Do you change what you wear each decade or so? If not why not? If you’re still wearing the same clothes that you bought 10 or 20 years ago, you’re aging yourself considerably. Yes, your clothes may be classic in style, but the classic styles of 1990 are not the same as the classic of 2010. Updating is important if you want to maintain a youthful and modern image and not look ‘old lady’. If 40 is the new 30, then 50 is the new 40, and with our longer life expectancies, there is no need to put yourself out to pasture too soon.

Certainly in Australia, I see way more women dressed frumpily as they age, rather than dressed as lamb, but on my trip to the USA last year I was horrified at the number of women who had that whole 16/60 thing going on (16 from the back, mini skirts and cropped tops, 60 from the front, not a good look). Many of my clients say to me “I don’t want to look like mutton dressed as lamb” (here after referred to as MDAL), do tend to dress older rather than younger to ensure that this doesn’t happen. They sacrifice style for safety. There are lots of ways to dress in age appropriate style, yet still look modern and chic.

I’ve been asked to share with you my tips on what I think you should not wear over the age of 50. Now I’m not a lover of too many ‘absolutes’ too many rules. I know women in their 60s who are funky and fabulous and dress in a manner that suits their age and their personality, but is not ‘old lady’ in any way. So how to achieve this goal?

1. As we age, for many of us, skin starts to head south, so it’s important to factor this into dressing your ever changing body. Consider that you may want to cover your knees, leggings are a great way to do this, if you want to wear mid-thigh, or just above the knee tunics, skirts or dresses. Leggings are such a great way to keep your look current, without feeling naked. But remember, leggings are not pants, so they should only be worn with tunics, skirts or dresses, no t-shirts please! Check out these pictures that prove how versatile they are for all ages.

2. Throw out your long skirts – yes, those skirts that hit at any point on your lower calf. Skirts are generally most flattering when they hit just at or at the base of the knee cap. Maxi dresses are an exception to this rule. If you won’t throw out your long skirts, you really need to wear heels to balance their volume, and I know many women over 50 who have issues with their feet and find them too uncomfortable, so it’s easier to adjust your skirt length than be in pain all day!

3. Make sure only one garment is voluminous, if both are on the baggy or boxy side, you will be swamped by fabric which is less than flattering. Too tight all over tends to look MDAL if not careful.

4. Get yourself fitted for a great bra. Chances are you’ve changed size (we all do, plus bra brands are not all equal), and a well fitting bra will give you back your waist (which tends to disappear with menopause). 70% of the support of a bra comes from the band, only 30% from the straps. Most women are wearing a band that is too big, and a cup that is too small. You should only be able to fit a couple of fingers under the band, if you can pull it away from your body more than that, it’s too large and you are not getting the support you need.

5. Make sure your trousers are the current length. Too short trousers are one of the most common features I see on more mature women, and it ages (as well as shortening your legs). Trousers should almost hit the ground, never drag on it, but be as long as possible. This is modern, and elongating. See the pic above – this is the shortest your trousers should be. Remember to try on trousers with the shoes/heels you plan to wear with them to ensure they are the correct length. It’s worth buying 2 pairs of jeans or trousers, one hemmed for flats, the other for heels.

6. Avoid coloured trousers, keep your trousers in neutral colours. Coloured trousers are high fashion or old lady, and if you’re not one to rock the latest fashion with your dramatic personality, they’re best avoided as they draw attention away from your face.

7. If you’ve lost your waist, avoid tucking in tops. Instead make sure your clothes are fitted, with darts and princess seams. Hem your tops so they hit just below your hip bone, a couple of inches above your crotch.

8. Instead of waist belts (unless you have a defined waist), try curved hip belts to add some interest to your outfits.

9. Spaghetti straps tend to look better on young women, look for wider straps on sleeveless tops and even a light sleeve. Check out Helen Mirren, she manages to cover up whilst still remaining modern. Look for light floaty sleeves, mesh sleeves and the like.

10. Don’t be afraid to try something new, but as we age it’s better to include one element of the new fashion, rather than attempt it head to toe. As my mother always said “Change is as good as a holiday” change keeps you young, both mentally and physically.

Many women (and men) tend to lose their way in their 40s and 50s style wise. They haven’t had the time to spend time browsing the shops, as they’re too busy at work or with their families. This is where an image consultant can help you get back on track, and help you develop a stylish new you suitable for the age you are today.

© Imogen Lamport 2010

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Many garments can be renovated – and most people never think about doing it – they just assume that if it doesn’t fit, or look great on, that’s the end of it’s lifespan in their wardrobe – but why not try a spot of renovating.

Create a Cashmere Scarf

An cashmere jumper can easily be turned into a cashmere scarf.

• Lie the jumper on a flat surface and cut from the bottom of the armhole on oneside to the other.
• Using the bottom edge of the jumper (no the arms), overlock the raw edge
• Either wear it in it’s looped form, or cut open 1 side seam and finish the raw edge.

Turn a Dress into a Top

Wrap and kimono style dresses work well for this project.

• Cut the dress to a length that suits – remembering to leave 1.5cm to turn up as a hem.
• Hem the new top

Dye out that Stain

If you’ve got a stain that you can’t remove, and your garment is made of a natural fibre, why not dye the garment into a new colour, the stain will often disappear in the process.

Choose a dark coloured dye and remember to follow the instructions, stir, stir stir.

You can also dye garments that you just don’t like the colour of (or they’re not flattering).  It will often give them a new lease on life.

© Imogen Lamport 2010

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The Right Hair Colour

Apparently 70% of us colour our hair (well women at least) and that’s a pretty high proportion. I see a lot of people with unflattering hair colours and feel sad that they obviously want to enhance their appearance, which is why they’re putting in the colour, but have been misguided on what colours will suit their complexion.

Notice the difference in the two pictures of Angelina Jolie – the blond hair is making her looked washed out – it’s far too warm for her cool complexion and gives her a jaundiced appearance. It’s also too far from her natural colour and so he’s losing her natural high level of contrast which makes her more appealing.

When considering what colour to dye your hair make sure it suits your general colouring – is your skin warm or cool? Is your colouring bright or more muted (if you naturally have ‘mouse’ coloured hair you probably are more muted and should stick to softer hair colours – no bright copper for you.) Are you naturally light or dark or somewhere in between?

A colour consultation can help you discover your best hair colours and what suits you

and will be flattering, because your hair is so close to your face you need it to make you look better not worse.

As we age we have to soften our hair colours, we can’t go as dark as we once were as that will make our wrinkles look deeper and may wash us out. Many people also become cooler in their colouring as they age, so the golden and copper tones no longer work for them.

Be aware that any hair that has been bleached will naturally start to go brassy as the hair colour applied over the bleached hair washes out over time. This can be unflattering on those with cool skin.

Contact Bespoke Image Today to arrange your Colour Analysis

© Imogen Lamport 2010

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I’ve a Wardrobe Full of Clothes and Nothing to Wear

How often do I hear this refrain? Many people say it to themselves almost every day, go out and buy more clothes, yet the problem still continues. In the words of the late great Professor Julius Sumner Miller Why is it so?. And more importantly, How Can I Change It?

Take a good look in your wardrobe – you’ll find clothes that don’t fit, clothes that you’ve had for years – both well worn and hardly worn, clothes that you bought for a special occasion that you’ve never worn again, clothes that you bought on a trip or holiday somewhere, and those clothes that you wear every day.

Most people wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time because all their other clothes just don’t work for them in some way or another. They don’t suit their personality or current lifestyle. They don’t fit – either too big (better keep them for the next fat day) or too small (cos they might just lose that weight and be able to fit into them). Clothes that have sentimental value, but are out of fashion. Clothes that are out of season. And clothes that no matter how often they put on, they don’t go with anything else they own, or for some inexplicable reason or other just don’t feel good on, but because they’re almost new, can’t be thrown away.

So you can see that you’ve probably got lots of clothes that just aren’t working for you, but because of a gamut of reasons you feel unable to part with, so they’re taking up lots of space that could be put to use with new, better clothes that make you feel and look great every day.

So how do you go about making your wardrobe work better for you?

Here is how to do your own wardrobe audit (you may need to get a good and trusted friend, or friendly image consultant to help if you’re a bit scared). Arm yourself with some large plastic garbage bags.

1. Pull ALL your clothes out of the wardrobe (yep, all of them, you want to have your wardrobe completely emptied). Put it all on the bed.
2. Look inside your wardrobe – get out the vacuum if there’s lots of dust and give it a clean before you start putting clothes back inside.
3. Look at each garment individually – imagine this is an op shop.  Would you buy it?  If it screams a decade at you (that isn’t the current one), it’s had its day and is time to go.
4. Look for signs of wear in the fabric – neck, cuffs, collars, stains, hanging threads, buttons missing etc – can it be fixed and be a great garment? Put it on a file for mending, otherwise, put it in a bin bag – and decide whether it’s even good enough to go to an op-shop, or whether it should go straight to your bin.
5. Consider when you bought each garment – if it’s more than 5 years old it’s out of fashion (except some well made classic suiting), and looks it, and is making you look old and dated before your time. Look at the details – often collars, pockets and buttons date a garment. Get rid of it.
6. Not sure about whether it still fits – try it on and see – make sure sleeves are long enough, that hems are the right length (not sure, see an image consultant and find out what looks best on you). If it’s too big are you keeping it because you might put on weight? If you feel you must, put it in another wardrobe, away from your everyday clothes, and if in a year you still haven’t needed to wear the item get rid of it (it’s old fashioned and out of date now). Is it too small and you’re hoping to loose weight. Unless it’s a really classic garment that you love to bits, get rid of it. By the time you lose the weight to get into it, it will be out of fashion, and plus, when you have lost the weight you’ll be so proud of yourself you’ll want to go out and buy yourself something new to wear, not wear stuff that’s been in your wardrobe for ages.
7. It pretty much fits, but the waist is too big, or hips are baggy, sleeves too long, if everything else about the garment is great – get it altered – you’ll look better and wear it. Put it on your alterations pile.
8. You bought it on holiday in Paris (or is your wedding dress) and just can’t bear to throw it out? Put it away in a box somewhere, don’t let it take up valuable wardrobe space. It’s a souvenir now.
9. Does it go with other clothes you own? Look at the colours, styles, shapes and decide on a few different outfits for wearing the garment. If you can’t wear it with other clothes you already own consider why – if it’s not a great colour then get rid of it. It’s cheaper to do this than going out and buying 3-4 more items of clothing to have something to wear it with.
10. Now that you’ve gone through all your clothes, hang them back up (on decent hangers please – no wire dry cleaners hangers – they ruin your clothes), put them in order of the type of clothes, all shirts together, all trousers, jackets, etc. as this will make finding clothes so much easier when you’re going to get dressed.
11. Take your bags of clothes (and shoes) and put them in the charity bin so you’re not tempted to dig out an item that is way past its used by date.
12. Make a list of clothing that you need to buy – do you have a black jumper that you wear and wear, but now looks worn and daggy, but don’t want to throw out because it’s a wardrobe staple? Then put it on a shopping list and go out and get a new great black jumper.

A wardrobe audit can seem like a daunting task, but it will make you feel cleansed and free of clutter and allow you to really see what you have in your wardrobe, and what you really need.

© Imogen Lamport 2010

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