Turning 30....did it have any effect on your style?

[salamanda]

OK, I'm about to turn 30. I am looking forward to my 30s and am fully aware that I am still very young.

However, I am curious to know - did turning 30 start to affect your clothes-buying habits? I've got quite girly, sparkly taste and am not averse to subtle glitter and sequins in the daytime, but I recently found myself doubting whether I could get away with a rather short, glittery velvet Topshop dress.

Am I being ridiculous or do/did others feel like this at 30?

I disappeared into a baby induced style rut at 29 and a half, and spent the next couple of years either pregnant or with a horrible post baby shape. Now that I'm starting to come out of the other side of that and am re-building my wardrobe with "proper" clothes (i.e. have vowed to no longer live in jeans / t-shirts / converse), I'm definitely conscious that I'm not the young thing I was when I last cared about how I looked! So yes, in a way being in my thirties has made me feel that some things are just a bit 'young' for me now (I'm 33), and I try to stear clear of anything which is too faddy or verging on silly (although at the point where I actually turned 30 I was mainly wearing some kind of maternity tent, so the actual change of decade had v little impact).

That said, it may also be to do with being a mummy - some of my childless friends of a similar age to me dress amazingly in things that I'd never think I could get away with, so maybe it's an attitude thing? Oh, how depressing!!

I'm glad you're getting out of your style rut nearlythere - maybe you can work your way up to wearing the crazier stuff! My style has definitely got more interesting and expressive as my confidence grew throughout my 20s - I would never have worn a playsuit at 20, but I do now. I hadn't thought about the effect kids might have - I don't have any children yet.

oh I m similar to NTN ... baby induced style and breastfeeding friendly rut... slowly emerging from the fug now. I still love denim, particularly nice cut and well fitting denim, but have ventured to skirts and dresses too now (erm not denim ones though). I dont think you have to stop wearing denim after or before a certain age.
I would say I m aware of trends but tend to only incorporate a nod to the stuff i like that fits in my personal style. I dont have the budget to be a slave to all that anyhow. I find now it s harder to shop, (time and cash limited ) and my everyday clothes get a lot more abuse- running around after kids - and they do need to be movement and kid friendly ... so not so precious I cant climb the playground slide after my monkey dd, or survive a spag bolognaise spill,
I ve also started to pull out all the stuff in my wardrobe i would nt have worn much and instead of keeping it am wearing it on days I go to work or go out, so making more of an effort when I can to dress and feel nicer (it works)
Also since my thrities I find I m so much more confident and happy in my style and shape, I exercise regularly, drink moderately, Eat healthily (ish) and I m pretty happy with how I look and dont feel the need to be a slave fads etc
BTW I m 34 and I do love fashion etc despite all the above.

Not really. I'm 35. I have more money to spend now than I did in my 20s so that's made the biggest difference. I have found it harder to shift extra weight and that my skin needs increasing tlc to look it's best since I entered my 30s but mine coincided with having dd so that could be part of the reason. I wear "fashionable" clothes and would wear almost everything I wore in my 20s (apart from maybe the velvet leopard print flares but just because they were rank!) I think it is sad when people hit a certain age and decide they're too old for X.

No, neither did turning 40 ir even 45!
What has changed my style is my weight which has gone up in the last few years.

The main difference was that I could afford more expenive versions of what I like and more of them.

In fact I'm the same as monkeymama who posted a better version of what I was trying to say!!

Me too MM.

I think I dress better now, than I did in my 20's. Mainly because post DS my body has changed and so I need to think about my clothes a bit more than I did then.

I think the balance that needs to be struck is how to dress on those days that you are at soft play/parks etc where you need to be dressed practically but ensuring you still feel stylish.

Personally, there is too much reliance on the leggings/tunic/fly boot combo - when often women could be wearing something a bit different and more flattering.

Agree with the tunic leggings boot overload

The thing with the tunic/boot combo is that it is practical/warm/ fashionable/reasonably flattering for most people especialy with young kids.

It's a bit of a winning combination and there aren't that many alternatives at the moment.

I also am one of the ones who was pregnant at 29 and now, at 34 have got two children so have either been going up or coming down with weight. It can be quite hard making that transition as, if like me, you liked nice clothes (would shop at Jigsaw and russell and bromley) I very quickly realised that aside from not wanting expensive, dry clean clothes that were going to get covered from banana and muddy footprints from carrying little people, you also stood out like a sore thumb in the park!!
I have embraced my converse and my jeans but make sure I am groomed (well a bit of make up on and brushed hair!!) but I accept I no longer have time to wash and dry my hair every morning. I think you dress for the stage of life you are at and just because you turn 30, you're not really any different from when you were 28. The things that suited you then will suit you now. I do tend to think it's more about the stage in your life you are at. My poor old heels are gathering dust in their box but I will get them out one day soon!

I will be 30 next month and I've noticed in the last few months I've been making the effort with my skincare, wearing make up regularly and doing my hair daily.
I've always worn what suits me rather than what's trendy but recently I've embraced colour and dresses which is a bit of a shocker to my friends!
I'm definitely take more interest in style and beauty and trying to make the most of myself, I'm a size 18-20 but have had more compliments recently than I have since my teens.
I think turning 30 has some to do with it but also that DD4 is now 3.6 and so I'm getting much needed me time as I've been either pregnant, breast feeding or just snowed under by little ones since I was 19!

Watching this thread with interest! I've just turned 29 so the big three oh is looming at the back of my mind. I have to say I feel more confident than I did 10 years ago and going to carry on with the clothes and style I have and not worry about it. I am about the same clothes size and more toned too (apart from the c-section over-hang!)

I had my kids relatively young though - 22 and 23 - so maybe I am just living my youth now

I was pregnant when I turned 30 last year and am just starting to squeeze back into my pre- pregnancy clothes (ie stuff I was wearing in my 20s). I think the main difference is that I take more care over my appearance now. I usually wear make up these days and make more regular trips to the hairdressers. That's not just since I turned 30 though, its something that's happened gradually over the last few years. I think it is to do with feeling more confident and grown up and expressing that in my appearance.

Ultimately, its about how it makes you feel and whether having to make that amount of effort is worth it or not.

For me, I get up everyday before DH does to shower and wash hair. That trade off of an extra 30 mins in bed is worth it for me. Sounds shallow, but my mood for the day is totally dictated by whether I have done my hair/make up etc in the morning.

I'd say I see more sequins and glitter on older women than on people in their 20s to be honest.

I'm turning 30 this year and no way am I changing anything.

I think, in general, trends have blended in to suit all ages.
Sure there is the extreme fashion which the young or the very 'out there' would wear and stuff that the elderly would wear but a lot of it can be worn by a wide age range and how it look depends on how it is accessorised.
(In my not very fashionable opinion!!)

Thanks for all your perspectives! Maybe my worries have crept in because ever since I entered my late 20s, people (always men) seem to feel the need to comment on the fact that I don't look my age. WTF is that about? It's as if anyone over 25 is automatically considered past it by a certain type of idiot. I don't look particularly young for my age, and I wish people didn't think that because a woman isn't 25 any more she somehow needs to be told she looks good for her age.

yellowraincoat - I think I know what you mean about seeing more sequins and glitter on older women, but I mean things like this: French Connection cat sequins

or this:

Topshop glitter spots

Not 'fun' glitter/sequin cardis from M&S or Boden (not that I have anything against those shops, they just have the odd hideous mistake).

I am 35 now but remember dreading turning 30 However, I love being this age. I am young enough to still go out and have fun but also get to do more grown up stuff too!
I am far more comfortable in my own skin than I was in my 20s and know my own style and what suits me these days.

I have found that my taste has changed roughly every 3 years roughly early, mid and lates 20s and early mid and (now) late 30s. I have focused less on age and more on what suits me/my circumstances. I think as someone else said you dress for the stage you are at in your life. At the moment I am breastfeeding so casual stuff is all v neck sweaters and jeans and work clothes are all trouser suits and blouses. I had got more into dresses before dc2 so looking forward to returning to them when I stop breastfeeding. Or something else might take my fancy!

It did in a positive sense, I realised I had to work a bit harder at looking good so started going to the gym and I have more money so can afford nice clothes again had my first baby in my early 20s and found it hard not having money to spend on myself. I'm 32 now and apart from the fact that I'm bf so have to keep that in mind when I'm buying clothes I don't think my style has changed drastically I perhaps just buy more classic pieces.

Bumble Admittedly Top Shop and Miss Selfridge have some cutting edge fashion pieces but they have loads of stuff that is on trend without being over the top.
I have got a couple of lovely light knit jumpers, several gorgerous t shirts and a new coat from Top Shop since November and don't look odd!!
River island is also great. I love it!!

Now if you want to talk about All Saints I would get what you are saying!!

(Didn't Jane Norman close down?)

( I am 46!!)