Ok, I admit it, I am a fashion tragic. “Dress for your age,” they say, but how? I have absolutely no idea what to wear or how to dress appropriately for my age. I do know what to slop around home in, where no one can see me, except my poor husband, who by now must surely be sick of coming home to me in tracksuit pants!
I don’t have a kill-them dress sense, but I do dress comfortably. I feel more at home in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap most days but I have realized that I would soon be compelled to dress a little more ladylike.
I have never had a sense of style or fashion. To me, getting “dressed up” meant putting on a clean and tidy shirt with my jeans, instead of a t-shirt or singlet. I am not a very feminine woman. I am not mannish, but I am not a glamorous, dainty thing who glides around the room either.
When I go out for social gatherings I must confess that I feel a little left out and wonder when I’ll ever feel the need to dress like a real lady. if there’s really such a thing. By that, I mean putting on a flowery dress, and high-heeled shoes and carrying nothing but a clutch, and not forgetting the makeup.
I am in my late 40s, and I think it’s time I started to dress more appropriately for a woman my age with an executive husband. I have never embarrassed him by turning up to a work event in track pants. I have always managed to “borrow” something for the occasion so I look decent. I would buy something, but it would then sit in the wardrobe and never be worn again, and I would work myself into a headache and panic attack whilst actually shopping for an outfit. I just don’t know what to wear. I don’t know what suits me.
I see things on store dummies, and they look great, but I am not built like a store dummy. I don’t have curves where they do or the luxury of wearing a pin in just the right spot to hold an item in at the correct place! When I try things on, they don’t look the same, and I panic about that and don’t buy them. I can honestly say I have not bought myself a new outfit (except designer jeans of course), for years.
I am not overweight, I am a size 12-14. I can get away with lots of clothes, I just don’t know what to buy for my age, because I don’t feel my age! I feel like I can still run around in little crop tops, singlets, and low rider jeans, but deep inside, I know it is time I started to dress like mom. Or is it? That is my point. What do I wear now? And where do I start without spending a fortune?
Do I have to resort to loose square-cut tops, three-quarter pants, and gold sandals? I’m just not comfortable. I can wear cargo pants with a singlet, but that’s what I am trying to move away from. What is “trendy” without people looking at others like I do and saying “That’s mutton dressed up as lamb!” Do you have to wear bright red lipstick and giant fake baubles? Do I have to wear brightly colored unflattering kaftans with a belt?
Can I ever do without my jeans, t-shirts, and baseball caps? Maybe not but there are some clothes you’d never pay me to wear. Never! I’m a very conservative person and I don’t feel comfortable exposing parts of my body that I feel should never be exposed in the name of fashion. It’s good to dress well but ladies please please don’t dress like a teenager when you’re old enough to be a mother of three teenagers yourself.
Then there is always the hair. I have always had long brown hair. My husband loves it and would hate for me to cut it. I have spent many thousands of dollars over the years at hairdressers. It costs a fortune to maintain long hair. A cut and color cost twice as much as short hair. Is it fashionable to have long hair at my age, and how do I style it? Ponytails are for kids and sportspeople! I am lucky it is not grey yet, but of course, there will come a time, and then what do I do? I would be at the salon every month covering regrowth! It has become obvious to me that I now need to have a shorter style, but what?
All these questions and more, so where do I start to dress for my age?
Advancing in age doesn’t mean you should wrap a large blanket around yourself when you go out. It only means dressing more sophisticated, mature, and responsibly. Believe me, there’s nothing like a woman who knows how to dress her age.
But I must add that dressing one’s age also has a lot to do with how old one looks or feels. For instance, nature has been really good to some people who look much younger than their age while some actually look older. While I do agree that clothes have a way of transforming our looks, clothes alone don’t do it. You need to have the carriage to wear the outfit. I see a lot of ladies who go out dressed as if they’ve never seen a mirror in their entire lives.
Women love to be flattered but the simple truth is that we know when we look good, we simply choose to lie to ourselves. I mean just because you have this friend who was born with a guitar-shaped figure doesn’t mean you should copy her style of dressing simply because she looks good.
You need to ask yourself some important questions. What kind of body shape do I have? Do I have a good waistline? Does that color do justice to my skin complexion? Do I have excessively large hips or a big butt? These questions may be difficult to answer honestly, but you’ll be better off at the end of the day.
That’s if you’ve answered them honestly. Meanwhile, you could give your fashion sense a boost by keeping track of the latest fashion trends. While dressing one’s age could be very tricky and you could find yourself caught between denial and reality, it’s important to accept the truth about how old you are and what styles you should or should not be caught wearing.
So please let’s look good ladies, but not at the expense of embarrassing ourselves!
