Fashion Hints for Ageless Dressing

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Iris Knight
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for Ageless Dressing University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Being well-dressed and looking smart is not a matter of age!

1 for Ageless Dressing University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Being well-dressed and looking smart is not a matter of age! It is a matter of taste and fashion smarts. To be ageless in dressing is to know yourself, and to grow with it! Our lesson today is built around some fashion hints to help us dress well regardless of age. 1

2 Come to grips with the real physical you! Accept your body, make changes, and move on. The very first step is to come to grips with who you really are the physical self! And, it s never too late in life to take an interest in or to begin to improve your personal appearance. There is no time like the present to start. Before you can make clothing work for you, you must come to grips with the real physical you. Some things we must accept, others we may be able to change. If changes are going to be made, decide to DO IT. Otherwise, accept what you see. 2

Now you are ready to take a good look at yourself from head-to-toe. Keep in mind there are things we may be able to change such as weight.

3 Study body shape and proportions in a full-length mirror. Shoulder pads can align narrow shoulders with broad hips. Find a good (truthful!) full-length mirror, and strip down to your underwear or put on a form-fitting body suit. Get a pencil and paper, turn on a good light. Now you are ready to take a good look at yourself from head-to-toe. Keep in mind there are things we may be able to change such as weight. However, there are other body features we may not like, but we can do little to physically change them. We must learn to handle them through the manipulation of clothing. Think of clothing as your tool box! What we all must learn to do is determine which tools we need to use to present the best looking body possible. One of the easiest things is aligning hips with shoulders. For example if you recognize your body is pear-shape (hips wider than shoulders), shoulder pads should become one of your best tools. Choose a shoulder pad size, shape and dimension that works for you! 3

Comfort and fit go hand-in hand. Wrinkles, pulls, straining fabric usually spells trouble over fitted garment. All of us will agree that comfort is a very important factor in the clothing we wear.

4 Comfort and fit go hand-in hand. Wrinkles, pulls, straining fabric usually spells trouble over fitted garment. All of us will agree that comfort is a very important factor in the clothing we wear. But have you stopped to think that comfort and garment fit go hand-in-hand? If you aren t comfortable, your clothing and your appearance probably show it! Wrinkles, and straining fabric are a tell-tale sign of a garment that is too tight. However, did you also know that if a garment is too loose, and appears to be baggy, it can and does make you look frumpy and older than your years? None of us really want that! 4

5 Choose clothes that relate to you and your body. Soft lines, designs, and textures. Mature styling. Oh to be young again! Have you caught yourself saying this or at least thinking it? Youth has it s advantages, but then so does maturity! Regardless of age, it s important to select clothes that relate to our body type and to our own personal styling. As the body matures, its good to move toward softer lines, designs, and textures. Leave the super trendy dressing and the severe lines and designs to the younger generation. Graduate your dressing from form-fitting and skin-tight garments to those that are contoured or have less fitting. If gravity has begun to work on your body, avoid lines and designs that accentuate that effect (V-necklines, flat ruffles, sleeveless garments, backless garments, etc.). 5

6 Consider adding more color. Dark, dull colors add age. Favorite color may not be most flattering color. Throughout the life cycle, keep an eye on yourself. You will notice a variety of changes as the body matures. One of those changes is personal coloring the eyes, the skin, and the hair. Just as nature changes its color scheme from winter to spring, spring to summer, and summer to fall, so does the aging process change the human body. Our complexion tends to lighten, the skin becomes somewhat less tight, a few wrinkles appear and deepen. Eye color may also change along with hair color and texture. Consider adding more color to your wardrobe especially around the face. Keep in mind that garments and accessories that are dark, dull colors can add age to one s appearance. It s also important to look at your total wardrobe. The colors you may have worn for years may be adding years to your appearance. It is also possible that colors you once looked good in, now need to be changed. For example: If your hair has turned a beautiful salt and pepper, brown is NOT your most becoming color any more! Chances are you are going to look better in blue now, rather than brown. 6

7 Select functional styling. Consider location of fasteners, garment length, ease of dressing. All of us know that clothing should make us look good, but it must also be functional! It is important, to most of us, to be able to dress and undress ourselves without the help of others. And if we live long enough, there comes a time when certain style garments are better for us. Thus, we need to consider the location of garment openings (zippers, buttons/buttonholes, etc.). Have you given any thought to the fact that garments that are too long or too full can actually be unsafe? Clothing should be attractive, safe, as well as functional. If you cannot move easily, safely, and quickly in your clothing, you have lost the appearance of youth! 7

8 Separates can be very important clothing tools! Purchase in different sizes. Jackets are great at concealing. Greater wardrobe flexibility. Easy fashion update. Garment separates are very important clothing tools! Getting garments to fit is made easier when separates are involved. And, in today s world we can purchase and sew items in different sizes. Another advantage is the versatility of separates. For example, jackets are never out of fashion, and they are wonderful clothing tools! Select styles that enhance your body features. Separates also make the wardrobe much more flexible by allowing us to mix and match items to increase our outfit capabilities. And, by changing a top or bottom, we have added a fashion update option. 8

Make clothing work for you. As figure ages, wear belt looser, or skip it. To look longer waisted, match bodice. Always make your clothing work for you! Accessories are included in this mix.

9 Make clothing work for you. As figure ages, wear belt looser, or skip it. To look longer waisted, match bodice. Always make your clothing work for you! Accessories are included in this mix. Keeping body tone is often an issue as we age. If you find this is a problem, consider wearing your belt just a little bit looser go down a notch rather than pulling it as tight as you can. Another hint for any age that few people think about is wearing a belt that matches your bodice rather than your skirt when you want to create a higher bustline or a longer-waisted look. Don t be afraid to stand in front of that long mirror and try various placements of a scarf, jewelry, accessory, or other apparel item. Wearing a pin on your shoulder can bring the eye to that area and appear to give the shoulder area some width. This is a another technique to balance your shoulder width with your hip width. 9

10 Find and use your hem line range. Can be too short or too long. Too long can add years to figure. Between your age and your knee. With fashion; hemlines go up, hemlines go down. However, each of us has a hemline range we need to identify and stay within it if we want to look smartly dressed! That range will depend on your height, your body build, and body tone, as well as the heel height of your shoe. Each of us has a short or upper limit, but we also have a long limit as well. Garments that are too short can make the body look out of proportion, sometimes dumpy and heavier. For older, mature women, garments that are too short call attention to an aging body that doesn t want to accept reality and is chasing youth that is now gone. On the reverse side, garments that are too long can add years to the figure. The body is reflected as being frumpy, severe, and matronly. A well-known fashion designer once said, Your hemline should be located somewhere between your age and your knee! 10

11 Good grooming and hygiene habits. Examine use of soap. Moisturize skin. Evaluate fragrance. Clean hair and nails. Good grooming and hygiene is always a MUST! Bathing the body, washing and styling your hair, keeping your nails clean and trimmed, and handling body and mouth odor are culturally accepted social habits in the United States regardless of age. The frequency and method of bathing is determined in part by activity, heredity, and climatic conditions. As the body ages, the skin tends to become more dry. Fewer baths using soap may need to be considered; or a milder type of body cleanser should be used. Replacing or returning moisture to the skin is important. Look for a body lotion that has limited alcohol in it as alcohol is drying. If you wear or use perfume or cologne, it is smart to evaluate these occasionally. You may want to change fragrances or alternate different ones. Clean hair and clean nails are basic grooming habits both men and women need to follow on a daily basis. 11

12 Keep makeup natural looking and basic. Get a makeover from a professional. Use a lip liner. Soften eye color. Using makeup is an individual thing. However, as the body ages, we loose some of that natural coloring we seem to have in our younger years. It is important that makeup always look natural, never heavy and mask-like. There are wonderful products for concealing spots and diminishing wrinkles as well as techniques for applying makeup that will help bring out our best features. Periodically take advantage of a free makeover from a professional you trust. You can learn all types of hints even if you decide not to purchase a single product. Some other tips to consider is using a lip liner before applying your lipstick, and staying away from frosted eye color. Mature eyes look best with softer eye color. 12

Fashion Hint Evaluate hair style and color. Keep hair style and color natural. Lighter rather than darker. Shorter rather than longer. Hair style and hair color should be evaluated periodically.

If your hair is white, be careful with blue and purple tints as they might give you an un-natural look. Highlighting is a technique frequently used with hair that is changing.

13 Fashion Hint Evaluate hair style and color. Keep hair style and color natural. Lighter rather than darker. Shorter rather than longer. Hair style and hair color should be evaluated periodically. If you are wearing the same style you worn 20 years ago, it s time for a change! Keep in mind that white hair is beautiful; and so is salt and pepper! If your hair is white, be careful with blue and purple tints as they might give you an un-natural look. Highlighting is a technique frequently used with hair that is changing. However, let a professional do the job someone who has been trained in the field. If you decide to change your hair color, go lighter rather than darker. Softer rather than more severe in hair styling. Shorter hair styles tend to have a more youthful look than do longer styles. 13

14 Being well-dressed and looking good knows no age! And just remember that being well-dressed and looking good knows no age! Be alert to yourself and to fashion, and then let the years go by as you will know how to grow more beautiful with them. Linda Heaton, Ph.D. Extension Profession Textiles & Clothing 7/2003 Ageless Fashion Hints.ppt Disk: LMH Zip Wardrobe #1 14

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