Fashion Time Warp: Style Choices That Are Aging You
Ditch these dated looks to appear years younger!
TOO MUCH MATCHY MATCHY
Buying matching sets and too much accessorizing can age you. Break your sets up. Don’t wear matching earrings, necklace, and bracelet; or a matching print top and blouse. In addition, remember when the rule was your belt and shoes HAD to match? That’s gone. Just make sure it all works together but doesn’t match exactly.
BLACK, BLACK AND MORE BLACK
Ladies, the yucky truth is, black is harsh against our faces as we age. It drains the life out of your complexion, enhances lines, creates shadows around your eyes and accentuates dark patches on your skin. If you are screaming “NO!!!” at me, don’t stress. Black is always chic, just try wearing it away from your face, ensure a shirt with color is under your black blazer, or you have a scarf around your neck.
OUT-OF-DATE GLASSES FRAMES
Frame shapes change slowly, but if you haven’t updated yours in several years, they may be aging you. The wrong size or frame type can completely throw off your entire look. If it has been more than 3-5 years since you’ve updated your frames, it’s time for a change!
WEARING BAGGY CLOTHING
Yes, some oversized styles are in, but that's different than baggy. The problem comes when you purposefully wear pieces a size or two bigger for comfort and to cover “flaws.” They leave you without a silhouette and actually make you look bigger. Instead, opt for pieces that are loose and glide over the body.
CLINGY AND CHEAP FABRICS
Cheap fabrics like jersey knits cling to all the wrong places...showing even the slightest of bulges. And be wary of a fitted piece from top to bottom. It can make you look like you are trying to be a younger version of yourself. Instead, look for denser knits with more structure. They are still comfy, but much more flattering. And, go for quality fabrics when it comes to your core wardrobe pieces. You can fill in with less expensive ones.
THE WRONG (OR NO) UNDERGARMENTS
Ladies, let’s be honest. Our girls sag as we get older, and if your bra doesn’t fit correctly, your breasts can look like they are sagging and your clothes can look lumpy.
Tip: get familiar with tools like breast tape that can help your breasts stay in place when wearing pieces you can’t use a regular bra under.
NUDE PANTYHOSE
I know, I know. The royals have to wear them. But these are totally out of date and scream out of touch. If you’re like me and aren’t completely comfortable with bare legs, try self-tanner or body makeup. When it’s cooler, opt for tights. They come in so many deniers these days--from very transparent to completely opaque.
DOWDY FOOTWEAR
Raise your hand if your feet have bunions from the days of squeezing yourself into the most uncomfortable shoes and wearing them all night! As we get older, we don’t tolerate ill-fitting shoes as much, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style. A lot of shoe companies (like Dr. Scholl’s and Sofft) make fashionable comfort shoes that I promise even the worst feet can tolerate.
GOING TOO DAINTY
Those pretty, dainty floral prints and pastel colors start to look too girly as we age. Start moving towards bolder florals or other graphic prints. And be careful with things like lace, crochet collars, bows and other little-girl looking accents.
TRYING TOO HARD TO BE TRENDY
While getting stuck in the past is a dead-giveaway of age, trying to jump on every trend doesn’t help either. Again, it can appear like you are trying to be younger than you are. Use the runway trends as inspiration but don’t try to copy them exactly. I always tell women to try one or two trends in an outfit, instead of loading up your outfit with every single thing that is trendy this season.
With love and style,
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