Personal Pet Peeves Vs. Fashion Faux Pas

It’s easy to spot things that annoy us in other peoples’ style, be it a new overall trend, an Instagram influencer’s outfit, or someone we see walking down the street. But there is a difference between simple style annoyances and broken style rules. Personal pet peeves are those things that don’t align with our individualized style or sense of fashion. Fashion faux pas, on the other hand, are those style choices that break the collective and unspoken rules of fashion. 

Understanding the difference between the two can be most helpful through examples. To the best of our ability, we have categorized and broken down various personal pet peeves and fashion faux pas. While this is not an exhaustive list (to be sure, there will be more), it covers the basics.

Note that our pet peeves are subjective and this list reflects the thoughts of the authors and not the general public. 

Fashion Faux Pas

When undergarments show.

In general, undergarments should not show underneath clothes. Hence the term, “under.” Here are a few examples:

• Underwear lines: Both men and women can be guilty of showing underwear lines through the pants they wear. Underwear lines usually show when the appropriate underwear isn’t worn under the clothing garment or when the bottoms are simply too tight they reveal more than they should. Either way, stick to underwear that’s both comfortable and camouflaged. 

• Bra straps. Similar to underwear lines, bra straps should not fall down the arm. When they do, it’s because the bra doesn’t fit appropriately or the straps are too loose. 

• Undershirts. Men most frequently wear undershirts, but when they show it looks tacky, and takes away from an otherwise polished or professional look. Undershirts generally show if a button-down shirt is unbuttoned too much or if the wrong neckline in a sweater or shirt is worn (v-neck shirt with a crew neck undershirt). 

When men wear double-breasted jackets unbuttoned.

For men, double-breasted jackets are meant to be worn buttoned. Unbuttoning the jacket causes the jacket to look wider than it should and removes the intentionally formal look of the garment. Women’s double-breasted jackets can be more casual and sometimes even made to be worn unbuttoned, which is why this rule is just for the men.

When nylons are torn. 

Don’t worry, guys, this next one is the reverse situation. While it may seem like an obvious statement that your tights shouldn’t be torn, there are plenty who wear nylons, tights, or hose with rips or tears in them. It cheapens your look (even an otherwise intentional and well-put-together look) and dilutes the quality of your appearance. Thankfully, there is an easy solution: remove them if appropriate or always have a second pair on hand when wearing them (mistakes happen!)

Not cutting basting threads or tags off newly purchased jackets. 

Men’s (and sometimes women’s) jackets come with basting thread or tags on the sleeves, near the vents, or somewhere else. They are meant to designate brand and size for shoppers, but also keep the jacket nice while it’s on the hanger at the store. While these pieces sometimes seem imperceptible, they are meant to be removed as soon as the jacket is purchased and worn. Wearing the tags or thread is almost the same as wearing the sticky sizing tag on a new cotton tee. 

Personal Style Pet Peeves

When tennis shoes or sneakers are worn with a suit.

While this is a contemporary look and can often look trendy, it ultimately falls into the street casual or casual category. The annoyance comes in when the outfit combination is conflated with business casual or professional. It’s not, and there is footwear specifically made for that purpose.

When someone sits down and doesn’t unbutton their jacket. 

This does not fall into the fashion faux pas category but can cause an otherwise beautiful jacket to look bunched, boxy, or too tight. Simply unbutton a jacket or sports coat before sitting to eliminate the tension between fabric and button. 

Tailored jackets that are too tight. 

The wonderful thing about tailored clothing is that it’s custom to the individual (See the last post for more on tailored clothes). The pet peeve is when clothing is tailored to the point of snugness that creates X wrinkles at the buttoning point and turns an otherwise professional garment into a painted-on mess. If it’s a matter of gaining a few pounds and your otherwise appropriately-fitting jacket becoming a little slimmer, just leave it unbuttoned or see a tailor and let it out. But if you’re buying a size too small or asking the tailor to taper a jacket past a reasonable point, that’s when problems start.

When someone buttons all of the buttons on their jacket.

Though sport coats or suit coats usually have two buttons, they aren’t both meant to be buttoned. This seemingly is counterintuitive, but the jacket looks more stylish and allows for more natural movement when only the top button is buttoned. 

When women can’t walk in heels.

Many women choose not to wear heels. And there are an endless number of fabulous flat options to choose from in the fashion world. But when it comes to wearing heels, knowing how to walk in them is crucial. Otherwise, it looks incredibly awkward. Our advice: wear heels if you can walk in them or wear flats.  

Tight clothing that prevents normal movement.

Some clothes, such as pencil skirts, bodycon dresses, or pants are meant to be tight, but not too tight. Meaning that clothing shouldn’t be so tight that it prevents normal movement such as bending down or walking up stairs.  

Thin lapels for men’s jackets. 

Thin lapels were the hot trend in the mid-2000’s. But not so much now. Unless someone is very slender, they can look disproportionate for the individual compared to the rest of the suit and the overall body structure. When looking for a new suit, our recommendation is to wear normal (3 inches or so) to wide lapels, depending on the look you are trying to achieve and the chest size you have. 

Fashion faux pas and style pet peeves can be found almost everywhere, online and in-person. Chances are, we have been guilty of a lot of them ourselves! Ultimately style is meant to be fun, creative, and individual, and sometimes we all mess up or make mistakes in the journey to self-discovery. The point is to find our own style while maybe following some of the fashion “rules” along the way. 

Stylishly yours,

Anthony Bolognese and Leah Nalepa