Shoulder pads? | Imamother

amother ↓

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 9:47 am

Ok, I hope this doesn't come of as sounding.. Weird.. But I'm in my late 20s.. I have never worn anything with shoulder pads, pretty much ever. My landlady came and gave me bags and bags (and bags!) of new clothes, many of which I really love. But a lot of it has shoulder pads.. Are these still worn by people my age? I just keep thinking of the 80s when I see them. None of them can be taken out, either, not on these shirts and jackets and things. Should I not worry about it? I feel like a football player or something!

Are shoulder pads fashionable at all???

louche

Mon, Dec 28 2009, 11:05 am

It's all about proportion, not the presence or absence of shoulder pads. Some heavy garments like coats and suit jackets really do need them to maintain the shape; in others it's completely optional and goes by the fashion of the day. The 80s were all about huge oversized shoulders implying power, but even when in style, huge shoulder pads make short women look as wide as they are tall. Even football stars don't wear shoulder pads that make them look wider than they are tall.

I find it hard to believe that shoulder pads can't be removed from blouses. Enclosed pads in jackets and coats are hard to remove, but a tailor can do it. It just involves a lot of ripping and re-sewing and may not be worth it unless you love, love, love the garment and are willing to invest money into it.

Large shoulder pads can be replaced with more moderately sized ones if removing the pads entirely makes the whole thing droop. If the garment was made with really enormous pads, removing them will leave you with a bunch of droopy empty fabric that will make you look like a little girl playing dress-up in her mommy's clothes. Here again, a tailor can take up the excess if you feel it's worth the expense.

Just avoid like the plague light or white garements, usually blouses or dresses, with shoulder pads that show through. Yes, people wore them in the 80s, but they were as ugly and gauche then as they are now. It's the fashion equivalent of letting people see the half-chewed contents of your mouth. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

If you think you look really weird, then the shoulders are most likely too big and you should either give up the garment or have it altered.