How To Dress For Your Age

How to dress for your age. Hmmmm. Sometimes, especially around my birthday, I find myself googling ” What to wear if you’re over___”. I then start to wonder if my tops might be too tight or if my shorts are the right length and the same with my skirts.

Not that I am now or ever was into wearing anything short, too tight, or revealing. Even in my 20’s, I was always I guess you could say a conservative dresser. I was firmly brought up to “not dress like a crazy” as my mother would say.

Aging

As each year passes by, instead of whinging about getting older and my cheeks sliding down off my face. I am trying to be more thankful for aging and the fact that I get to celebrate another year of being alive. But with that being said, anybody who is close to me will tell you that I do a lot of whingeing with each approaching birthday, but I am trying to change!

My super kind friend does helpful things to help me when I am carrying on about getting older. She sends me text messages with photos of gorgeous-looking celebrities who are my age. Last year I got photos of Jennifer Lopez and I instantly felt better! Thank you, lovely friend!!

But what exactly is age-appropriate dressing? Sometimes age doesn’t have anything to do with how we should or should not dress. Because I tend to think some styles are just not really very flattering no matter how old you are!

Things like wearing see-through leggings as pants. This is not a good look EVER!!  Or what about those super frayed teeny tiny short shorts. Unless you’re Daisy Duke, this is probably a very risky fashion choice.

Aging itself can be challenging enough as it is. So to limit yourself when it comes to fashion is just downright depressing. Why should we be told that you shouldn’t wear this or that? But How exactly do we dress for our age? Maybe we need to cut ourselves some slack. Instead of just focussing on our age when it comes to how we dress. Maybe we can focus on other important things like body type, dressing for the occasion, and the quality of the clothes in our wardrobes.

Body Type

As we age our bodies change so it’s important to work out the cut and style of clothing that suits our body shape the best. It’s a good idea to find the style of clothes that actually flatter the shape of our bodies the most.

Dressing For The Occasion

It’s important to consider that what you are wearing suits the occasion. In addition, once you have worked out the fashion styles that work well for your body type it might also be worthwhile to look at whether or not your clothes compliment your lifestyle.

Quality of Your Clothes

It’s better to have quality rather than quantity when it comes to clothes. Stick to good quality basic pieces rather than having a wardrobe full of cheaper clothes that go out of fashion and don’t last long.

Focus On Classic Style Instead Of Passing Trends

I think it might be better to stop worrying about what exactly is age-appropriate fashion and instead focus on classic fashion style regardless of how old you are. Classic fashion is a style that will last for much longer than one season. It’s a style that will last for many years and you don’t have to worry about looking dated.

I’m referring to a simple black dress, a classic white button-down shirt, or slim black pants. All these simple elegant pieces will be totally fashionable year after year.

Maybe the safest way to incorporate trends into a wardrobe might be to accessorize using colors that are “in” rather than buying a whole outfit made up of that particular trending color.

I remember many years ago hot pink was very ‘in’ for about one season. I was so relieved to have only bought a pair of hot pink slip-on shoes because sure enough as is the case with most trends, this one was very short-lived!

Dress Confidently

This I feel is the key! Once you know what suits you and you love it, wear it with confidence! Think of Iris Apfel, a fashion icon and interior decorator who is 100 years old. She has got such a fantastic bold style. She dresses in bright colors, loud patterns, and lots of accessories. Her style is not necessarily a style I would be comfortable wearing but she just looks amazing. Her wardrobe suits her and she wears it full of confidence.

Another fashion icon who dresses beautifully and confidently is Anna Wintour. She is 71 years old and has served as Editor-in-chief of Vogue since 1988. Anna Wintour seems to steer very clear of passing fashion trends and has adopted her own signature style made up of elegant well-cut basic pieces with a bold dash of color and fun.

Have Fun With Your Wardrobe

When thinking about how to dress for your age, I think it is liberating to focus on what suits you the best instead of worrying about how old you are. Wear what makes you feel and look good and what makes you feel confident.

Try and stay away from negative limiting advice that focuses on what you can’t or shouldn’t wear. Just have fun finding your own signature style. By doing this it won’t matter how old you are because you will always be wearing clothes that make you look and feel fantastic.

One Last Thing

If you would like to see some of my favorite outfits in neutral colors, click here.