Saturday, February 25, 2012

Age Appropriate

Over the past few weeks, I've had multiple conversations with friends about women dressing their age. This seems to have become a bit of an issue for people. I for one, though in my late-ish 20s, have been known to wear cardigans and pearls, and I realize it can learn towards the dowdy side.

Alternatively, we live in a world where women of a certain age are rewarded for looking much younger than their actual age. Botox, augmentations, fillers, lypo. It can get extreme. If that's what you need to feel better about yourself, go for it. But really a healthy diet, some exercise, and really good moisturizer will make a HUGE difference.

As they say, 50 is the new 30. Wrong. 30 is still 30 and 50 is still 50. With that in mind, here are a few tips to think about, the next time you are shopping or getting dressed.

- If your clothes are in odd sizes (5,7,9) chances are the don't fit correctly. Why, you ask? Because clearly you purchased those in the junior's section. Juniors is for teenage girls - not adults. Sure the clothes may be cheaper, and we know how I love a good bargain. But really, the cut is completely wrong for any sort of curve and the quality is frightening. Seriously, you would have to purchase 3 pairs of pants in juniors to get the wear out of one pair of pants from an adult store. 
- Cover yourself. If you have lots of tattoos or lacy things, consider the environment you're in. I'm all for self expression - if you've got tattoos and love them, show them off. But obviously you're not going to show your whole sleeve while you're at work in your corporate office. Or say you've decided to wear your new lacy bra... I'm not entirely sure why you'd want to expose it - though I've seen it twice in the past month. Here's the best way to expose your lacy bra, and not look like trash. Wear a deep v sweater or cardigan and pants (please wear pants with this!) and let a tiny bit peak out. A little sexy, a little trashy. But if you're uncomfortable or if you're anything other than a 0, like the rest of us, you might want to consider buying a top with lace details and just giving a nod at the trend.
- If you're going to make a terrible fashion decision, like overalls (terribly unflattering to ALL body shapes), don't try to sexy it up.  Embrace your decision and wear some camo with it. Or better yet, burn, sell, or give away your overalls.
- A really good rule of thumb to work by, when getting dressed to go out, if you're going short on the bottom (and I implore you to consider what length of short is appropriate) cover up on top. If you are being a little revealing on top, cover more on the bottom, say... with pants. Novel, yes. It will also get you the type of attention you desire, rather than attention from bikers and creeper that wear Ed Hardy.
- What it comes to accessories, your mother was right, less is more. A few classy accessories will make any outfit, while piles of cheap mall accessories will make you look just that - cheap.
- If your dress is a tube dress, gold, skin tight, with cut outs - You look like a whore. I don't care if you are 15 or 50. This dress is entirely too over the top and has too many trashy elements going on. Even if it's a planned party where everyone is dressing like complete hookers - you don't HAVE to win this round, dignity will be better to have in the end.

The key to dressing your age is to embrace your body, no matter the size, accessorize with pieces you love, be proud to be you, and most importantly, when in doubt, cover up. Dressing age appropriately will make people take you more seriously and will ultimately help you out in life. Why not try it?

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