Keeping Your Style Up To Date - Now on Blogger

For Older Women: 

You are a woman of a certain age. You want to be stylish but have earned the right to look more sophisticated, to take more space in a room and to not look girlish.  You like to express yourself with fashion but don’t want to seem too trendy or like a fashion victim. Age appropriateness has disappeared, but you still abide by a certain discipline and rules. Especially when, not all, but so many fashion houses gear their offerings to younger women.

Here’s some tips to keep in mind to ditch the idea of looking younger and to find your stylish, comfortable self:                                                                                                                    

Base Layers
If one thing has changed the most over the years in fashion, it’s the evolution of undergarments or shapewear, with brands such as SKIMS, Shapermint and Uniqlo’s Heattech taking the lead. Getting the shapewear right makes anything that you wear so much more smooth, fitted and comfortable. The enormous variations of shapewear provides the opportunity to find what fits best, and therefore what makes your clothes look best. It’s a great fashion investment.

Of course, inner wear is the new outer wear with the popularity of athleisure, which now goes everywhere from the gym to errands to dinner, where you get to choose the best way to cover up, depending on the situation.

Embracing Trends
It’s interesting to hear people say that they avoid fashion trends. Fashion trends can last for a nano second, bows, for example, which go in and out of fashion, to decades, such as skinny jeans. If you keep somewhat up-to-date, trends are unavoidable, this year’s red, for example, will be featured in most shops from fast fashion mall brands to higher end offerings. Embracing trends, which are always influencing fashion, rather than avoiding them, can freshen your wardrobe.

For example, if you have the right coloring, this year’s color trend could be a good option. It can be as simple as a lipstick or as encompassing as a new coat. Fashion is now, looking in retrospect won’t matter, because you can’t second guess the future of fashion and whether an item will stand the test of time. You’d be surprised; trends will trick you every time. Bell sleeves will no longer be trending, but a bell sleeve sweater with lots of silver and hardware, may still be up-to-date. Or, perhaps there’ll be a modified version of that same trend.  Don’t throw out those skinny jeans just yet especially if they look good on you.  If a trend flatters you, then become trendy.

Stripes Gone Wild 
Vertical or horizontal, there’s a reason to be an unabashed fan of stripes, affectionately known as stripeys. They have become a classic with fashion brands.  Not just preppy anymore, stripes are here to stay, adding energy to an outfit, while conveying discipline. They’re versatile too, such as wrapping a striped sweater across your shoulders. Stripes have the advantage of being appropriate yet fresh at the same time. The variations on the stripes theme is endless with so many great options. They can vary from delicate to subtle to bold to athletic to elegant. Stripes fit in many settings and situations. Some people have entire collections of them to wear on the regular. 

The Classic Zone
Rather than classics, consider The Classic Zone. Perhaps a classic double-breasted coat would look great in a bold, new color or fabric, such as teddy-style. Look for modernized cuts on garments like black blazers.  Take a classic black V-neck sweater and add a ruffled pink shirt with silver necklaces underneath. Or, a black and white striped boat neck shirt under a sweater for a more casual look. Rather than classic, The Classic Zone lets you have more fun with fashion. Reinventing a little rather than reinventing entirely, feel free to re-invent classics, such as a sheath dress with a chevron pattern or an oversized button-down cable sweater with a lace camisole underneath.  An oversized leather jacket, which you can find at a thrift store, can be more like a bomber jacket. A blue cashmere sweater can be layered with a long sleeve white t-shirt or white base layer.

Boot Cuts and Baby Boot Cuts
If you’re puzzled by the high-waist jeans, Mom jeans, Boyfriend jeans and just Big, Big Wide jeans, take heart. Bootcut and Baby Bootcut jeans walk the fine line between older and younger generations. They give outfits a real 70s vibe, now that fashion is an expression of infinite 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond styles. Bootcuts are easy to wear, look great with blazers, dress up or down and are friendly for many different body types. They can look more elegant depending on the type of shoe you wear.

Elastane Is Your Friend
So is innovation in fabrics. Many high-end brands have embraced elastic waistbands and lots of elastane in fabrics such as in jeans. The ease-of-comfort the elastane provides helps with the fit, especially if you are looking for less constricting clothes. Elastane makes it easier to wear some of the oversized trends, in jeans and sweaters. For instance, if you’re not fond of the very popular oversized big blazer look, elastane can make a fitted blazer or denim jacket look smooth and comfortable.

New Day, New Brands
If you are older, perhaps you are brand loyal.  Opening yourself up to new brands exposes you to new ideas, lending itself to advancing your personal style. If you are beginning a new lifestyle, retiring or taking a new job or are in a new climate, it’s an opportunity to try a new brand. The popularity of thrifting means that you can gain exposure inexpensively to more new brands than ever before. Having favorite brands usually constitutes a wardrobe, since fit is usually consistent across a brand, if it is a decent brand. Trying new brands can assert that you look fresh and different, this time around.

Making Monochrome Fresh
Most stylish women know that the monochrome look, same color of all garments, bottom and top, for example, is an easy, flattering way to dress. Take the monochrome one step further, adding different shades of the same color, or add a bright pop of color, such as rust-colored suede sneakers with an all-black outfit.

Accessorize To Modernize
You may not be comfortable in a leopard print jumpsuit, but a fuzzy leopard print bucket hat might freshen the look when you wear a trusty black coat. Accessories are a great way to gently create new personas and try trends without fully committing to them. A fashion rule: you can have a basic, neutral wardrobe with a lot of this year’s trendy, wild or colorful accessories. It’s much easier to switch out or replace the accessories than the basics.

Rubber Soles & Wedges
Let’s not forget the shoes. Many great, comfortable, walking shoe brands have emerged, ECCO, Clarks and Cole Haan, for example. Rubber soles and wedges allow you to maintain some height without losing comfort. They can give an outfit a streetwear edge. They can be energizing, too, when you walk around, in comfort and style. If you live in a city and walk a lot, rubber soles are a year-round essential.

There are No Rules, Except For Your Own
Since fashion has lost its rulebook, it’s time to make your own rules. Only you can make the judgement if a shoe or garment fits you well, if you will wear it enough, and if it is worth the price. Decide for yourself if a style or trend is for you. In a landscape with a lot of confusing options, your own rules can serve as a guidepost when you shop and try on. Your rules provide consistency over your style. What’s comfortable, what works for you and your lifestyle, is the best, trendiest and most fashionable choice you can make.