Fashion After 50: Express Yourself!

1. Don’t wear your hair longer than to your collarbone.
2. No red lipstick unless you have dark or olive skin. It’s aging.
3. No blue jeans for dinner out (black jeans are ok)
4. Don’t expose your knees and cover up. Don’t try to compete with 20 year olds.
5. Don’t wear anything strapless.
6. If you have a toned body, rock that bikini at the beach for as long as you like.
7. No miniskirts.
8. Don’t revisit a trend you lived through once before.
9. Don’t wear hats, except to keep the sun off your face. A hat makes it look like you are trying too hard to get noticed.
10. Wear fewer accessories and keep your look clean.

These are Ellen Barkin’s 10 Rules for Life After 50 (Pinterest)

What is the conundrum of fashion after 50? Can we look fabulous without trying to look younger? Where do we look for inspiration? Are we resigned to wearing only elegant neutrals? Do we need to follow some celebrity’s rules about how to dress?

Research on Pinterest led me to Ari Seth Cohen, a photographer, blogger and author of three books entitled Advanced style, Advanced Style: Older and Wiser (and most recently Advanced Love). Inspired by his beloved grandmother’s unique personal style, he wanted to portray people enjoying their 60s through 90s “with grace and panache” and “marching to the beat of their own drummer”.

There are beautiful photographs of women (and men) wearing bright colors, mixing patterns, wearing exotic hats, jewelry and unusual footwear, clearly not following anyone else’s rules, but having fun with fashion. Have I hit the Holy Grail?

I was totally intrigued and immediately thought of my mom. If she were alive, she would love these books. Wait, on second thought, she would be in this book.

Her essay in Advanced Style: Older and Wiser would have highlighted the following:

Bette Greenberg was forever a fashion icon. Her high school yearbook noted: what fashion decrees, she follows. As she got older, however, she blazed her own fashion path. She loved her glam and glitz and refused to follow the trends. She bought herself a bright yellow faux fur parka for NY visits in winter (from Florida) and loved how she looked (despite the fact that my children and I called it her “Big Bird coat”). Bette loved large, unusual accessories and could often be seen with 3 frog pins crawling down her sweater.

As women, we are constantly reinventing ourselves. As a teacher and paralegal, I dressed in classic styles (a la Ann Taylor). Today, I am more likely in Chicos or J.Jill’s comfy clothes (on sale, of course). My sister sang in a rock band in her early 50s and her clothes were more edgy and rock and roll.

We did not share our mom’s taste in fashion, but the lesson she taught us was clear. You don’t have to fit in with fashion; stand out and don’t be invisible. Wear what pleases you, makes you happy! Put on your purple fedora and red lipstick and wait for the compliments! Are you ready to celebrate the amazing woman you were meant to be? Let me know what you think about fashion rules. I love your feedback! XO Penny

Resources

Advanced Style by Ari Seth Cohen

Advanced Style: Older and Wiser by Ari Seth Cohen

Aging Beautifully Cards by Margaret Manning