What’s The Best Fashion for Cougars?

Being fashionable in your 40’s… not always an easy task. If you’re like me you still feel young and want to dress stylish/trendy, you’re not ready for the mom jeans or elastic waist band pants, and as far as I’m concerned hopefully never will be. So tell me, is it just me, or are you troubled by the platform shoes, bedazzled jeans & blouses, blinged out watches, and shirts & boots with fringe? How do we make these trends work for us? Oh, and I forgot to mention the off the shoulder cropped shirts & sweaters. I swear when I see someone my age wearing one I often wonder to myself if she’s owned it since high school, all while the tune “She’s a Maniac” is playing in my mind!  On that note, you will never catch this 40something in a pair of leg warmers! Shoot me first.

I make a conscious effort not to look like I’m dressing like a 20 something. It can be a difficult transition, I still find myself drawn to certain styles that I know flatter my figure, but not my age, which by the way is 47. I think women my age can pull off wearing some of these items as long as it’s done tastefully, and not wearing more than one of these trend items at a time. For instance, if you’re going to wear bedazzled skinny jeans do not wear fringed boots, please. Try wearing them with a boyfriend tee and some flat all suede boots. And really? Please stop wearing Uggs with your short shorts and short skirts…. whether it’s cute or not at our age is highly debatable.. I think I heard someone refer to this trend as looking like “a weather confused whore”. LOL! Short skirts can be a touchy subject; opinions on this matter greatly differ. My opinion is, if you’ve got legs and you know how to use them…. then show em off!  Just do yourself a favor, don’t wear your short skirt with a low cut top… choose one area at a time to flaunt.

An example of one of my struggles is, I love Free People, it’s one of my favorite brands but at my age I have to be careful not to look like a middle-aged fairy from midlife crisis land.  So I often try to keep my Boho look on the tidy side…don’t over accessorize, keep it simple. As for the rocker look… that cropped leather jacket with the bedazzled collar… wear it with a boot cut denim, a James Perse V neck tee and “simple” motorcycle boots. Resist the temptation to wear boots w/studs or chains and a lace see through top with it, unless of course you don’t mind looking like a cast member from “Sons of Anarchy”.

They say 40 IS THE NEW 20…. but make sure to check yourself in a full length mirror before walking out the door when you’re wearing trend items, and when you take that second look, know that this is not a do-over and be proud of the woman you are today, cause you still got it girl!