Somehow the advice about age appropriate fashion has always rubbed me kind of wrong. Like, all those blogs and articles about what to wear in your 20’s, your 30’s, your 40’s and beyond? Or those remarks that after a certain age, it doesn’t matter what a woman wears because we turn invisible? (WHAT?!) Do these age related fashion bites irritate you in some “I think I’ve got a grain of sand in my Christian Louboutins” sort of way like they do me? Do you think rules for age appropriate fashion are relevant to your personal style? Or do you recommend tossing aside the fashion police rulebooks along with the limitations placed on what we as women can and cannot do in life?
Today, we’re tackling some of these questions about age appropriate fashion choices. The word fashion itself is a term for something we at Project Motherhood love: clothing that has quality, beauty, style, and charm that makes us feel good about ourselves whenever we wear it. And this is the key – that whenever I put the word ‘fashion’ into the equation first, before age, I come to a better sort of conclusion. And that conclusion is that fashion is indeed very very appropriate at every age!
I’m sure you remember that totally forgiving fashion time of your life (usually during your late teens) when your beauty sat fresh as a tulip bud before fully opening, when you could actually wear anything in the world and look totally adorable. But somewhere around 21 or so, you begin to notice that the t-shirt that you studied in all night and the pajama bottoms you wore to school every day of your senior year don’t really look as cute as they used to. It was then that you decided to let your sense of fashion evolve into a look that enhances who you are and who you are becoming. And I use that word “becoming” with intent, because at that moment you were committing yourself to dressing in the way most BECOMING to the woman that you were BECOMING.
You can read the About Us section of Project Motherhood for a great sense of where we stand when it comes to fashion choices. We describe our typical reader as someone “who balances her love and commitment for family, parenthood, relationships, and fashion with poise and grace. She is assertive, confident, and informed, while relying on her own well-thought out rules and perspectives on modern day etiquette and responsibilities to face any situation.” So. I repeat…we are relying on OUR OWN thought-out rules and perspectives…which of course apply to whatever we choose to wear at every age.
Our Rules For Age Appropriate Fashion
Look in the Mirror. Just as we follow certain guidelines in our very popular Tuesday posts about dressing for your body shape, we know we need to decide what to wear based on what looks good on our particular body. And my number one criterion for what to wear is determined by looking in the mirror. The mirror may have lied a time or two about who was the fairest of them all, and yes, I do believe that we occasionally run into a true “ugly” mirror, yet I promise that you should believe your mirror when it tells you not to wear something.
Way more than age, you must chose your fashion according to what looks good on your body. If you are 20 pounds heavier at age 35 than you were at at 18, you surely realize that you won’t be looking your best in the same cuts of clothing. Yet there is no reason whatsoever that you cannot look beautiful exactly as you are…any body shape, any weight, any age. There are always beautiful clothing choices out there that will make you look and feel your best, at any age.
Honesty is the best policy. Now, if you are looking in the mirror and you say to yourself, “I wonder if this dress is a little young for me?” then immediately take that dress off. You wouldn’t be asking yourself that question if it wasn’t true. And as for “I wonder if this dress is too [tight, low-cut, short]?” Um…you are feeling some doubt, so there must be a reason for that! And as a total operating principle for anyone over 30, if a look is called “school girl” or “baby doll” then you need to leave it to your youngers! You are way smarter than you were then, so allow your strengths to be a plus whether your evolving style is elegant, edgy, or totally on trend.
Buy the best quality you can afford. One of the best parts of growing a bit older is that if you have played your cards right, you are in better financial condition now than when you were just starting out in life. Use your hard work to invest in some quality fashion choices that are elegant and timeless and wear them with an attitude that is totally unapologetic for yourself and your gorgeous clothing and that you will always care about how you look. And regardless of age, your money is always more wisely spent on clothes that will last you for years, rather than by buying cheaper, trendier clothes that pill, fade, or stretch after just a few wash cycles.
Your style is yours and yours alone. Don’t even bother to buy into the myths that Moms aren’t sexy. Or that you should cut your hair short by a certain age. Or make your hair lighter after another age. If you listen to all the conflicting advice coming at you, you will simply be paralyzed.
“You should color your hair to hide the greys!”
“You should let your hair go grey because that shows you are comfortable with who you really are!”
Or, here is one I really love: “If you saw the trend previously in your life, then you can’t wear it again!”
What? No shoulder pads?! Wear less make-up (even though I feel better wearing MORE)?! Who sez?! Who ARE these people and why do they think they know better than I do?
The truth is that YOU get to decide. And once you trust yourself, you will know how to dress according to what is absolutely perfectly right for you, regardless of your age or what fashions are on trend at that moment.
How do you wear your age to its best advantage? How do you make age appropriate fashion choices? Are you willing to become invisible?
The Giveaway
We have partnered with the amazing online boutique Modaym for you to win a chance to treat yourself to some awesome age appropriate fashion for your closet! Their concept is amazing, as they cater to the emerging fashion designers and make is easier for these up and coming artists to share their work with the world. The giveaway starts today, and 1 lucky winner will walk away with a $50 gift certificate to this wonderful store on Friday December 26th!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: You must be 18 years of age to enter and reside in the United States. Prizes will be shipped to the contest winner from each participating company. By entering this giveaway, you are automatically subscribed to the Project Motherhood newsletter.
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