Older people can dress their age in young fashions
GETTING older doesn’t have to mean you have to stop wearing stylish clothing. But there are certain no-go areas f or s e n i or f a s h i oni s t a s , according to experts.
Trends often skip a couple of generations and then come back in a new incarnation.
For example, many of today’s young urban ladies have adopted the bowl cut and thick-rimmed glasses.
Unfortunately, it’s hard for older ladies to get on board with these kinds of trends.
“Mature women might well like to stay on trend, but most will shy away from looking like their own aunt,” says Gerd Mueller-Thomkins, director of fashion institute DMI. The same goes for men. Are there many who would willingly squeeze into drainpipe jeans at 60?
Yet the current convergence between men’s and women’s fashion works in favour of older folks.
“After a stint of figurehugging fashion, more relaxed cuts that gently accentuate the body without oversexualising it are becoming more fashionable,” MuellerThomkins says.
Fashion is headed in a more comfort-orientated direction, the expert says – for example, loose shirts and high-waisted trousers for women.
And that’s good news for senior style fans, he believes.
But he still reckons it’s best not to run after every single trend.
“You have to find your own style, and develop an identity that combines personality and appearance.”
Once you’ve done that, it’s just a question of sticking to the look and adjusting it as different things come in and out of style. – dpa