MINNIRELLA MAGAZINE
How to Transition Your Style Through the Years
How to Transition Your Style Through the Years
Should you change your style as you grow older? The way we choose to dress might change as we transition from our teens into our 20s, our 20s to 30s, 30s to 40s, and so on. But how do you evolve your style as the years pass you by and how necessary is it really?
When I refer to “getting older”, I mean reaching any new milestone birthday or life event, be it reaching 20, 21, 30, 40, 50, 60... You might feel more encouraged to transform your style during the period in which you leave school and begin university or work. Other life events might also inspire you to reinvent your personal style too, such as starting a new career, getting married, or having children. It might seem like a cliche but there’s something incredibly refreshing about changing your look after a break-up or as you embark on a new chapter in your life. But do you need to change the way you dress at any point in your life? In short, the answer is no. Provided that you enjoy the clothes you wear and still feel happy and confident in them then by all means carry on.
On the other hand, as we grow and become more familiar with the styles we enjoy wearing most, we tend to cut and cull certain items from our wardrobes, in favour of collecting pieces that portray the personal style we’ve curated for ourselves over the years. I think as time goes by, we also become more comfortable in our fashion choices. I feel that it’s easy to get the wrong impression of the word ‘comfortable’. It isn’t about becoming plain and unglamorous, but rather not giving in to fad fashion trends and becoming more aware of the stores and brands from where we’d prefer to shop. A matter of dressing less for others and more about dressing for ourselves! We also gain an understanding of the styles and colours that best suit us, subsequently prompting us to make more informed buying decisions. For these reasons I believe that being open to transitioning your style as you grow is a good idea!
Transitioning your style isn’t about dressing up in the way you believe a stereotypical person of your age should dress. Many a time I’ve seen young women adopt neat and mature cropped hair dos as they enter their late teens or early twenties, in an attempt to look “grown-up”.
On the other end of the scale, a woman aged 50+ often feels obliged to pay more attention to what is considered “age-appropriate”, rather than taking notice of the tones, patterns and fits that are most flattering. There are no rules to say whether this is right or wrong - the most important factor to consider is whether it’s actually what you want?! That’s one way of beginning to establish your personal style - wearing what’s right for you and not what you believe is expected!
It’s more about appreciating where you enjoy spending your money and indulging in a few well-deserved luxuries as you come to realise which items you prefer to invest in. While any time of life is the perfect opportunity to experiment with your style choices, I find that we often seem to take advantage of this most during our teen years and twenties. Furthermore, most of us define this phase of our lives as a time of questionable hairstyles and interesting dress sense.
However, not all of us go through dramatic style transformations throughout our lives. You might be somebody who figured out quite early on that they live for...let's say heels or jeans, in which case you might decide to invest in a few quality pairs. I believe that milestone birthdays and life events should be rewarded in terms of style! One of the best ways to do this is by treating yourself to something you treasure or gifting yourself a more luxurious version of a fashion piece you’ve always adored!
The best fashion statement you can make is to wear garments that suit you. Take into consideration your skin tone type and your natural body shape in order to avoid making a serious style faux pas. A seasonal or yearly wardrobe weeding will also help to keep your wardrobe manageable and relevant.
Should an item that an eighteen year old buys on the high street be worn by a more mature woman? Absolutely! This is where fashion and moreover - fashion styling becomes interesting! It’s not always what you wear or where you shop that you may choose to modify as you mature, but perhaps the way you’d style those items.
In your teens or twenties, you might choose to dress head-to-toe in items from the same store. Somebody aged thirty plus may decide to combine high street purchases with special, more expensive accessories, such as handbags, shoes or jewellery. Accessories play a very important role in styling fashion looks. You could take one dress and style it multiple ways, making it suitable for a variety of different lifestyles, routines and ages. A dress worn with trainers will offer a completely different vibe compared to if you wore the same dress with boots or heels. Accessorising your looks with costume jewellery or fine jewellery is another example of how you can curate varying finished results from the same item of clothing.
Why not get creative and see how many ways you can style the clothes that you love?! If there’s something you’ve been hesitating about purchasing, buy it and apply these practices! This is an excellent exercise to make a fashion piece wearable at any age, as well as encouraging you to become more sustainable too!
Is it Really Necessary to Change Your Style as You Get Older?
When I refer to “getting older”, I mean reaching any new milestone birthday or life event, be it reaching 20, 21, 30, 40, 50, 60... You might feel more encouraged to transform your style during the period in which you leave school and begin university or work. Other life events might also inspire you to reinvent your personal style too, such as starting a new career, getting married, or having children. It might seem like a cliche but there’s something incredibly refreshing about changing your look after a break-up or as you embark on a new chapter in your life. But do you need to change the way you dress at any point in your life? In short, the answer is no. Provided that you enjoy the clothes you wear and still feel happy and confident in them then by all means carry on.
On the other hand, as we grow and become more familiar with the styles we enjoy wearing most, we tend to cut and cull certain items from our wardrobes, in favour of collecting pieces that portray the personal style we’ve curated for ourselves over the years. I think as time goes by, we also become more comfortable in our fashion choices. I feel that it’s easy to get the wrong impression of the word ‘comfortable’. It isn’t about becoming plain and unglamorous, but rather not giving in to fad fashion trends and becoming more aware of the stores and brands from where we’d prefer to shop. A matter of dressing less for others and more about dressing for ourselves! We also gain an understanding of the styles and colours that best suit us, subsequently prompting us to make more informed buying decisions. For these reasons I believe that being open to transitioning your style as you grow is a good idea!
How to Transition Your Style... and Do it Well
Transitioning your style isn’t about dressing up in the way you believe a stereotypical person of your age should dress. Many a time I’ve seen young women adopt neat and mature cropped hair dos as they enter their late teens or early twenties, in an attempt to look “grown-up”.
On the other end of the scale, a woman aged 50+ often feels obliged to pay more attention to what is considered “age-appropriate”, rather than taking notice of the tones, patterns and fits that are most flattering. There are no rules to say whether this is right or wrong - the most important factor to consider is whether it’s actually what you want?! That’s one way of beginning to establish your personal style - wearing what’s right for you and not what you believe is expected!
It’s more about appreciating where you enjoy spending your money and indulging in a few well-deserved luxuries as you come to realise which items you prefer to invest in. While any time of life is the perfect opportunity to experiment with your style choices, I find that we often seem to take advantage of this most during our teen years and twenties. Furthermore, most of us define this phase of our lives as a time of questionable hairstyles and interesting dress sense.
However, not all of us go through dramatic style transformations throughout our lives. You might be somebody who figured out quite early on that they live for...let's say heels or jeans, in which case you might decide to invest in a few quality pairs. I believe that milestone birthdays and life events should be rewarded in terms of style! One of the best ways to do this is by treating yourself to something you treasure or gifting yourself a more luxurious version of a fashion piece you’ve always adored!
Wear What Suits You
The best fashion statement you can make is to wear garments that suit you. Take into consideration your skin tone type and your natural body shape in order to avoid making a serious style faux pas. A seasonal or yearly wardrobe weeding will also help to keep your wardrobe manageable and relevant.
How to Stay On-Trend at Any Age
Should an item that an eighteen year old buys on the high street be worn by a more mature woman? Absolutely! This is where fashion and moreover - fashion styling becomes interesting! It’s not always what you wear or where you shop that you may choose to modify as you mature, but perhaps the way you’d style those items.
In your teens or twenties, you might choose to dress head-to-toe in items from the same store. Somebody aged thirty plus may decide to combine high street purchases with special, more expensive accessories, such as handbags, shoes or jewellery. Accessories play a very important role in styling fashion looks. You could take one dress and style it multiple ways, making it suitable for a variety of different lifestyles, routines and ages. A dress worn with trainers will offer a completely different vibe compared to if you wore the same dress with boots or heels. Accessorising your looks with costume jewellery or fine jewellery is another example of how you can curate varying finished results from the same item of clothing.
Why not get creative and see how many ways you can style the clothes that you love?! If there’s something you’ve been hesitating about purchasing, buy it and apply these practices! This is an excellent exercise to make a fashion piece wearable at any age, as well as encouraging you to become more sustainable too!