My clothes are aging me - please help?

[Nifty50something]

The other day someone mistook me for being over 60 when I'm actually in my early 50s. I asked a good friend about it and she said it's because my clothes are aging me. I've never followed fashion and tend to just wear what's comfortable, shop second hand or from m&s, etc. But I'd like to try to update my look.

I've been wearing:

1. Cropped jeans with zips to make them tapered
2. Black cigarette trousers tapered at the ankle
3. Midi dresses with nice patterns (not flower patterns but more aztec or palm print).

Are any of the above items still ok or are they all frumpy? Any links to things you've bought and love? What are the trends now (I think barrel leg trousers, denim jackets or cropped trench jackets, pink...also waistcoats without a top underneath which I wouldnt wear but could wear one over a top if that would work)?

Nothing wrong with looking 60 but I'm just not there yet and would prefer to look my age!

This thread is great op. I have lost a fair amount of weight - 20kg (just over 3 stone), need to lose the same again. What I’m finding is that the fashion has made a drastic change in the past year, couple of years. I was wearing the floral dress and trainers look, that’s gone by the by now and your palm print dress is an even older look, which at some stage will come back into fashion… I couldn’t wear trousers for a long time due to multiple surgeries. But I’ve just bought a couple of pairs of trousers and am wearing those with shirts. I’ve also pinched a couple of dh’s shirts as he hardly ever wears one. For the first time in ages I feel and look good. The weight had obviously helped.

I’m about the same age as you and I said to my 16 yo dd a couple of weeks ago, I feel like I’m aging backwards and she agreed… which anyone with teens will know is a massive compliment. You’ve got a good figure and you will get there and will look younger / your age again once you’ve invested in yourself a little.

That’s weird, mumsnet automatically put a JL link into my post… it must be some new revenue generating thing.

I don’t think it’s your clothes. I have no idea what is in fashion and only buy from charity shops. I am early fifties and people assume I am younger.

I think you just got an idiot guessing you are older than you are. It’s hard to guess ages, especially as people age. Even that AI that detects age ( for age verification) is much less accurate with mid life and older people.

Enjoy buying new clothes though!

@Wowitsthunder
But fashion isn't the same as style, hence the "wear what you like, don't worry about fashion" comments. So I think the first decision needs to be whether you do want to follow what everyone else is wearing, or develop your own classic style. Fashion dates, style does not.

I had my colours done professionally in my early 40s- has made a huge difference. If I wore the same thing in black (not my colour) or a wrong shade I wouldn't get compliments. They're not uber trend led pieces just things that suit my body shape, sleeves and necklines that suit me etc. But colours are spot on. Rarely feel frumpy or invisible in my colours. So colour is another angle on style.

Just as a thought @Nifty50something and I'm not a follower of fashion but I do buy a few new pieces every season when they come in. Last autumn I bought some wide leg wool trousers for work and have wide leg white linen ones.

Because I tend to wear out my clothes and make them last I like, in a classic way, for them to be current. It's why I rarely buy last season's reduced.

Also, the right she's and bag help too - I've got some sling back T bars for this summer and a woven leather bag.

desperately wanting skinnier and knee boots to be back on trend

I'm nearly 40 so I don't know if my input is relevant or not but it sounds like you need to build a bit of a capsule wardrobe of items that can go with each other. There are lots of nice oversized shirts around at the moment - I size down a size. I have a white cotton poplin one from M&S that I wear with tapered mum jeans and loafers to work. I have wide leg jeans but I wear them with a smart white t shirt and flatform sandals. My mum jeans also work with my vintage tartan M&S blazer. In the summer I go for linen trousers both wide leg and tapered with a t or a vest and sometimes I throw on an open shirt over the top. Birkenstocks are my go to in the summer. Holiday doesn't have to be buying things every year but finding things that don't date and are easy to wear (like linens). There are some really nice co-ords around at the moment in the form of trousers and shirts. I can't get onboard with the waistcoat trend tho coz it just doesn't sit right on my body shape. M&S have some nice stuff lately, Oliver Bonas if you like prints and bright colours. For decent smart t shirts I like Cos, Mint Velvet, Jigsaw.

Do you have a link for them please? What is the sizing like?

For wide legged jeans, Fat Face Elise is also a good option.
Also Marks Eva Bootcut are nice, flattering and stretchy for menopausal tummies. The black ones look good with anything.

You have a great waistline- have a look at Nobody's Child dresses.

Also worth getting your colours done professionally.

Before you get any new clothes, work out what colours suit you- I have noticed that black suits me less as I get older and can make me look tired and drained which is aging. I'm far better off wearing a cool summer palette of more muted shades e.g. navy/charcoal/dusty pink/cool greens. In these colours you see my eyes rather than my eye bags!

I love love love your Mary Jane Docs. I’ve got them in 3 different colours

I don’t mind the palm print, not with the waistcoat but think you need different shoes as it’s got a holiday vibe. Shoes are quite utilitarian but could go well with jeans, a t shirt, possibly the waistcoat. Rather than throwing stuff out I’d have a think about whether adding a few bits ( possibly just mixing up what you have) would work better ?

Sit down with a cuppa and a copy of Women & Home and Good Housekeeping. They are both good for fashion in your 50s - and will give you some ideas of what’s ‘in’ without being too ‘out there’.

Thank you so much again! I've been reading the thread multiple tunes, studying insta, etc and seeing what's in shops now. I've also been digging through my wardrobe to see what I've got that's more modern. Are these outfits any better please? Non-denim ones are for work or casual while denim is just casual. Thank you.

I think this is the problem (the bags of clothes) and once you’ve started to get rid of those you’ll find it easier to move on. Charity shops (or Vinted) are your friend for this; what looks dated on you might look great on a teenager! Classic example is wearing trousers which are slightly too short. On me, a short squat 40s woman, they look like they shrank in the wash. On a younger taller person they look like they are on trend.

I have a friend who does personal shopping each season. What I’ve noted is that she only buys a few pieces and then wears them (in various combinations) again and again. Then next summer, for example, she’ll have new pieces. It makes it much easier to look current in terms of trousers shapes etc. So that’s what I’m trying to do. I just have two pairs of blue jeans (one wide leg and one skinny) which I wear all the time outside work, rather than loads of pairs I used to have. One is a Boden pair from Vinted which I love, and which I wouldn’t have been able to afford new, so Vinted is worth trying too.

That first outfit looks great. Really shows off your figure and looks a lot more current.

I like the mini-trench (v trendy) but not sure it goes with the dress, as it hides your waist.

The green top and the lace top are fab, and I think with some new jeans they’d look amazing. Have a look at Lucy and Yak high waisted cropped jeans.

I’m not a huge fan of the blue dress, but that’s just personal taste.

I really like the shirt in the first pic.

What is your colouring, OP? You seem to gravitate towards sludgier, muted colours which look fab if they suit the wearer but otherwise are very unforgiving, particularly if the clothes themselves have seen better days (eg those jeans look a bit like they're neither structured nor relaxed).

You have a great figure!

Love the brown outfit - it really suits your body shape. The jeans look a little baggy, like worn out baggy. I would get a new pair that fit your legs better and probably a little longer but that's personal preference. Or I'd go for some tapered jeans. I would wear that sort of sandal with mum jeans rolled up once. The broderie blouse is bang on trend - they're everywhere at the moment! I wonder if you'd like the wide leg relaxed trousers vibe with an elasticated waist? There are lots of jeans like that in soft lyocell fabric around at the moment. Sainsbury's and Tesco have some nice ones.

Are you sure it's not a bad hairstyle/colour aging you? On the old telly programme "How to look 10 years younger" it was always just getting a haircut and often teeth fixed that made the difference. Also posture. If you are slouching around you'll look older.

Those jeans do nothing for you. You have a lovely figure and a fab waist but the jeans look a size too big and are hanging too low. You would really suit a higher waisted pair that fitted slimmer around the hip and thigh. Or a wider leg pair but still better fitting with a higher waist.

The short trench is very on trend and would look great with said higher waisted jeans. Ditto the lace top, I love that.

Not sure about the blue dress, maybe it's the length that feels a bit off?

I don't like the colours in the first outfit and none of it fits. The mini trench and dress are ok in a sort of fade into the background way. The green top is nice, the jeans are old, shapeless and past it and too short. I agree they are hanging too low.

The lace top is nice, the jeans/ trousers are an odd shape. They look as if they should be pulled up higher but that would make them too short- they're already too short.

The denim dress might be ok with opaque tights and flat boots or flat Mary Janes but not bare legs and trainers. Most of it still looks, as Capacious Hag said, as if you're someone who isn't interested in clothes.

You have a beautiful figure! Trainer socks are instantly ageing I think - the youth wear sports socks with trainers but invisible socks are ok and less ageing than trainer socks. I personally do wear a lot of cropped trousers a but only from COS - I like their culotte style trousers. I wouldn’t wear the trouser length you have here with a sandal - the trousers should be longer and almost cover the sandal or shorter so more gap between the trousers and sandal. I would also look for a sandal that finishes lower down your foot (although I love DMs and all the young women at my work would wear DM Mary Jane’s and sandals). I would go to COS and Uniqlo and buy 2 x complete outfits and go from there. Good luck I think you can find things to make you look stunning!

Ditch the jeans OP and the blue dress. I'd wear the white shirt with the brown trousers, the mini trench and the trainers. Even better if you swapped the brown trousers for some wide fit camel coloured ones. I'd wear the denim dress with the black chunky sandals