Fashion tips for women over 40 usually include things like Botox, Spanx, and anti-wrinkle creams.
But long before those things were invented, women “of a certain age” learned to get creative in order to combat the signs of age.
Here are some of their “old school” fashion tips that still work like a charm today.
10 Fashion Tips for Women Over 40
1. Update Your Hairstyle
Hairstyle trends change every six months, just like fashion and accessories. So if you haven’t changed yours in a while – like decades – it can date you and make you look older than you are. Opt for a classic cut that flatters your face and highlights your best features.
2. Update Your Skin Care
Your skin thins out and wrinkles as you age, so there are two words you need to remember to combat it: moisturizer and collagen. Both will give your skin more elasticity and make you look younger longer.
3. Accentuate the Positive, Camouflage the Negative
Wear clothes that draw attention to the parts of your body you like and away from the parts you don’t like. For example, accentuate your face or hands and camouflage your tummy. Clean, simple silhouettes allow you to do this.
4. Go Heavy on Classics, Light on Trends
Stock up on classic clothing pieces like Oxford shirts, straight-leg pants, pencil skirts, and the like, because they look good on a variety of body types whether they’re 18 or 80. Then add fun, inexpensive trends like shoes, handbags, and costume jewelry that you can part with easily once the trend is over. You’ll look current without spending a lot.
5. Choose Simple Over Complicated
Fussy cuts, complicated fastenings, busy fabrics, and the like are best left to younger women. Once you hit 40, keep your clothing lines clean and simple so you can…
6. Indulge in Soft, Rich Fabrics and Embellishments
Luxurious fabrics and trims are best suited for older women. Think jacquard, brocade, and tapestry trimmed with fur, embroidery, or lace. For warm weather, think light and airy near the face, like chiffon, gauze, and feathers. Again, keep the silhouette simple so the fabric and embellishments can shine.
7. Opt for Lighter Colors Over Darker Colors
Your skin thins out and wrinkles as you age, and dark colors emphasize that. If you’re covering gray hair with a dark brown or black color, lighten it up with cinnamon or caramel tones instead. Wear muted, neutral, or light clothing colors near your face, like gray instead of black or bronze instead of brown. Again, airy, luxurious fabrics near your face will soften wrinkles and hard lines.
8. Try Expensive Accessories
An Hermès scarf. A Chanel handbag. A pair of Jimmy Choo pumps. If you get them in a classic style and maintain them properly, you’ll be able to wear them for years to come, then pass them down to your daughter.
9. Go Lower on the Heels
If your feet, knees, or back can’t take heels anymore, opt for elegant flats or kitten heels instead, especially for work and formal occasions. Save the tennis shoes for casual times.
10. Go Grander on the Jewelry
Like luxurious fabrics and trims, grand jewelry is best suited to older women. Statement necklaces, exotic earrings, chunky bracelets, and the like all become easier to wear with age and world experience. Just keep the clothing simple to let the jewelry shine.
See how different these fashion tips are from the usual fashion and style advice?
These celebrate age, they don’t shame or ignore it.
Because you can’t help getting older.
But that doesn’t mean you have to look old.
If you “roll with the punches” by wearing colors, textures, and silhouettes that suit your changing body – then add beautiful fabrics, accessories, and jewelry that turn heads and inspire envy – you can make the age issue obsolete.
Do These Tips Actually Work?
Absolutely!
These ladies no doubt learned the secrets to ageless style from their mothers:
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| Carolina Herrera in 2018 (Age 79) Photo courtesy of NYTimes.com |
Sophia Loren in 2016 (Age 81) Photo courtesy of Dolce and Gabbana |
Betty White c. 2012 (Age 90) Photo courtesy of Twitter.com |
See how great they look?
Now you may be thinking, “Well, I could look that good, too, if I had chefs, personal trainers, lots of money for clothes and beauty treatments, yada, yada, yada.”
That’s not what I’m talking about.
If you strip away the celebrity, you’ll see the fashion tips listed earlier at play, including beautiful skin, simple clothing styles, and updated hairstyles in lighter colors.
Again, once you understand what to do, you can become ageless.
People really can’t tell how old you are.
So…
Ready to start putting some of these fashion tips into action for yourself?
Diana Pemberton is an image consultant and author of Ageless Style, her fun look at how to dress age-appropriately whatever your age. Want to dress better tomorrow? Download Ageless Style today!
