Comfort as a Luxury

I think we are all pretty familiar with the idea that sometimes comfort takes a backseat to looking good. Between the platforms, girdles, tucks, pushups, shapers, zippers, stilettos, it is a wonder we can look so polished and calm through the day.

 

My favorite go-to piece for feminine torture are high heels. My toes have resigned themselves to being smashed up during the day and my ankles know they will almost always be cold - and occasionally stabbed by an errant heel. I'm typically most comfy in 3-inchers but I've sported my share of heels in the 4-5 inch range - as long as the heels are stacked and I can go slow, I have a chance of surviving the day. Granted, I do keep a pair of flats under my desk at work and as soon as I get home ... feet freedom.

I am also almost always cold in general, whether it be 30 degrees or 80 degrees out. And while I loathe being cold, slim jacket sleeves and pretty silky frocks aren't conducive to overlayering so I am kind of all-the-time borderline close to goose bumps.

 

My last item of style-over-comfort is the pencil skirt. I used to avoid them because I mildly resembled a dog with the leash wrapped around its legs when I try to walk in them. Going up the stairs required me to kind of swing my hips and almost cross and uncross my legs as I advanced up. While the silhouette is oh so flattering, don't even think about having a big lunch or being particularly mobile that day. But I do have a bunch of pencil skirts. And they are oh so flattering. So what's a girl to do ...

What I refuse to do for the sake of fashion though, is wear a shaper. The idea of being sucked and tucked in like sausage in a casing is enough to turn me off, plus I want to feel the clothes I am wearing and can't do it if I have a shaper on underneath. Skin-touch is important to me because it lets me know that things are where they should be. It's like when you wear tights - with them on, you can't feel whether or not there's skirt covering your backside or you're just free-mooning the world.

What is your pain threshold for style? What do you typically endure for the sake of fashion and what's your limit? Or do you value comfort above all and will not compromise?

Jacket: Zara trf printed (sim here, here, here, cropped, cropped)
Shirt: LEC floral poplin (worn here - sim short-sleeve here, sleeveless, black)
Jeans: J.Crew destroyed matchstick (worn here - sim here, here)
Shoes: Zara cap-toe court (worn here - sim here, blue, flats)
Belt: J.Crew embossed (sim here, here)
Brooch: Blinkeye via Etsy (worn here - sim here)
Bracelet: F21 stud (sim here, luxe)