Another Beauty Blog: Age Appropriate

This is the place where we will discuss what is "Age Appropriate" in reference to hairstyles, accessories, clothing, and of course, makeup. Too many times we hear the "absolutes" in regards to how to fix our hair, how to wear our makeup, and what we can and can't wear when we're this or that age...Well...What IS appropriate?

Dress your age...

Well, when you're 15 or 22, that seems easy enough; but what about when you're 30 or 40 or 50?

It seems as though there were these pretty clear cut guidelines about what NOT to wear when you turned 30, 40, and so on, but then fashion just seemed so evolved that women in those age ranges begin to question the guidelines.

Why couldn't we wear this cute top or those trendy leggings with those super cute wedges?

Why couldn't we wear that skirt or dress even though the hemline is above the knee? I mean...It looks cute, right?

Well, in my most humble opinion, I think the days of limiting a woman's wardrobe due to her age are drifting further and further behind us. I do believe there is some sense of age appropriateness to consider, but I would think that dressing your body type and tastefulness are more what should be in the forefront. Those guidelines should be for EVERY age group.

Let's talk...

I have experienced the phenomenon of walking into a clothing store with my daughters and seeing clothing on the racks that I threw out 15 years ago.

I stood there, jaw hanging open, in awe. I have explained the difficulty of purchasing clothing that was deemed "out of style" 2 decades ago, because it just seems wrong...It seems...stuck; which is something I am TERRIFIED of being!

Ok...So...These clothing choices look super-cute on...On my daughters; but could I, a 40 something year old woman pull this off? Or would I come out looking like this-

This is what I've discovered...Through personal experience, through watching others try and fail and through my general obsessive studying of fashion...

Dress.your.body.type. And dress with with common sense.

No one would have ever known she had cellulite if she had not worn this dress.

Not an ugly dress, per say, just not the most flattering on her.

Much better. Just makes her look fabulous.

A perfect example--Look at Kris Jenner in the above pics...

The first pic...UUUUHHHH no! The second pic...That dress just does NOT flatter her!

The last pic...She looks great!!!

Jennifer Aniston has a KILLER body, but this dress does NOTHING for her!

It makes her look bigger than she really is.

A 40 or 50 or 60 something year old woman can be current and on trend if she dresses tastefully and dresses her body type.

Here's where the taste comes in...

Don't be showing too much skin. Sorry chicks, it's just in poor taste, and a bad fashion choice...Just is.

I think some of the "regular folk" get confused when they see Hollywood dressing a certain way. They think, "Oh, so and so dresses like this and she's 52." Uuuummmmmm, Sugar, Hollywood is it's own separate planet. So is New York. It just is. Accept it and move on.

Can you imagine seeing me walking around in this?!

Dress trendy, but classy. It's possible, people...It really is.

Ok, now, about dressing your body type.

There are rules about this thing, and for the most part, we have seen these rules work.

Always be thinking about accentuating your best features and disguising the more unfavorable.

Look at the difference changing the hemline of the shirt makes on this woman!

For instance, high waisted jeans are popular right now. I wish I could wear them, but I learned from looking at my high school pictures from the 80's that I should NEVER wear high waisted jeans again....Not unless I have liposuction and body reconstructive surgery.

NOPE...

They are not flattering on me. So, I've accepted that I cannot pull that off, and I've moved past it.

I always try on my clothes before buying, and I am not overly critical (yeah, right, whatever) but super honest with myself; because, let's face it, I NEVER want to walk into a place looking like I'm trying to be something or someone I'm not.

When people see you, they should see your outfit as an extension of who you are. It should compliment and bring attention to your personality, without screaming, "HEY! LOOK AT ME!!! I'M TRYING TO LOOK YOUNGER THAN I REALLY AM, SO I PICKED OUT THESE ILL-FITTING CLOTHES I SAW MY DAUGHTER WEARING FROM FOREVER-21! DON'T I LOOK GREAT?!"

Bottom line:

If you feel young and you like to stay on trend, then do it, but be classy and smart about it. Find a style in the current trend that will make you look "on point" without making you look like you're having a mid-life crisis.

SUPER CUTE!

HEY!!! I DIDN'T FORGET ABOUT ALL YOU YOUNGER FOLK!!!!

Bottom line for you guys, who can get away with just about everything (just joking--you really cannot)

Dress for body type. Don't try to squeeze into something just bc so and so (who is a size negative 0) looks super cute in it. Accept the lovely size and shape you are and dress to flatter your body type.

*DISCLAIMER* I REALIZE THAT HILLARY DUFF & KIM KARDASHIAN MAY BE PREGGO IN THESE PICS, BUT IT IS NO EXCUSE...THESE ARE STILL VERY UNFLATTERING OUTFITS.

I think what's awesome about how fashion has evolved is that, unlike in the 60's or 70's or 80's (and all the time before that) there are so many more choices now.

All the jeans are not JUST high-waisted. All the shirts are not JUST short waisted and wide.

There are so many choices that there are really no excuses anymore.

Dress how you feel, what makes you happy and confident, but be tasteful and mindful.

Butt cheeks hanging out...C'mon...Seriously. Everyone KNOWS that is not ok...Even if AAALLLL the shorts in the store are that short...Go to another store.

Let's be honest, we all know (and if you don't, you should) that if you are wearing shorts SO short that the bottom of your butt cheeks are showing, everyone is talking about it...And not in a positive way.

"But I don't care what anyone thinks about me."

Ok...fair enough...It still isn't flattering. It just isn't...Sorry...Don't do it...

Ok, Ok...Moving on to the end of this.

Age appropriate is such a broad category, with so many differing opinions; which are really based on demographics and occasion or event or whether your wearing the clothes to work in the office or to the mall, or to church, etc.

Taste and body type are now the new "age appropriate".