Some topics can be summed up in one post with no further discussion necessary, while others warrant ongoing discussion…
THE STORY
…A topic that I feel needs to be discussed and perhaps discussed often is the idea of “age appropriate” dressing. The complete eradication of that concept is pretty much the foundation upon which FFD is built. It’s a subject I haven’t really brought up in awhile because I think perhaps I became complacent. Between the constant interaction amongst those of us involved in the Fierce 50 revolution and me being caught up in my own little bubble of wearing whatever the hell I like, I forgot.
I forgot that although there is an ever growing number of us who realize that fashion is supposed to be a means of self-expression, there is still a segment of the world that does not subscribe to that belief. I came across a comment on Instagram the other day that slapped me in the face with reality. One of the lovelies whom I follow, who happens to dress herself in a way which pleases her and makes her feel beautiful (and she looks amazing btw), had this comment under one of her posts: “I’m wondering if you should start transitioning to a look more age appropriate. Just asking. No offense.”
Perhaps the writer of said comment truly meant “no offense”, but seriously? How does that not come off as at least slightly offensive? My real question is what exactly does “transitioning to a look more age appropriate” mean? As far as I know, there is no expiration date on personal style. There is not some chronological milestone that tells us “now is the time you must start wearing elastic waist polyester pants and orthopedic footwear”.
The vast majority of us who choose to dress in what some may view as “youthful” attire are by no means trying to be something that we are not; we are not engaged in some delusional attempt to regain our lost youth. We are quite simply, expressing who we are in a manner that makes us feel beautiful while remaining true to our authentic selves. If you are someone who has chosen a more traditional path in regard to how you dress because that’s who you are, that’s fine because it’s your business. By the same token, it’s high time we all become a little more open-minded in regard to the fact that we are not all the same, and this is not the world in which our mothers and grandmothers came of age.
Women in their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and beyond are vastly different then we were even twenty years ago. We have careers, we travel the world, we have outrageous senses of humor, we have opinions and we voice them. We have things to say. And one of those things is, we will dress ourselves in whatever the hell we like. We need to be supportive of our sisters. We need to shift the paradigm. Age should not define what we wear; what we wear should define who we are.
THE OUTFIT
From time to time I’ve been rocking the dress over jeans look, and awhile back I came across some photos on Pinterest and Instagram of sheer tulle dresses/skirts over jeans and loved it. The hunt commenced and finally I found this nude tulle dress at Forever 21, which unfortunately is now sold out. I realized that not only was it going to be fabulous over jeans and denim shorts, but it was also to layer over this taupe sundress. The belt gave the dresses some definition and since everything was pretty much neutral I added a pop of bright turquoise with the jewelry.
When ShieldOn contacted me in regard to reviewing one of their phone cases, the timing could not have been better. I have always carried a mega-giant wallet that held everything; cards, cash, photos, checkbook, and had recently decided that I needed to seriously downsize because it was quite simply to bulky. When I checked out the cases, I was super excited to see that not only do they protect your phone, but there are also card slots and a place to stash your cash.
I was even more pleased when it arrived. It was beautifully packaged (don’t you love when something arrives with gorgeous packaging?), but the best part was the quality of the leather. It’s buttery soft, solidly made and the color is so pretty. An added bonus is the “kickstand” feature which allows you to prop your phone so that it stands up for easy scrolling. As a special gift for my readers, Shield On is offering a 10% discount on both their website and their Amazon store. Simply enter SDCODE10 at checkout to receive your discount.
THE TIP
Layering is the key to wearing the same pieces in different ways. Even when the weather warms up, layers continue to work as long as they’re lightweight. This single layer tulle dress was made for summertime layering and will provide a plethora of styling options for the basics in my summer wardrobe.
THE LINK UPS
Check out the weekly link ups I participate in for even more fashion and style ideas…
Tulle dress: Forever 21 (Similar); Sundress: Three Bird Nest (Similar); Jacket: Chico’s; Adidas: Nordstrom; Phone case: ShieldOn
