflect about the way you dress? Let us know and your comment could be chosen as comment of the week on the blog.
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Hi Jennifer! I appreciate you sharing your fashion faux pas. You are right that we all learn from these moments to become more mindful and intentional about our wardrobe choices. This reminder is helpful.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to prom in high school my mom made my gown and wanted me to have straps. I fought her tooth and nail because all of my friends had strapless dresses. I got what I wanted but the dress kept shifting down as I was dancing, taking a lot of attention away from what should have been an enjoyable evening. When I got the pictures back I discovered one where much more cleavage than I expected was showing and I was extremely embarrassed. It was a huge lesson for me in wearing modest and comfortable clothing and not following trends.
I enjoyed hearing about your past theater work and sharing Shakespeare with children! It really sounds like a neat experience.
Lauren
Hi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteLove your channel. My story is that I found a beautiful tea length silk skirt while thrifting. I wore it to church on Sunday. I visited the ladies room after the service and on the way out to my car, a young woman ran up to me saying STOP! She looked shocked but not as much as I was. My skirt was stuck in the top of my panty hose, I was so light weight I did not realize it. I was mortified. What I can not beleive is that no one said a thing until I was half way to my car. There were other women in the ladies room as I was leaving it. I am thankful to the brave young woman who came to my rescue. I still love the skirt and wear it but I always check before leaving the stall. Dianne
Kudos to your supervisor expecting proper dress. And to you for accepting it as a learning experience.
ReplyDeleteDianne, me too... skirt stuck after a trip to the BR! But I was at work with only male employees. One brave guy just said my name, I turned, he said, "your skirt". Embarrassing, but thank you! Saw this happen to a girl at church decades ago. But she returned to the church service and everyone was silently gasping. Finally, one brave girl forced her way through the rows and quickly handed her a note. We all knew what it was, and sighed in relief. I will be that brave girl next time.
I was at a singles group, and even with what should have been proper undergarments, it "didn't work" with the too-snug sweater. Horrifying.
ReplyDeleteI was unloading the lower rack in the dishwasher, with company in the kitchen. My girlfriend informed me I was showing too much.
ReplyDeleteAnother neckline issue when I realized my foster girl was overly entranced by the view as we gardened. I am super conscious of how necklines function now - only crewnecks or layers!
Good to know you're not perfect! =)
ReplyDeleteHere's my story: I used to have a lovely pair of high heeled leather shoes, white with thin blue and pink stripes. I liked them but didn't wear them too often. The last time I wore them was for a lunch at work. Shortly after I put on the shoes, I noticed the edges of the soles were crumbling a little bit. "Oh no," I thought, "I guess I'll have to throw out these shoes, but at least I can wear them one more time." Well, within an hour of getting to work I had to go back home to change my shoes, because the shoes were crumbling around my feet! And as I walked to my car, I saw a trail of bits of my shoes that had come off as I had walked into the office. By the time I got home, the entire bottom of the shoes were gone and I was just walking on the insoles!
So let that be a lesson to us all, wear and enjoy your nice things often before they deteriorate!
Susan
Hi Jennifer. My two biggest fashion faux pas: 1) When I was a teenager I had underwear that had "cute" sayings on the back. Well before a casual high school dance I changed from jeans to pair of white pants. but I did not change the underwear that said, "Weekends and me"! While I was walking around one of the mom chaperones handed me her sweater and told me to put it around my waist unless I really wanted everyone to know how much I loved weekends.And 2) My prom date (who also happens to be my husband of 29 years) was 6'4" and I am 5'2". I wanted to look good together and dance and I wore such high heels that I could barely walk to my table let alone dance or have fun. Nowadays I wear flats most of the time and I don't worry about our height difference.
ReplyDeleteShowing up to a formal wedding in a faded old black skirt - it had been so long since I'd been around all those gorgeous fabrics, I didn't realize how shabbily I was dressing. That was a changing point for me. I hid in the corner that day, and have been working on dressing better, ever since that miserable event.
ReplyDeleteIn the days before tee shirt bras I was wearing a crisp white tee to work with a too thin bra. One cold day in the ladies room I looked in the full length mirror to find my headlights were showing! I was absolutely horrified - this was in an all-girls private school, thank goodness not a boys school! What upset me most was that no-one thought to say my tee shirt was showing more than was appropriate. The lesson I learned was that a full-length mirror at home is indispensable. As you have said, we need to be able to check ourselves from all angles.
ReplyDeleteMadeleine
Many years ago, I was attending a posh party with my friend Bill that was held in an upscale restaurant. (I forget the reason for the party... and who the host was.) I was wearing a new (to me) dark blue jersey wrap dress that I had bought at a thrift shop. A woman managed to spill an entire glass of white wine onto the front skirt portion of my dress, and I was horrified to find that it immediately started shrinking! Both Bill and I were trying to stretch this portion of my dress back to its original shape, to the amusement of the others, but it was adamant about being a miniskirt in front and a knee-length dress everywhere else. In retrospect, I can see how really funny we must have been, the both of us pulling at the front of my dress, but at the time I was upset, especially with the clumsy woman with the full glass of wine.
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer. I have read all of your books and have been a fan for years, watching your videos regularly, but this is my first comment. I was fairly young when I had heart valve surgery and as a consequence, worked out in a cardiac rehab center with patients much older than my self. One day one of the nurses began a conversation with me, asking what type of bra she should buy that would keep her from “beaming”. We had several discussions as I thought she was just seeking my fashion advice. Finally, she revealed to me that she found nipple covers in the drug store that solved her problem. I hadn’t thought much about the conversation until one day when I saw myself in the gym mirror. I suddenly realized the nurse’s conversation was actually a subtle hint to me! It dawned on me that I may have unknowingly stirred up comments from the older gentlemen in the class. How embarrassed I was for not only making a spectacle of myself but that I didn’t get the hint as quickly as I should have. You can bet that I made a mad dash to the drug store in order to remedy the problem!
ReplyDeleteOooo! Yes I can relate to that horrible feeling that sparks such a change! My story is back when I first started to wear jeans. I think more would hang out than I realised, as I used to wonder at the strange draughty sensation I would feel on my back when I would bend over. This went on until a friend out of the blue explained to me the importance she places on wearing a singlet tucked into her pants to keep her midriff covered. She went into so many details and stressed it's importance! I remember just sitting and looking at her wondering why on earth she had suddenly gone into great details about a dress detail without any obvious cause . But I took it on board and was horrified to discover the cause of such breeziness was indeed way way too much exposure of moi, and that there is an art to wearing garments that seemed so casual and easy to wear.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, you poor thing. I got shivers. Nothing worse than a group email indirectly shaming someone and you had no idea that you were the subject of it! I would cry too.
ReplyDeleteThe worst clothing faux pas I can think of was when I managed a team and we were sitting around a table in the middle of a meeting. I was wearing a black dress that was all kinds of weird in the strappy department, which meant wearing no bra. But I had an unbuttoned cardigan over the top of it. I'd been sitting for a while and the dress must have moved around me a bit and I leant back in my chair, my cardigan fell back and I could tell instantly from my colleague's face that I'd accidentally exposed my breast to him. I'd be feeling a whole lot worse about this if he wasn't gay. We both tried to pretend it hadn't happened, ha ha. I don't think I wore that dress again.
Ladies, I am amazed at all of the hilarious wardrobe malfunctions we have suffered. I wasn't sure if anyone would share a story, but both here, and on YouTube I have so many! I must do a reaction video. We all need to learn from our mistakes :) Thank you for chiming in and, as always, thank you for watching.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Jennifer
I'm sure thiswas very embarrassing and you seem to have benefited from it but it seems like everyone handled that badly. The teacher could have discreetly given you a heads up that you needed to tuck in your shirt, especially since you were young. (I think of this in the same way it's kind to tell a woman when her skirt is riding up.) Your supervisor should have approached you directly instead of leaving you to guess. How could he reasonably expect you to incorporate his feedback when it wasn't clear it was directed at you? That's just bad management.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, your confession of the dressing faux pas actually made me tear up thinking of two of my own. I was in my 20's and interviewing for a 2nd job as a restaurant hostess. The owner finished the interview and said, "If you get the job you couldn't wear a dress like that. This is a family restaurant." The dress had a high slit in the front but it was flowy so I thought it OK. My response was "This is a designer dress." Surprise-I did not get the job. Twenty years later I went back to the restaurant, found the owner, described the incident, and apologized. Another time wearing a very short skirt I picked up my car at the repair shop. When I sat down, well...the hot seat burned my behind. I yelped. The repairman said, "That's what you get for wearing that short skirt." And I muttered "Jerk." Based on those events you wouldn't even know me now. Thank God everything can be used in our lives for good. I have often given "modesty" talks in schools and churches and shared my "faux pas." Also,there are two situations I would like to see you address-Appropriate Funeral and wedding attire. I attended one funeral, everyone wore black and I had on brown, and another a young girl wore a short romper. I now wear black, summer or winter. You can't go wrong but what are the "rules" now?
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer! I am a longtime follower and just love your way of life and hearing how you incorporate what you learned from France. I have read all your books and just adore you.
ReplyDeleteI have a horrible faux pas that I simply have to share. I was pregnant with my third child and was thrift store shopping with my mom. Because I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to deal with getting a dressing room i was trying on clothes over my own clothes, which is so tacky and I’m embarrassed to admit I even did this! Anyway, I tried on a shirt that was pretty tight and when I took it off I took off my own shirt with it!! So everyone around me got a view of my maternity jeans and bra and bare midriff. It was mortifying. I will never try things on without a dressing room ever again!
Fun post today, Jennifer! It brought to mind, and made me blush all over again with embarrassment, the time I wore a wrap-skirt in college. A friend of mine was a seamstress, and she made extra money on the side sewing clothes for people. I had her make me this denim wrap skirt that fastened together with one knot on the upper-right side near the waistline. It was a beautiful skirt and I was so proud of it. I wore it to classes one hot Texas day, with my backpack on my right shoulder. As it so happened, the movement of my backpack began to slowly loosen the knot on my skirt. So as I turned a corner to head down the stairs, my skirt fell open, exposing my backside and then flapped against my left leg!!! I grabbed it as quickly as I could with what little dignity I managed to muster, and found the nearest restroom to re-tie it. Needless to say...no more wrap skirts for me. Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Jennifer - I have two very embarrassing incidents to share. 1st - When about 22 years old I was at a nightclub. I wore a gorgeous white jumpsuit in a jersey fabric with thin diamonte shoulder straps that was wrapped across the bust. Busily dancing away with a fellow and wondered why I suddenly became the centre of attention. Took me a while to realise one of the shoulder straps had fallen down to my elbow and with it went the front of my jumpsuit. I was dancing with one breast exposed! No one said a word. I was mortified. 2nd - Off to work one day and I wore a lovely summer weight skirt without a petticoat (so old fashioned in those days). I was working in front of a backlit cupboard bending and straightening organising files. I was there for some hours. My boss (male) finally came in and told me everyone could see straight through my skirt. All was being bared for my colleagues. I could have sunk through the floor and never returned. In fact I left that job very soon after as I was so embarrassed. I can laugh about it now but at the time I just about cried.
ReplyDeleteLove your blog.
I found your article really interesting. I am obsessed with statement jewellery and that is the reason why I explore quirky jewellery blogs like yours. I usually buy statement necklace online India, and will buy some more pieces to add a dash in my wardrobe.
ReplyDeleteMy first professional job was at a university. I wore a mid-calf wrap-style skirt on my first day. As I walked up to the building a gust of wind hit me and I felt the skirt open fully and billow behind me. I was mortified! I pulled the skirt back in place, put my head down and marched inside. I didn't raise my head because I didn't want to know how many people witnessed that spectacle! I'm still embarrassed but since that happened, I have a firm hold of my skirt on windy days!
ReplyDeleteI have many fashion faux pas moments. Come to think of it, many had to do with being a new nursing mother. One of the worst was a dark brown sweater I bought second hand that I didn't notice had a large, faint stain over one side of the chest. I had been wearing the sweater at church when a friend mentioned it looked like I might have leaked.
ReplyDeleteI worked for a shipping company years ago. And i had to climb into one of the trucks to get some papers. I was wearing a skirt and a few of the guys said something to me and when i turned to look, i fell. I landed on my feet, but my skirt got caught on something and it was up to my chest and i couldnt pull it down. I was absolutely mortified
ReplyDeleteOne of the guys had to lift me up to get my skirt back dow.