What to do when SEXY doesn’t feel right to wear in public

It sneaks up on you doesn’t it?

Age.

Birthdays.

Some of us celebrate birthday weeks and months and other’s try to avoid their birthday.

But time is ticking whether we like it or not.

And change is happening whether we like it or not.

All of a sudden you hit a milestone birthday.

30 then 40 then 50 then 60 then 70 then 80….

And when you hit that milestone birthday you think,

“Oh I need to do things differently now. I need to dress age appropriate”

But you’re not sure how to go about that.

Is there a book or an article or a celebrity I can check out?

The magazine coverage is confusing because those women don’t really look like real women. They have thousands of dollars of merchandise on them and have spent countless hours on perfecting their looks with hair, makeup, and botox.

And when do you have to stop dressing SEXY?

Is there a definite age?

I always say dress for your body first and your age second.

However I’ve seen that missfire….remember Sally Field in “My Name is Doris”. They used costume for comedic moments and to illustrate that her character was desperately not in touch with her actual age.

We don’t want to look like that!

(A great example of an older woman looking smashing is Jane Fonda’s character in Grace + Frankie )

All of these issues came up this week when working with one of my favorite clients who is naturally beautiful and radiant and is in her 50’s. She is very much in shape and toned and looks much younger than she is.

There are occasions when she’s at a benefit with all the overdressed “DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES” types and she has no desire to even play that popularity contest.

So we were discussing what level of sexiness would feel right and appropriate to her.

She personally prefers to wear more covered up items, but of course does not want to skew too older or Blanche from The Golden Girls.

You know the type from Florida wearing more sparkly things than necessary in full sleeves and Palazzo pants.

She admitted that there still is a part of her that doesn’t feel old and still feels like the young sexy thing that buys tight sexy dresses. In fact she finds herself still magnetically attracted to them and catches herself ordering them. Wondering “what am I realistically going to wear this to?”

And knowing that it won’t leave the house and might not be the best investment for her money.

She had a great idea that I seconded.

Keep the sexy outfits for at home with the husband just for him.

Perfect!

Want a partner and sounding board to make sure you look and feel fabulous at any age? Sign up for a Style Assessment call and find out how.

xoxo
Alexandra