If you're 50ish, what do you wear on a night out?

[MissLucyEyelesbarrow]

I seem to have lost my going-out mojo. I aim (with varying success 😉) for understated glam - anything too bold or glitzy looks ridiculous on me, though I love fierce looks on other people. I used always to have a couple of tops that I put with good jeans or a leather skirt, to look a bit dressy, but I feel they''re too young on me now. Looking for inspiration.

Re jumpsuits, and the loo issue - a front zip is your friend, lol (i avoid buttons…)

Last time I went out to a fancy joint with a ridiculously dull and very strict dress code (I got snookered into the invitation, you know when you say yes to the night out before you fully understand what you've let yourself in for)- I thought the men's options looked better than the women's - so I followed it instead! Man's stripey shirt, canvas slouchy barrel trousers and a pair of Blundstone boots and a blazer! FUCK THEM! I felt fabulous.
I dress up and dress down depending on how I feel but I really don't like someone telling me what to wear! And those jumpsuits are a bloody nightmare in public loos.

That is excellent Postit!

I guess where I struggle most is with those big occasion events that don't come around that often but where my usual solution - essentially an upgraded version of what I normally wear - doesn't feel special enough. I've got 'going out' dresses and skirts and I may come back to them at some point but at the moment, I much prefer mannish clothing. In theory, the obvious solution should be a tuxedo but I'm not a massive fan. I also don't want to buy something I'll hardly wear.

@EdmontinaDonsAutumnalHues is right about shopping at places like Matches or Net if your budget allows. Find a designer you like, find an aesthetic, and you'll always be able to find clothes you like, even if you have to stalk pieces in the sale or hunt for dupes.

Someone mentioned cowboy boots, Isabel Marant always has a variation available with every collection, it's very much her brand, so if that's your thing, look what she's doing this season.

That's the thing about 'grown up' fashion, find your look and run with it. Even if you don't have a huge budget, get on Matches or Net, look through all the designers, and find an overall look that speaks to you.

I have a slightly confused minimalist/70s glam thing, both of those looks really appeal and speak to me, so that's how I dress, there might be a bit of juxtapose going on, but essentially the foundation of both is interesting shapes that suit my body, life and particular mood.

My go-tos would be, upper-end high street Joseph, Me+Em, Maxmara Weekend, Raey and a bit of APC.

Designers, Chloè, Proenza Schouler, Jil Sander, MaxMara, The Row.

A few other bits from all-over if I see something that catches my eye.

Re 'age-appropriate' dressing, I didn't wear booty-shorts in my 20s, I've no desire to wear them now, I'm still quite comfortable in an 'arse-skimming' mini though, because I always did, my advancing years haven't diminished my 'look', all they have done is allow me greater funds to indulge it!

@Floisme, I've got a pair of silk pyjama-style trousers from The Row which I wear with a silk camisole and a Saint Launent (actually it was YSL when I bought it!) Le Smoking jacket for 'occasions' it feels authentically me, but special.

Masculine, pared-down but very glam!

Ps … I don’t ‘where’ anything. Quite fantastically annoying typo in my last post.

I forgive you @EdmontinaDonsAutumnalHues, your articulacy suggests typo rather than any intrinsic failing!

Thanks Shrike, you've now got me drooling over silk trousers in The Row - way out of my league price wise but an idea I'll play around with. I've got an event coming up before Christmas (assuming we're not back in restrictions) where I'll be seeing people I've not met with face to face for nearly two years and I'd really like to wear something suitably celebratory.

You've also reminded me of the time I walked away from a vintage YSL blazer - under £50 - because I wasn't sure about it being white. Needless to say, I went back and it had gone

I got mine in a Net sale a few years ago @Floisme, still expensive but not quite so eye-watering! They were an upgrade from a Winser London pair (that I think were one of their earlier colabs with Elle McPhereson).

They are something I reach for quite often though, so worth that initial price-wince!

@EdmontinaDonsAutumnalHues I've got big boobs and a small waist. A wrap dress is the only type of dress that doesn't make me look like a sack of potatoes. I need a size 16 on top but a 10-12 at waist. No other style of dress other than a wrap works.

I like different clothes too and definitely keep on track as much as I can with trends. But this latest trend of oversize high neck maxi dresses is one I can't embrace. It's deeply unflattering in me.

I'll look up some of the recommendations on this thread - it's highly likely they'll be way out of my budget but I may at least get some ideas.

I was having a conversation with my equally fasion-obsessed sister about 'price-point comfort'.

It's an interesting one, even from a young age I sought out clothes I wanted to wear, which in the late 80s/early 90s were not generally that available in my home city of Sheffield. Any serious clothes buying trips involved at least Manchester or Leeds and very often London.

I used to buy Vogue and Elle (and Mixmag, The Face and ID) and scour them for interesting looks and pieces, the acquirement of which would often involve some financial shannagins (begging my mother for an advance on my allowance or on the promise of my funds from my Saturday job) and a trip elsewhere.

I've always been very comfortable with spending lots of money on clothes, when I was younger I just didn't buy as many clothes as my friends.

I know I've veered off-topic a bit here, but I think it's pertinent for @MissLucyEyelesbarrow too.

Find your style and spend as much as you can on things you love.

That's the only formula I have when it comes to buying clothes.

And I always have something to wear!

@JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn, if wrap dresses are your thing, and obvious go-to would be Diane von Furstenberg, the originator of the shape.

You'll be able to find loads on selling sites. Go forth and look!

You might like Halston or Halston Heritage too, very drapey and suited to your shape.

Have a look at Teller Marmo too, fabulous dresses that would suit your shape, the price-point is $$$$ but you may find some inspiration there.

@ShrikeAttack, if you were in shefflield then, did you not go to the alicia kite sale? I used to visit mum and tie it in. The Alicia Kite sale was the best.

I did @XingMing!

Goodness Alicia Kite took me back a bit!

I did get a few outfits from there in my teens for 'occasions', but it was generally a bit more glam when I was looking for club and street style.

Last week I was thinking about an outfit I got from Alicia for my Auntie's wedding when I was 14. I bloody loved that outfit!

I think Alicia Kite was pretty much the only shop in Sheffield then that gave you a glossy paper bag with string handles.

My Mum used to buy her lingerie from Butterflies and my Dad shopped at Robert Brady.

Memories!

@ShrikeAttack I agree with what you say. I found my style quite early on. I know what works with my body shape.
I have 2 pairs of Isabel marant cowboy boots & I wear them a lot & they're absolutely worth the money for me

Absolutely @NalPolishRemover? Charlotte Gainsbourgh does that style very well and is still wearing minis in her 50s.

Which is why I feel 'age appropriate' and 'fashionable' are not terms that apply to me.

I'm not really interested in either, but I love clothes and the way they make me feel, and how I present myself to the world.

That I am interested in.

Daphne Guinness wears catsuits and microskirts and fabulously bonkers clothes, everyone went mad for Moira Rose and Iris Apfel, Grace Coddington and Vivienne Westwood and Grace Jones. People admire strong looks.

Do it. Own it.

Be yourself.

@ShrikeAttack thanks for the ideas. Lots of lovely dresses that'd be perfect for me if they were a quarter of the price

Stalk sales or resale sites @JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn.

You'll find things.

@JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn have a look at HEWI , brilliant site for pre-ownwd clothes.

I'm 51 and really don't suit anything frilly or fussy. Thanks to peri menopause I was becoming more & more apple shaped, to the point where I looked permanently 5 months pregnant. Well, an extended tummy tuck + liposuction sorted all that out and I now have a flat stomach and neat waist for the first time in 20 years. I already had flat hips and small bum so suit boyish, tom-boy styles.

My legs are still very good so happily wear mini skirts, but not bum-skimming ones. Last Christmas Eve I wore a black jumpsuit from Warehouse with patent, cherry red, high heeled ankle boots from Kookai. Christmas Day I wore a midnight blue, matte sequined mini skirt from Warehouse with black opaque tights and a tight fitting, three quarter sleeve, grey cashmere sweater, stacked silver bracelets and black velvet ankle boots.

I was at The Chelsea Flower Show this week and wore a Zara, maxi shirt dress in black, cream and taupe with very chunky, black patent Chelsea boots + I borrowed DD2's bright red Longchamp Pliage and original Ray-Bans.

Friday night we went out to dinner and I wore a Zara cream, shift mini dress with three quarter sleeves + black, suede tight fitting (stretchy) over the knee boots with a low chunky heel from Mint Velvet.

Totally synpathise OP. I had a date last week for dinner in stylish Spanish restaurant in town and nearly had a meltdown trying to work out what to wear (partly cos dating is new and going out out rare!) Ended up in a favourite dress. Not the most stylish, but flattering and I felt good in it.

I've gone for skinnies and a silk blouse type approach before, which is ok. But only ok!

If only I had this shirt. Acne Studios. Would be perfect.

That is nice @EdmontinaDonsAutumnalHues, what would you wear it with?