We all know that there are things we supposedly can’t wear when we get passed a certain age, and we’ve all heard the phrase “mutton dressed as lamb”. However, the exact details of what shouldn’t be worn after which age is far less easy to determine. After all, humans come in all different shapes and sizes, so what will look daft on someone in her late 20s might look absolutely fine on another woman in her 50s because their bodies suit different things. There really is no “stop wearing short skirts at the age of 35” rule. It’s all about knowing your shape and finding clothes that suit you, regardless of age. As the Invisible Woman said on the Guardian’s fashion blog about Mary Portas’ new clothing range, there really is no one-stop-shop solution for fashion once your teenage years are behind you:
“It seems to me that the way we dress as we grow older has more to do with who we know we are and less to do with what we are told we are by people who claim, not wholly unreasonably, to know better. It’s a bit of a conundrum. On the one hand we feel all at sea, on the other we are very clear about what we want and need. But the ideal, surely, is to dress in a way that reflects personality and character – we can do that. The problem comes with finding appropriate sizing, shape and colour.”
This is where internet ‘window shopping’ comes into its own. Online, you can hunt down styles that you think would suit you without having to trek along the high street, therefore narrowing down your search before you even leave home. Sites like ASOS, John Lewis, Guardian Fashion Store, and now even Amazon, offer so many brands that it’s easy to stumble upon something that you may not otherwise have spotted. It’s all too easy to ignore Topshop when you’re in your 40s or Whistles when you’re in your 20s, because you don’t think the brand is aimed at your age group. We shouldn’t do this though. Age is a state of mind not a brand indicator, so you should remember to wear what you feel comfortable and confident in. After all, wearing vintage can sometimes be like wearing your grandma’s clothing and we don’t have a problem with that, do we?
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