[Vocabulary] "a gray mouse" equivalent

[englishhobby]

In Russian we have this phraseological unit - "a gray mouse". It usually means "a plain-looking woman that is very simply dressed, not very attractive in appearance, hardly noticable by people". It is opposed to a stylish fashionable woman. It's mostly about appearance, though usually "gray mice" are shy or modest in behaviour. Sharlotte Bronte's Jane Ayre was a "gray mouse". Is there an English idiom for this personality type? If not, which words (nouns, adjectives, etc) could best describe this type?

 

[emsr2d2]

There might be but, these days, we steer clear of using pejorative terms to describe people based on their appearance or clothing.

(Note that the author's name is Charlotte Bronte and the character's name is Jane Eyre.)

 

[Rover_KE]

You might see plain Jane in earlier literature.

 

[GoesStation]

Dull-colored hair can be described as mousy.

 

[Skrej]

'Mousy' can also refer to personality - someone who's timid and shy, or just overly lacking in charisma or sense of presence. I suspect that's a pretty close match to the Russian term.

However, it's not necessarily exclusive just to women, although Ngram seems to suggest is it used much more with women than men, at least in literature.

 

[Skrej]

You might see plain Jane in earlier literature.

We still (at least in AmE) use this, although it's morphed beyond just describing an actual woman. It's used to describe things that are just basic models or otherwise ordinary, nothing particularly fancy. It's similar to something like 'no frills' or 'run-of-the-mill'.

Does Mark drive a really nice vehicle? No, he just has a plain-Jane Ford truck, nothing special.

 

[englishhobby]

How about a "church mouse", or just a "mouse"?
E. g.
1) They thought I was a mouse.
2) You're the little church mouse that lives in her pocket.

 

[englishhobby]

There might be but, these days, we steer clear of using pejorative terms to describe people based on their appearance or clothing.

Since it's going to be a research article, pejorative terms used to describe this type can also be mentioned and analised (unless they are taboo words).

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

How about a "church mouse", or just a "mouse"?
E. g.
1) They thought I was a mouse.
2) You're the little church mouse that lives in her pocket.

They sound odd. Church mouse refers to poverty: poor as a church mouse.

Here are some expressions you can Google:

- wallflower
- always the bridesmaid, never the bride
- shrinking violet
- face in the crowd