A recent article in the Sunday Times Style magazine covered the issue of
50 plus dressing and how best to look stylish. Whilst the article was
interesting, the premise that women at 50 were over the hill and lost
interest in looking good confounded me. Why should women over 50 be any
different than women in their 20's, 30's or 40's?
Women of all ages have body insecurities, lack of confidence and low
self-esteem and are confused how best to dress to make the most of
themselves. To my mind, dressing well is even more important after 50
than before, because you don't have youthful vitality and glow to fall
back on - it is all about the clothes, makeup, hair and accessories.
There is no reason why a woman in her 50's cannot look better than she
ever has done, freed from 'the tyranny of fashion' and confident to know
what suits her body shape regardless of trends. As Coco Chanel said
'fashion passes, style remains'.
Unfortunately, a recent style survey by Isme.com seemed to reiterate
what the article was saying. The results of the survey showed that 8 out
of 10 Britons think women should start dressing down once they reach 50.
In addition, almost half of 50+ women polled stated they were scared of
wearing fashionable clothes for fear of what others would say.
Of course it goes without saying that women in their 50's and older have
probably been through the menopause when weight starts to be put down
around the midrift and gravity has won the battle of the tops of the
arms and maybe even the boobs. However, with a little artful dressing
these problem areas can be easily disguised and body assets shown off -
in particular wrists, ankles and top of the shoulders.
A common cry I hear from clients is "I want to look nice but don't want
to look like mutton". So I have compiled some easy tips to looking good
regardless of age which hopefully will give hope to women beyond 50 that
they don't have to resort to a twinset or tracksuit nor end up looking
like their daughter's much older sister...
Buy clothes that give you pleasure in terms of fabric, pattern and
colour and are comfortable. Don't be influenced by trends - they come
and go. The fashion industry survives by changing it's mind as to what
is the must have skirt or top or pattern every 6 months - it has little
bearing on what suits the majority of us. Wear colour on your top half -
it lifts the face - keep neutral shades ie black, navy, grey and brown
for jackets, coats, suits, trousers and skirts. Tops and dresses with
arms will hide your wobbly bits but so will cardys, shrugs and wraps.
Dress according to your body shape - if you have very slim thighs then
skinny jeans will work regardless of age - if you are curvier go for
bootleg. Good underwear is essential - M&S is the saviour of us all.
Wear simple and timeless shapes but decorate with statement jewellery,
scarves, belts, shoes and handbags.
On a final note the 50 plus age group spends more on clothing, footwear
and accessories for themselves than any other age group - 41% of the
total UK clothing market. Isn't it high time that the high street
recognised this and instead of constantly catering for the 20 something
market started designing and selling clothes for the 50 plus woman who
is still very keen on looking good and has the purchasing power to
ensure that she does!
