Dressing to suit your style personality at any age
Body shapes, skin tones and fashion tastes change throughout our lives, and for anyone who likes to look as good as they can at any age, revisiting personal style can be a great idea.
People do care about appearance throughout their lives. The anti-ageing sector current accounts for 42% of total skincare spend, while a study by Groupon recently revealed that British women spend on average £70,294 on their appearance over their lifetime.
Helen Venables, MD of House of Colour, gave us some style tips that can work for any generation.
Find your colours
Colour can play a huge part in creating a youthful and healthy appearance. Wearing both your “wow” colours (which are likely to be the colours that people always compliment you on) as well as your best neutrals, will help you look brighter and healthier, as well as feel more confident and be more memorable.
Wearing the colours from the palette or “season” that suits you best can make skin looks healthier and eyes twinkle. Greyness disappears from around the eyes.
It’s February 2019, and red is the hottest colour right now – and primary red is the only colour that suits everyone. Different “seasons” also have different reds that suit them in their colour palette. People with a summer palette, for example, suit cherry and coral red, while autumns glow in rust or brick reds, winters shine in scarlet and carmine, and springs look gorgeous in geranium and poppy red. Team red with a neutral such as grey, navy, black, cream, beige, tan or white, depending on your season, to look effortlessly stylish, but remember to choose the right red and neutrals that suit you.
Make up makes a difference too. With the right colour added to your face – perhaps by adding a swish of bronzer or a good blusher colour for you across the cheeks to lift and brighten – your skin will help to give you an enviably youthful glow. Wearing the right coloured lipstick can dramatically change your look.
Be confident
Use confidence to anti-age your wardrobe. Ooze confidence and focus on your best assets by drawing attention to them. If you have a lovely waist, then emphasise that with a beautiful, flattering statement belt. Or if you have long legs, then try some skinny jeans to elongate those great legs even more!
Know your style
You may love an outfit on someone else but it might not suit you. Know who you are. If you like a bit of drama, think asymmetric patterns and statement dressing to ensure visibility. Classic dressers feel good in elegant, timeless clothes. Know your clothing personality and you will feel more youthful and energised as you will look more authentic in your clothes.
Wear the right hemline – whether that is a maxi, mid-calf, knee-length or for the lucky few, above the knee. It can surprisingly make or break an outfit as the wrong hemline can either be inappropriate and unattractive, or drab and frumpy. Different people suit different hemlines and this is not solely determined by your height but by the rebalancing of the natural proportions of your body. This is not about being “age appropriate” – a concept that has had its day – but about your own clothing personality.
Patterns can add interest to an outfit and really flatter different body shapes regardless of your age. Just be sure you know if you are a floral or graphics person, for example.
Bootleg jeans will balance-curvy bodies and if you don’t like your mid-section so much then try slim leg jeans with a low-slung belt.
Accessorise
Use accessories to make a statement in your outfit. Try a scarf or a bright coloured clutch bag in this season’s on-trend bright red or one of your wow colours. This will make all the difference between a drab outfit and a sensational one. Choose jewellery that has several of your wow colours in the piece to add a really exciting focal point to your look.
Be true to yourself
Unflattering trends won’t do you any favours. Aim for sensational and stylish instead. Look good to feel good. Revitalise and revalue yourself through colour and style.
