Wearing doubles, drinking singles cuz I’m a lady

At the bar wearing doubles instead of drinking them

I heard the complaint today that I hear nearly everyday: Why do designers and manufacturers make things so sheer? It’s true of T-shirts and sweaters, even dresses and skirts. When I’m working with my clients I often send them outside to see if the garment is too sheer. If it is, we’ll need to make special underpinning accommodations. Couldn’t they just make things more opaque for ladies like us?

Let’s voice our discontent, okay? Out loud and all together now: Stop it with the sheer already, gosh darn it!

Do you think the fashion industry heard our cry? Probably not.

Dealing with the too-sheer issue

Let me use Monday’s work outfit to show you one solution I have for averting a too sheer situation.

This is an neon orange lightweight sweater by Ann Taylor. In the beginning I bought one of them. The first time I went to style it, I slipped it over my head and it slid over my smooth nude-colored T-shirt bra. I looked in the mirror and saw in shadows the folds of my skin plumped out by the fat beneath it. I wanted to be looking at a bright orange sweater, not my personal anatomy. I wanted this sweater to illicit the comment, “Oh what a great color on you,” and not, “Oh what an interesting landscape you have beneath your sweater.”

Oh pickle! Now the only way I’d be able to wear this sweater would be with a jacket I buttoned up or I’d have to layer a tank underneath it.

The holding-it-up-to-the-light test for opaqueness; this one fails

When I layered a tank underneath it, because the sweater is so lightweight and sheer, you saw the full outline of the tank. You could make out a description of it. Aargh! P-L-E-A-S-E, I just want to see the sweater!

Seeing details of my hand beneath a sheer sweater

What to do? What to do? I went into Ann Taylor a week or so later and guess what? The sweater was on sale! As I recall, they let me return the first one and buy both of them at the sale price. One was a size large and one was an extra large. I wear the smallest one under the larger one and it becomes an opaque sweater.

I’ve never worn just one sweater. I’ve always worn them doubled. It hangs doubled in my closet as one sweater to make it an easy grab-and-go piece.

Two sweaters exactly the same worn together as one

Wearing it like this gives me utter confidence. I’m not worrying about a lightweight sweater grabbing me in places I don’t want to be grabbed. With both of them as one, they don’t grab anything at all. They fall free from my shoulders. This works because the sweaters were so thin and lightweight.

A double the styling tips blog post, my friends

See those pictures of Monday’s outfit? Can you spot somewhere else where I’m wearing two of the same thing? If you guessed the scarves, you’re right!

I fell in love with this scarf tie when I first spotted it at the Napa Chico’s a year or so ago. I wanted to wear it as a bow over sweaters or T-shirts (opaque ones). They only had one of them and I knew one would not be enough.

It was on sale. They couldn’t find another one in the computer. I bought it and held out hope that I’d find one in another store someday. It took a few weeks but I did find another. Woo hoo!

My single scarf tie in a (whimpy) bow

Now why did I need to double up on this scarf bow/tie? I’m not a dainty person. I have a wide face. I’m busty. Little or wimpy things generally don’t work well on me. I need more oomph.

Doubling the scarf tie makes it just right!

By doubling the scarves I got that oomph, that bulk that I needed. It also made it more floppy. It made it more fun and whimsical. I liked that.

Cheers everybody! So dear friends, are you ready to have a double with me? Can you see a need for doubling up on things to get them just right? Grab that wine or water glass and let’s chat! (Coffee and tea cups are allowed as well.)

XO

Outfit details

• Sweaters by Ann Taylor, years back
• Chico’s denim sleeveless shirt dress with self-tie worn open as a tunic vest with the tie in the back
• Peace of Cloth knit pants bought in a boutique that no longer exists
• Tie scarves from two different Chico’s
• Lanvin anitque bakelite bracelet from SAX Consignment
• Alexis Bittar earrings from TJ Maxx
• Aquatalia suede booties from Nordstrom
• Black and white socks from Banana Republic
• Red eyeglass frames by Woow from Uber Optics