San Francisco-based Beth Djalali (56) shares daily outfit inspiration on her blog, Style at a Certain Age. Her style is ladylike, Modern Classic and preppy. Beth’s makeup and silver hair are an integral part of the polished picture she portrays. Our blogger enjoys experimenting with trends and sporting different silhouettes, wears neutrals and bright colours with equal panache, and has an amazing jewellery collection.

“I always describe my style as American Classic with a modern twist, which is true casualness at its heart. And while I keep the look fresh from year-to-year, the overall look hasn’t changed much since I was a teen. I’ve always favored ballet flats, pencil skirts, cashmere sweaters, dark rinse jeans, or a two-button blazer. There’s nothing too fancy hanging in my closet, as I love clean lines that are oftentimes borrowed from menswear. I’m never happier than when I don a pair of blue jeans and top it off with a sweater. And, I have to say I’m a sucker for pearls, charm bracelets, and a simple classic watch. I’ve always been a prepster at heart so as I age it’s more about fine tuning that look, and keeping it fresh. One of my favorite pieces that I don’t think I could live without is my black faux leather moto jacket, which is on trend, but a classic at the same time. It appears regularly on my blog. I adore dresses, but I typically reserve them for special occasions, or a hot summer day.”

“Fridays with Oscar”, in which Beth posts pics featuring her sweet 9-month-old German shepherd, are my favourite part of her blog. Here she dresses up a simple white tee and jeans with a blazer and scarf. The white tipping on the topper echoes the T-shirt colour and picks up the white in the patterned scarf. The mustard yellow paired with the orange is a soft yet impactful colour combo that works well with the light wash jeans. Rolling the straight legged jeans showcases the animal print loafers, which complement the bronze metallic belt. Beth uses subtle pattern mixing — patterned scarf, footwear, and the striped lining on the blazer sleeves — to create visual interest. The mint earrings and raspberry red lip are unexpected finishing touches with this warm colour palette. Here’s to dog walking in style!

It’s all about the footwear and jewellery in this casual chic look. Beth has amassed quite the collection of unique pieces to play around with each day. Pairing a black shift dress that works well with flat sandals is a breezy solution for warm weather. Keeping the frock above the knee lengthens the leg line when wearing flats with dresses. The long necklaces also create vertical integrity. The gold studs on the sandals add soft edge, a fun juxtaposition with Beth’s wavy, sideswept fringe and polished style persona. Bright red toes and nails are Summer-y fun. The gold bracelets and watch, the jewelled clasp on the white wicker clutch, and the statement chandelier earrings all work together.

When asked about the latest additions to her fab jewellery collection, Beth said:

“My last two pieces of jewelry added to my collection are both from a darling jewelry line: Chloe and Isabel. One is a trio of brushed matte gold bangles that go with everything and I love to pair with my favorite pearl bracelet. The other piece of jewelry is a pair of chandelier earrings, which are very much on trend, and I can pair with jeans as well as wear for a fun evening outfit.”

An elegant Modern Classic look built around a fab pair of tomato red trousers. Beth has paired the eye-catching trousers with an oversized dolman sleeve top. The taupe and cream look great with our blogger’s silver ‘do. And how fun that the red stripe in the top matches the colour of the pants perfectly. The short sleeves, deep V-neck, vertical stripes, and the tapered pant hems streamline the volume up top. Beth happily mixes metals by sporting silver high-heeled sandals, a gold clutch, and silver, gold and pearl jewellery. Oversized sunnies and orange-red lippie finish off the look.

A neutral colour palette looks modern and elegant for Summer. The outfit becomes extra appealing thanks to the colours and different fabrics subtly playing off of each other. The coarser linen looks more refined paired with the sateen-finish shorts. The soft leathers amp up the chic factor. Tucking the blouse into above-the-knee-length Bermuda shorts creates a long lean line. Sporting mid-heel cage sandals in tan that are low-contrast against Beth’s skin further emphasizes that effect. The tan with gold belt bookends the sandals. The pliable light brown tote works great with the black and beige outfit. The collarless top is the perfect backdrop for Beth’s statement pendant. Dangly earrings, big sunnies, and bright lipstick and nails add playful polish.

Beth is firmly on Team White Bottoms. Here, she’s tucked a tee into rolled white chinos which elongates the leg line. The striped cardigan, and blue and white colour combo give this look a fun nautical vibe. The gold slides, belt and jewellery add warmth, and a touch of luxury. The fab asymmetrical hem cardigan creates a visually interesting and flattering effect with its diagonal lines. But it’s the combination with the bold geometrical necklace and bracelet that really makes the look for me. The clean, square shapes enhance the power of the stripe and contrast brilliantly with the round pearl earrings. Also note how the self-pattern on the bag echoes the square-shaped jewellery. My favourite look!

Black and blue from head to toe. Isn’t this a marvelous colour combination with Beth’s silver hair. Our blogger has created a column of colour by tucking an ink blue sweater into blue boyfriend jeans. Pairing the looser fit rolled jeans with black suede booties that are fitted on the ankle, streamlines this casual look. At the same time, the feminine, pointy toe footwear elongates the leg line. Beth then threw on her beloved black faux leather moto jacket, a forever fashionable piece that adds ladylike edge. The nonchalantly draped striped scarf cleverly picks up all the colour nuances in the outfit. A tasseled bag, simple silver hoop earrings and bright pink lipstick complement the look.

Let us know in the comments what you think of Beth’s wonderful Modern Classic outfits and on point jewellery game. You can browse the rest of her outfits over at Style at a Certain Age, and find out what inspires her on Pinterest.

I recently switched from Laura Mercier’s regular tinted moisturizer to the illuminating version, and I LOVE it. If you have normal to dry skin and like your complexion to look “shiny like an apple”, or dewy as some describe the texture, try this tinted moisturizer. It’s beautifully shiny, but not at all greasy. I apply it on top of regular moisturizer and sunscreen, and feel fresh all day. 

This is a moisturizer, and not a foundation, which means that the coverage is subtle. It will even out your skin tone but does not hide blemishes, scars, pigmentation or burst blood vessels. Personally, I prefer to wear less coverage because it looks more natural, matches the skin on my neck, and doesn’t stain my collar. I also like shiny skin because I think it looks healthy. But if you’re after a matte finish with lots of coverage, or have oily skin, this is not the cosmetic for you.

I’m in the minority in that I do not wear sandals in hot weather. I do like my feet and have regular pedicures so it’s not about hiding them. I love the look of sandals on others and have fun shopping for sandals with my clients. It’s hard to explain why I don’t wear them other than that I simply prefer the look of a closed toe for my style. I’ll fit on a sandal in stores and like it. Then I’ll fit on a breezy closed toe Summer shoe and love it. And we have to go with the items we love. 

Before we had glorious hot Summer weather in Seattle, I also used to find sandals too breezy for my climate. My toes would get cold, especially in air conditioning. That, however, has not been the case over the last two seasons because of unseasonably warm temperatures. So instead of sporting loafers, slipper flats or pumps like I usually do on mild Summer days, I wear closed shoes that are ultra breezy, like closed toe shoes with open heels or perforated closed shoes. Cut-out booties and d’Orsay styles are another way to go. Some styles are a hybrid of these options, like the perforated cut-out bootie and d’Orsay pump.

Closed Toe Shoes With Open Heels

As the collection below illustrates, the toe boxes are closed while the heel of the shoe is cut away, thereby ventilating the foot from the back. Think ankle strap flats or pumps, and mules. Sling back pumps are another option, but the straps tend to slide off the back of the heel without the security of an ankle strap. 

Perforated Closed Shoes

You’re after any style of shoe that covers the foot with a perforated material. Think pumps, oxfords, loafers, sneakers, booties and flats. The perforated holes allow your feet to breath without exposing them. Very ventilating. 

Cut-Out Booties & Oxfords 

This option provides a little more coverage, but covers less area of the foot than a regular bootie or oxford. Not as ventilating as the first two options, but breezy nonetheless. Of course, these styles have to be worn without socks to keep your feet cool. 

D’orsay Flats & Pumps

The dressiest option of the lot because the d’Orsay cut-out detailing is subtle, especially when the cut-out is only on one side of the shoe. You might need to size down half a size to keep this style from slipping off your feet. 

I like to protect my toes with coverage when I’m doing lots of city walking, which makes breezy closed toe footwear a better option than sandals. Toe coverage also keeps your feet a little cleaner when you’re out and about. And last, breezy closed toe footwear is one way to go in work environments with closed toe footwear dress codes. 

Over to you. Does anyone else like to wear covered footwear in the Summer?

It’s taken years to find the right jumpsuit. The DVF Dezi darling ticked off all the boxes because it’s blue, dressy, soft, sleeved, substantial and high-necked. It’s made of a weighty pebbled viscose that drapes beautifully and feels glorious against the skin. I love that the silhouette is alluring yet adequately covered, and has a Modern Retro integrity. I love the architectural sleeves, pleated waist, and elegant flared hems. I adore the defined waistline and fluid fit. 

Although the jumpsuit is an impractical item that won’t get much wear, it sparked an incredible amount of joy when I fitted it on, making it impossible to pass up. Life is too short to be practical about all your wardrobe items. This one was EXACTLY what I wanted.

This jumpsuit is a high-quality item, which makes it even more special. It’s so beautifully made that the pocket linings were finished with French seams, which were, ironically, a fit problem. The ridge of the seam grinned through to the front of the trousers. An overlocked zig-zag finish on the pocket lining is a flatter seam so that’s what I suggested to the alterations associate, who agreed it was a good idea. The new seams work like a charm and the pocket linings are no longer visible. 

I didn’t need to wear a special bra with the jumpsuit because although the boat neck is wide at the shoulders, it came with loops and snaps on the inside of the shoulder neck points. The loops keep your bra straps in place and prevent visible bra straps. Brilliant. The breezy armholes are sufficiently covered, preventing armhole gape. And I also enjoy how the high boat neck, draped sleeves and blousoned torso widen my shoulders and add a bit of bulk to my slight frame. 

I had the length shortened to wear with two and a half inch heels. I prefer the hems of flared trousers and jeans extra long because they look more luxurious that way. And with the soft fabric of the jumpsuit, the trouser legs feel particularly drapey and swooshy as I stride. Love that. Interestingly, because of the extreme drape of the fabric, I can also wear the jumpsuit with three inch heels and the hems don’t look too short. The break line in front is simply not as exaggerated. 

I visualized wearing the jumpsuit with white pointy toe pumps and a white satchel when I brought it home. But in the spirit of the ‘70s integrity of the piece, gold pumps and clutch seemed appropriately “disco”. The version with the high-contrast white finishing touches looks more Modern and 2015 to my eye, whereas the tonal gold finishing touches look more Retro. I have a slight preference for the white because I like how the white pops against the blue (in-house fashion stylist Greg agreed). But when I’m a tonal mood, I’ll sport the gold. 

The jumpsuit has an added bonus of looking like a formal gown from the side when you can only see one of its flared legs. That’s one of the reasons the piece is dressy enough to wear to a fancy occasion, but you’ll do a double take when you see that the gown has TWO legs. Another fun aspect of the piece. 

Adding a topper to this item ruins the lines of the garment, so it’s all about wearing it on a warm Summer’s day. We had just that last Saturday when I wore the suit to a styling event where I was the guest stylist. The jumpsuit was comfortable as I worked with clients, and I felt appropriately sassy for the event. My love for glam ‘70s fashion has gained momentum this year.