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[Help] My lovely girlfriend struggles when it comes to fashion, advice welcomed!

Background: I (male) am doing this for my girlfriend for reasons to be explained shortly. We have been dating for about 3 months. We attend a liberal arts college in the northeast (think almost as preppy as Ivy leagues). I come from Norther California, and she from a rough town in the northeast (first in her family to go to college). She's had a rough life, which has caused her to be a clam (quiet and doesn't like to talk about personal stuff) and while she has a tough skin, she is very sensitive about some things (she is not fond of being compared to other people or what they wear, nor being given a hard time). Don't get me wrong, I love her dearly (no, really, I do!) and she has way more awesome things about her, but they just don't help your understanding of the situation. Obviously, i am estimating all of the numbers and sizes.

  • Height: About 5' 8" (give or take two inches)

  • Weight: About 160 (give or take 20 pounds)

  • Age: 19

  • Body Type: Pear, but with slightly bulky arms and a little to her belly/chest. Closest image I could find. Hair is about as long as in the image, she is considering getting it cut very short (shoulders), thoughts?

  • Why? She does have an alright sense of fashion (it still needs some help, but not the top priority), but it mostly just seems to be that she struggles to make personal care (&fashion) a priority. She has told me that that she isn't happy with the current state of things (her current body image and the way she dresses), but seems to kinda be stuck in a rut. My main focus right now is to get her to help herself by giving herself the time and respect she needs to take care of her own clothing and other personal care. Right now she says I'm a higher priority than her well-being is, which I think is wrong/bad.

  • Now: She would be most comfortable wearing sneakers, baggy sweatpants, t-shirt, and sweatshirt, preferably in school colors (one of which happens to be bright orange). I've gotten her to be a little more diverse, but she still wears at least one of these items every day) Her wardrobe consists mostly of t-shirts, sweatpants with elastic at the bottom, a few yoga pants, some jeans, one pair of leggings, lots of sneakers, some new decent footwear (boots, flats, etc), one pea-coat, sweatshirts, and one big winter jacket.

  • After: Overall, I think she / we are just after her dressing a little nicer so that she gets the respect she deserves. I suppose she is just aiming to fit in with the college population a little better. Again, my main priority right now is getting her to take better care of herself, which i believe will lead to her dressing more fashionably.

  • Budget: We are college students, so the less the better, but we are fairly well off (prices at american eagle are mostly ok, for reference).

Any advice is welcomed, happy to answer any questions

** CLARIFICATION** Thanks so far for all the advice. I want to make it clear that I understand that this post may come off as very critical of her (or rather how she dresses). I assure you that in reality this is not the case, as I have not written about the the so many dozens of things that make here beautiful in side and out (she has the most gorgeous and complex eyes I have ever seen, amazing hair, a fantastic rear, I could go on. I wrote this post to better understand what, if anything, i should/could do about the situation. Obviously, I am hopeful that I will be able to help her out as she desires, but I also understand if the answer is that i need to back off because its not my territory, that's fine, and I'm still glad I asked. Thanks again!

EDIT: formatting

Posted Dec 2, 2012, 7:21 PM UTC · edited

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