Style rules for 40 year olds

[sowhatusernameisnttaken]

When I turned 30 I imposed a few new style rules on myself in the hope I would start looking and dressing better. Now I'm soon to be turning 40 I'm thinking what my new ones should be. What are/were yours as you approach/when you turned 40?

I've been wondering if I might reach a stage of being able to wear black again. I just seem to suit a more severe look these days. I don't think I'm there yet but maybe at 70.... I do quite fancy having Yoko Ono as my style muse.

I just wear what I like, and enjoy the fact that I can do so without hearing "you dress too old for your age" as I did when I was younger.

Flo, I haven't managed it yet.
But yes, that's it, sort of remote, like a scottish island.

I used to avoid black too but I don't any more. I don't think my skin is colourless so I@m not sure I get why black is so bad.

I am not really sure. I think I stopped because it showed so many stains and fluff. I think. I particularly like summer clothes in black.

My only rules are to wear natural materials and comfortable shoes. Spent the 90s in DMs, it's hard to wear heels! But that's not really a 40s thing, more just me. I didn't wear black for most of my 30s but have started wearing it a bit again. I think black can look cheap and really don't like black leather (I know this makes me weird). Don't think it's as bad for most people as the HoC seem to think.

Like floisme the menopause has changed my rules. At 40 I got my colours and style done so had lots of 'rules' to follow but the subtle changes to my body 4 years later has bought a whole new set. I still pretty much wear the same but the thickening around the waist has meant that some things now look frumpy (I know a lot of people hate that word but I can't think of another one). What could once look cute and youthful now looks middle aged. I've got rid of a lot of my fat face and white stuff things for this reason.

My main rule to follow though is only buy something if you love it and feel great in it. Doesn't matter if it's cheap as chips or a top designer. If you don't love it you won't wear it.

Other posters have talked about buying better fabrics and I agree with them. I can't get away with the same things I wore in my 20s and 30s...what looks charming on a younger woman can look a bit cheap when you are in your 40s.

If your hair is a lighter colour (highlights to hide the grey, I mean) you might find that navy or grey look better than black for solid coloured clothes like tops, sweaters and coats.

I used to love short skirts but I put those away in my late 30s. People can wear what they like, of course, but I thought it was a bit unseemly on me.

I hate fatface! No fatface!

I used to love short skirts but I put those away in my late 30s.

Ha. I spent the 90s in bum skimming skirts. Around 1999 when I started my first postdoc I decided I needed to look a bit more grown up and so started wearing longer skirts (knee length). In my 40s I've started wearing minis again. Partly this is fashion, but for me it feels like coming home, I'm short and finding skirts that hit the knee is actually really hard whereas minis fit my proportions better. Plus I'm doing a lot more exercise these days and so my legs are muscular. Only the odd random extra period at the moment though so very early in the menopause at 46.

In my mid 30s I stopped wearing jeans because of a comment I heard from some "fashion guru", that people beyond 30 shouldn't wear jeans. I scrapped that idea in my 40s & now in my 50s, I still wear jeans but for me they have to be dark jeans, which suits me. I've also started to wear more navy as opposed to black, which I think is more flattering. I never wear dresses or skirts. I'd like to but can't seem to find any styles that suit me.

The rules are there ain't no rules, to quote a line from Grease. I think it's ridiculous that just because you're a certain age, you shouldn't be wearing certain things. Body shape, lifestyle and attitude mater far more than age when deciding if something is okay to wear or not.

Trouble is if you stop wearing black after a certain age isn't that a slippery slope to wearing all beige and pastels?!

Oh my gosh I am 37 and I wear hoodies from Primark, loads of new look stuff and superga or Nike trainers with either cropped wide leg or skinny jeans. Personally I think it looks younger and more fashionable than dressing head to toe in Boden or other high end / expensive stuff. I would hate to feel I couldn't wear certain things because I am nearly 40.

Trouble is if you stop wearing black after a certain age isn't that a slippery slope to wearing all beige and pastels?!
Plum, dark green, charcoal grey, teal, indigo blue (not navy) very, very dark brown (if the bastards would make it again), cherry red..... There are loads and loads of alternatives - look at nature!

My personal style rules are to wear colour, to try on everything, to buy only things that suit me and where I don't already have something that does the same thing already in my wardrobe, and to not be afraid to experiment.

I also ditched the black as a failsafe basic. I do still wear black, but only for specific items or to create a certain look. And I'll try to break it up if the black is too near my face - eg I'd wear a brighter scarf with my black leather jacket.

I see this as more of a maturation of tastes rather than an age thing. I shudder to think of the 10 pairs of black work trousers I used to own, worn with assorted smartish tops. Everything was ditched in a post weightloss clear out thankfully.

I'm currently trying to be a bit more careful with navy. It used to be an easy black substitute, but I'm not convinced certain darker shades look that great right next to my face.

I like colour in the summer. Don't really like black on the beach although it can be glamourous. I like pinks, nude, coral, turquoise and stripes and gingham. Fresh colours.

I am in my fifties, and I think the main difference in my style is that I now definitely HAVE a style! I know exactly what looks good on me, I still prefer to have bright colours and, slightly unusual shapes and cuts just as I did when younger, but now it is all much easier.

When I was younger I think I was trying to look stylish rather than BE stylish IYSWIM.

Yy with black though. I now find navy and dark grey hit the spot for me far better. Boots, bags and tights in black are plenty enough these days, although if I wear jeans (very occasionally, prefer dresses/skirts) they are always black.

I like black. Navy makes me look like Theresa May, but dead.

Charcoal is the default once black looks harsh against your skin tone. Boots, bags and scarves are colourful.

No beige. AT least, not for me. It leaches glow, and goes with half of b*** all.

Quality over quantity
Good natural fabrics
I started wearing less patterns and concentrating more on style and shape

These rules about no black when you're older! I look half dead with wine face if I wear ecru, 'stone' or camel.... always look ok in black and im 47. The rule should be no beige after 25!

Good point haffiana
For that reason shopping is easier

No black isn't a rule! It's just about being aware that skin tone can change as well as hair colour and that what used to look dramatic can start to wash you out. It doesn't happen to everyone just like we don't all go grey at 40.