Ask Angie: Age dressing - YouLookFab Forum

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Ask Angie: Age dressing

nycbeck

Do you offer different guidelines for your clients "of a certain age"
(50-60's+) on looking great and modern? I loved reading about your
wardrobing with Karen. Most style advice I see lately is geared toward
women in their early 40's. Do you think there are any changes one needs
to make at that time?

Dressing

15 replies

Latest reply was from T-Rex

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Hi nycbeck!

It's interesting that you find the style advice geared up to the 40 yearold. Do you mean here on YLF, or all over? I'd love to hear more about that, when you have a moment.

I don't think there are hard and fast guidelines or additional changes you should make to your style when you are in your 50s and 60s - as opposed to when you are in your 40s. There are many YLF forum members in that age group who post photos on this forum, and I bet they would serve as quite the inspiration

For what it's worth, client Karen is 72 and we are putting together her Spring and Summer look now actually - and working from my 2013 Must Haves and Trends list.

nycbeck

There is always great advice at the YLF blog and I find your well thought out posts terrific and have printed out many. I just feel that between the 40's and the 60's bodies and faces do age noticeably despite attention to diet, exercise and grooming. Clothing choices need fine tuning at this time to look our best.
That is why I love to see women such as your client Karen dressing in such a flattering and chic way.
Thanks for your prompt reply to my question Angie. I am very happy to have discovered your wonderful blog!

Suz

(website)

Veteran

As Angie says, there are quite a few of us older than 40 on the forum -- into our 50s, 60s, and beyond. And if you search the forum archives under "age appropriate dressing" you will find lots of posts on just this subject, exploring our thoughts about dressing as we age. You will discover that most of us find Angie's guidelines work exceptionally well for us -- tweaked, however, for our individual figure flattery priorities, and most of all, our particular life circumstances -- the climate, our jobs, etc.

Most would agree that dressing as a 40 year old and as a 60 year old are a bit different -- but the precise changes really vary on the individual. One woman will decide that short skirts are not too great any more, for example -- whereas another might say, "I am wearing short skirts as long as I live!"

If you look at Karen's outfits, you'll see that she wears many of the trends, and even wears them together, but aims for more covered up versions of certain items. A denim skirt that falls below the knee; blouses that offer some arm coverage, etc. So that is one example of a tweak.

Anonymous

Yes to everything that Suz said. I'm over 65 but try most trends that fit my life and style watching for enough coverage and mostly staying away from Juniors although I can wear them. In general, besides better fabrications and enough coverage, I am adamant about structure.

DonnaF

Veteran

Unlike many style bloggers, a great thing about Angie is that she is sensitive to those of us who can't wear sky high or even mid-height heels perhaps since she can't wear them herself. It has nothing to do with age *appropriateness*, but I think as women age, their ability (or willingness) to tolerate heels diminishes due to back/knee/foot issues. Like everything else, foot problems hit some women earlier than others.

One thing Angie has mentioned and a lot of us have noticed is that as we age, it gets more difficult to wear a lot of flat black next to our face. I think she offered solutions in a blog: Lower the neckline to show more skin; black lace allows skin to show through; wear a black print to break up the black; shiny black is less harsh; etc.

I find this forum truly amazing because its participants span a wide variety of ages, body types, and sizes. I suspect we don't have much participation of women in their 70s simply because they tend not to use computers and troll blogs.

Welcome!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

It's a pleasure, nybeck :). Thanks for chiming back in, and for your kind words.

Suz and Joy are spot on. With client Karen for example, and I mention this in every post about her style, she MUST be covered the way she wants to be covered. Nothing knee-baring or higher than the elbow. It is non-negotiable with Karen, and I respect that wholeheartedly. Yet this is not the case with every one. I have another client who is in her late 70s and she will happily still sport sleeveless on hot days - and looks great!! But she will not bare her knees. So rolled up BF jeans are ideal, and they both have several pairs that they have been wearing the heck out of!

Both clients are putting together the dressy nostalgic tee ensemble and having a ball! It's so cute the way they keep me abreast with their progress. It's this one if you missed it:

http://youlookfab.com/2013/04/.....algic-tee/

It brings tears to my eyes to see these incredible ladies enjoy fashion and style with the best of them.

Furthermore, Joy at the age of 66 is our reigning YLF Queen Sleeveless.

kkards

Veteran

welcome, i joined YLF for the same reason that you are seeking guidance on. i'll be 50 this summer, and i want to make sure that i am current, but at the same time dressing for my age. the forum is really helping me to refine and define what works, and doesn't work, for me.as well as how to take what i love and move it my look foward.

Gaylene

Veteran

Another mid-sixties YLFer. In spite of other fashion blogs geared to the 40 and older group, Angie's is the one that I keep returning to because she encourages experimenting and tweaking as an essential component of dressing well at every age, instead of offering prescriptive advice based on age categories

Personally, I've found the whole question of age-appropriateness really depends on the individual. As you've noted, how clothes look and fit doesn't stay static as we age, even if our interest in fashion remains undiminished. Nor does our lifestyle, health, and personal inclinations remain fixed; if anything, we become more diverse as a group as we age. While I can admire a 70+ woman like Karen, in reality, I don't lead Karen's lifestyle, nor do I share her body shape and many of her clothing preferences. Guidelines that help her make her wardrobe choices wouldn't necessarily work for me, even if our ages are similar. That's why I think Angie's approach to encourage us to think about how to adapt and tweak how we wear our clothes is much smarter than setting age-related guidelines about what, and what not, to wear.

unfrumped

Veteran

I noticed that as I get older, my outfits require much more attention to fit and proportion. These are important at any age, but can be more of a deal-breaker now than for 20-somethings. Something that looks delightfully casual on a young lady will look sloppy on me. Similarly, certain trends I could wear only with perfect proportions for me. Attention to face-enlivening color is more important--whereas youthful flushed cheeks can wear anything!

rachylou

Veteran

What I think interesting about aging and fashion, and I think Angie understands/explains this, is that it's not so much we need to change because we've reached a certain age and inevitably a certain decrepitude which has to be hidden. Rather, style simply evolves and lives change.

For example, after 40 years of wearing bows, I've decided it's an embarrassment (haha), but the truth is when I was a lass - all the aging doyennes clipped their hair back with bows and that was called elegant.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

Another YLFer who is over fifty here - and I agree with what others have already said. I think many woman try almost too hard to be "age appropriate" when they reach a certain age. In other words, they often give up on wearing trends at all, or on wearing things they might feel are "sexy" or "rebellious" or whatever adjective they think of as younger. I forget my age most of the time when I'm shopping, but that little voice in my head does speak up now and then to ask "Is this okay for me to wear?" But these days I think it's really a question of "Is it really my style?" instead of "Is it really my age?"

I'm still working on my style - so that's a moving target but it is getting clearer. Just yesterday I saw a very cute tunic top that was a bit "boho". It was great colors for me, would look cute with jeans, etc. but I stopped myself and asked "Would you really want to wear such a boho style on a regular basis?' And for me, the answer was no. I'm more into simple, classic, natural styles. When I try to go beyond that I end up with closet orphans (things not worn).

Mo

(website)

Veteran

I'm only 43 but also came here first because of the age appropriate question.Agree that other advice is too 'prescriptive' based solely on age and not taking lifestyle and individual into account. Like - over 40, you should not wear a skirt more than 2 inches above your knee - that kind of thing. Doesn't work for me. But by being here for the last 3 years I have found what things need to go (white eyelet trim on sundresses) and yes, my skirts and shorts are a couple inches longer than they were 5 years ago. Basically, taking the whole person into account is what makes the difference! Oh, and if you can look up Cocolion's recent thread on what she's finding appropriate at 55, it's very detailed. She lives a casual CA rural life and her choices reflect that. http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....at-55-long

nycbeck

Thank you all for your thoughtful and helpful posts. That is why I love this
site!!

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

Thank you Mo for linking to my thread! I am flattered.

I find that I review each item individually, whether it will work for me at my age any more. But as a rule, even though I am in pretty good shape, I avoid clothing that is too revealing or too head-to-toe trendy.

One thing I have been giving thought too is sleeveless tops. Right now, most sleeveless tops have exaggerated armholes. You are supposed to wear a cami or tube bra or no bra at all. I am uncomfortable with this look, so am having to pass on a lot of sleeveless tops. But I did still purchase some for the days when it's over 95. Even if that means my bra will show. As well as my skin which is starting to show its age. So I think there are things you wear in the privacy of your own home, and things that you wear in public.

T-Rex

Veteran

I can't remember how I ended up on the YLF site, but I *do* know that it was the Karen photoshoot that caught my attention and made me stay. She was so drop dead gorgeous that she gave me hope that I could look as alive, glowing, and even sexy when I am her age. I promptly emailed the link to a friend of mine near my age who is also giving a great deal of thought to what it means to age, how to age beautifully, what parts do we fight, and what parts do we push back on, etc. Not to mention the way society perceives us differently as we age, sometimes in ways that are unfair and infuriating.

Not that age is at the center of most conversations here. But when it is brought up, I love the fact that so many people in the forum can offer so many different opinions, which are all treated respectfully.

As for advice re: age appropriateness, I say that if you love a trend, don't automatically pass on it if it seems too juvenile. It may be possible to work one super trendy, youthful piece at a time, into a more classic outfit in a way that works for you. From my point of view, NOTHING is completely off limits because of your age. There is always a way to work it. You just have to experiment until you find it.