Trends come and go. Some are great and fun. Others are just unflattering, plain ridiculous or make you look frumpy and/or trashy, maybe even both. This post lists the ugly trends so you can stir away from them when they pop up now or in the future.
- Avoid Unflattering Trends on Repeat
- Listicle of the Top 68 Style Ruining Trends
- My New Stylish Dance Outfit
Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post.
Avoid Unflattering Trends on Repeat
Are you frustrated about some fashion trends that pop up on a regular basis despite they are unflattering on everyone? Or even worse, these seemingly evergreen fashion items that everyone wears, but you just wish that they would go away and never come back? You know the ones that are so ugly that you would not even wear them if they were free-bees 😉 . You know the trends that you identified already as not working for you!
But there are also ugly trends that you haven’t tried yet. However, who wants to waste money on a trend that doesn’t work? Here is a list of 60 current trends that fall into the ugly trend category. To not be too negative in this post, I also show you my new chic dance outfit (photos in this post).

Listicle of the Top 68 Style Ruining Trends
Here is my list of ugly No-Nos
- Meant-to-be funny T-shirts
- Free-bee promotional T-shirts
- Flared jeans and pants styled the 1970s way
- Tie-dye anything
- Small round metal glasses like John Lennon‘s
- Chains to hang your reading glasses around your neck. They send the message that you would forget where they are!
- Bandanas
- Dress shoes with crepe sole unless they have a wedge heel.
- Ballet flats outside the studio
- Lace flats except for a pair by Salvatore Ferragamo. I wish I had a pair to sell it on eBay!
- Block heels despite they are comfortable to stand in.
- Go-go boots
- Sequins as large as a quarter
- Holiday sweaters for adults unless you are Santa Claus
- Plastic flip flops, mules or shoes – you are not Barbie, right?
- Mommy jeans – I am not a mom
- Relaxed pants and jeans
- Pants, jeans, or skirts with elastic waist band – they are practical for babies to be pulled easily over diapers. I am glad I don’t need them. So should you!
- Blue or purple eye-shadow literally painted all over the lid. It looks like you had an encounter with Mohammed Ali.
- Baggy sweat pants in partner look for him and her or even worse as fun for the whole family
- Lace slips – spandex shapewear slips do double duty: shaping and serving as an underlayer
- Granny panties. There is a reason why they are called Liebestöter (meaning love killer) in German.
- Bras the size of Alaska – I need Rhode Island size
- Bifocal glasses with demarcation line – I lived more than 27 years close to the Iron Curtain formerly called German-German border.
- Jeans with pockets below the bum
- Low rise jeans/pants that show the Y or the whale tail of your thong
- Swimsuits with attached skirts – What are they covering anyway?
- Dirty wash jeans, jackets
- Acid wash jeans and jackets
- Mummus – Is this the baby talk word for cows?
- Dungarees
- Moon boots – They are for astronauts.
- Tired skirts – they look like giant American wedding cakes
- Chandelier earrings with long curly hair, hat, and glasses
- Jumpsuits – jump suit 😉
- Down anoraks
- Bunny boots despite they are one of the two Alaska It boot styles
- Destroyed jeans – they take too much time to put on. I mean who has the time to make sure not to tangle the own toes in those leftover meshes?
- Socks with toes in egg yoke color
- Yellow jersey pants
- Orange sweaters or T-shirts – that’s prison uniform
- Stockings with extra strong toe space – You have a nail clip, and know how to use it.
- Half socks to pretend that one goes bare feet in the pumps. You can’t fool anybody with them as they always stick out.
- Mule clogs – I had to wear them as house shoes, but had to walk silently when going up the marble stairs at nap-time. Welcome to mission impossible!
- Short-shorts
- Micro minis
- Bandage dresses – You are not a sausage!
- Handkerchief skirts – They look like, well, giant handkerchiefs.
- Circle skirts – they expose everything when you twirl
- Tops with trumpet sleeves – how unpractical!
- Hoodies with ears for adults
- Hats with ears, or antlers, horns, etc. – I have ears like saddle bags myself. That’s enough, and I wear the hat to cover them up. So where is the point?
- White sneakers – Who can stand when something requires higher maintenance than the own body.
- Flannel plaid shirts anywhere outside the forest ot Alaska
- Mosquito jumpsuits – they are so itchy and scratchy that the mosquitoes seem to be harmless pets.
- Skirts with slits in the front except for dancing the Argentine Tango
- Glasses as big as ancient Coke bottles – when you are a baby-boomer you know what I mean. Otherwise think of eyewear with magnifying glasses.
- Nose rings – they are for bulls
- Flip-brim hats – at a certain age, avoid adding anything that wobbles
- Rompers
- Shapeless clothes
- Patchwork pants
- Micro shoulder bags
- Ultra-low rise trousers/jeans
- Fake dimples
- Heavy facial contouring
- Bleached eyebrows
- Laminated eyebrows
Learn How to Dress for Success in Midlife with my style recipe book. Buy the book now.
You also may like to read 101 reasons to wear heels over 40.
My New Stylish Dance Outfit
I wore the outfit shown in the photos of this post to a dance party. I like that this wrap skirt has a sleek cut, but still allows the moves needed in Argentine Tango.

Since the skirt has some golden shine, I went with a plain T-shirt and patent leather pumps. I went with a crew-neck to give the outfit some sultry vibe. It offsets the high slit in the front of the skirt. Cleavage would be over-kill. I wear bikers underneath the skirt to be covered when I have to lift my leg up.
Read more about weekend dance outfit ideas.
Photos of me: G. Kramm
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