Image Grenade

Let’s face it, fashion is focused on the young. We can tell ourselves that 40 is the new 30, but the reality is designers are crafting for a size 2 long, slim silhouette that we’ve either abandoned years ago, or in my case are working hard to obtain  a size that triple that.

In a season touting  high hems, narrow silhouettes and tight fabrics the best we can do to avoid appearing as  mutton dressed as lamb, is to introduce portions of the season’s hot new looks into our wardrobe.

As we age, it’s important to remain current, but that doesn’t mean buying all of the latest and greatest. The easiest, least costly and safest way to do that is to purchase accessories or a great coat as opposed to the entire prêt a porter collection. By adding a bag or au courant jewelry design in your collection, you  can create a fashionable look, that works with your body, plays up your assets,  and allows you to look completely up to the moment, without looking completely silly.

By the time you’re over 35, you should have a defined style. To paraphrase my mate Catherine, I was goth before goth was goth.  From my early 20s, I adorned myself in the colors of night and whether dressed in distressed or viciously tailored clothing, had a look that would be equally accepted in the worlds of the Dandy Highwayman a la  Dick Turpin or the realm of Bram Stoker. Much like Vivienne Westwood or Zandra Rhodes, it’s a look that I’ve worn for a long time which allows me to feel comfortable and is easily identifiable as me, but I still introduce bits and pieces to keep my look from going stale. By doing that I remain edgy as opposed to heavily costumed.

So here are a few humble suggestions regarding A-list items you should include into your wardrobe. Please keep in mind, my selections are based on trends I’m seeing in the UK and Europe, which if you wear now, will put you ahead of US trends by a full season, giving you the look of a fashion forward Diva, and allowing you to get two seasons of wear from anything you purchase now when it does eventually jump the pond.

Purple is the new black.

According to professional stylists, there is a shade of purple that will work for every skin tone. If you want to be ahead of the curve but find such a strong color more than your willing to wear, why not try a shoe or boot in the royal color. 

The leather “bomber” jacket

Forget about the pilot styled jackets of the past, the new “bomber” is tailored for a woman’s figure and in the UK, metallic ones are flying out of stores. I just adore Miss Selfridges (in UK) feminine one with a Peter pan collar and flounce sleeves but Target (www.target.com) has a black leather Mossimo jacket with the slim silhouette of  a motocross jacket for $99 or if you’re also budget conscious, check out Wilson’s Leather (www.wilsonsleather.com) for the short double breasted cream jacke which had been $325 but is a steal at $45.

Hail Militaria

While some styles charge on to the scene, and disappear just as quickly, the military inspired  look has resurfaced again this fall. With Aquascutum, Biba, Lanvin and Marc Jacobs all including double breasted jackets, dresses and shirts embellished with epaulettes or lavish buttons, this trend returns as a strong winter statement. While those with a large chest may want to veer away from double breasted anything, every one can accessories in red, khaki, gold with insignia. If you can’t find these trends without going high end designer, do what I do, search Ebay. My latest coup was a brown military style jacket from Zoompy for $38. The seller, Fashion RX is also developing a website which will carry boutique finds including a full line of Ed Hardy soon.  (www.FashionRx.net)

Sure, we’ve all heard that you shouldn’t wear mini skirts over the age of 35, but what you didn’t know is  slacks are included  in that mix

Yes, Laura Petrie that icon of style from The Dick Van Dyke show was wearing fitted capri pants in the 60s, in the days before spandex. Back then,  they were considered a fashionable expression of carefree joie de vivre. A sign of the modern homemaker who was liberated from the apron and pearls of the Donna Reed era. If you’re doing a retro look,  fitted capris can work on, but the cropped pant just doesn’t.

I work in publishing; the end that’s not glamorous and/or trendy,  and I see, way  more often than I’d like, women above 40 wearing unfitted cropped pants sans heels  so basically they,  the  women look awful and they, the trousers, look like floods, highwaters, or whatever this generation refers to as slacks that are just too short. And why is it, that the women wearing these trousers have them floating above very ugly, sensible shoes?

Maybe with heels, they’d look marginally better, but instead they’re neither fish or foul and I have an urge to want to yank the hem down three inches.

So here is the long and short of it; have all your pants tailored to whatever the heel of the shoe you regular wear. All of my slacks, including my jeans, are tailored to look gorgeous with 3 inch heels. Yes,  they do drag the pavement when I wear a pair of Diadora sneakers, but outside of the gym, I’m not found in trainers or flat shoes too often so it’s a moot point.

When I am wearing my DKNY denims with a pair of 3 inch heels my stumpy legs look really long, even if they’re not thin.

 So, long story short,  don’t go short.

While the eyes may be the portal of the soul, it is the brows that can make or break the look.  What? Do I hear the groans of disbelievers?

Well if you don’t believe me, consider for a moment the world of art. 

I don’t know if you’ve seen the Renoir landscape exhibition at the Philadelphia Art Museum http://www.philamuseum.org/exhibitions/260.html, but if you have, you’ll notice that paintings of the master are enhanced by the selection of an appropriate frame.

And like the perfect frame which not only conserves the work, provides a way to display the piece and should provide  a feeling of continuity that draws you in rather than distracts, so should your brows. They should arch enough to provide lift, be dark enough to enhance as well as distinctively frame your eye without the distraction of stray hairs.

In my youth, I had brows that would give Leonid Brezhnev a run for his money.

But while it looked as if a caterpillar in a winter coat had taken up residence from the inner corner of my eye to my arch, alas, had no ends to my eyebrows and spent years looking for a pencil that didn’t evaporate by mid day.

As a sufferer of half browlopecia , the idea of going to a salon where even more of my hairs would be plucked, waxed or threaded off, scared me. I didn’t want to be a No-brow like Whoopee Goldberg. How would my face register expression without brows? So I penciled in……for years.  Then one day God smiled upon me and gave me two long hairs within each brow. I don’t mean just a little bit longer than the rest of my brows. These babies looked like hair on Miracle Grow and though they were wirey and nearly two inches long, not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, I adopted a pose long known to bald men, and performed what may have been the first brow comb over.

 As I got older, my naturally dark brows began to fade and thin out in spots while a new flock of unwanted hairs began to crop up, immediately above the crease in my eyelid. It was then, I acquiesced and sought professional help.

A good brow groomer can do wonders for you. After a dye job and waxing, I suddenly had brows that looked…..well, like brows. I think I gave myself three new creases in my forehead as I sat in front of a mirror raising and lower, grimacing and feigning shock. Smiling and practicing the “Hey, over here!” wiggle. I just wanted to see what really great brows looked like on me.  And now, I’m in the salon like clockwork every two weeks because once you see the benefits of a great brow job, you’ll never want to go back. Vigilance is the key. The unwanted hairs are reconnoitering and threatening an attack, even as we speak. And I don’t want to give people the hairy eyeball. I’m much too high brow for that.

The Brow Guru who’s on my speed dial is: Martha at Water Unlimited www.waterunlimited.biz, 1114 Pine Street

Philadelphia, PA;19107 215.629.1199      

Do you know why I began this blog? Because I was tired of my mother reading my other blog.

Not that I object to my mother reading my writing, but apparently she was the only one.

So the other day when my trainer joked about me presenting my own television show, a combination of What Not To Wear meets You Are What You Eat, (I’m not sure what that would be, Do Not Wear What You Eat?) it triggered a thought that perhaps I was missing my calling by not serving as the arbiter of style, at least in the Philadelphia metro area.

So here I am.

My plan is to provide you with a weekly dose of what’s new, happening and relevant to the 35+ woman. You can be sure that the things I discuss are tailored to us. I won’t be advocating any styles that are overly trendy or youthful. Let’s face it, if you lived through the Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go era, you really don’t need to wear Day-Glo again. Besides, does anyone really look good in neon green?

Any hoo, I hope you’ll read with interest and comment when something strikes you.

In the meantime here’s a recommendation I’d like to make to all my readers (especially those I see daily on the streets of Philadelphia)

Get a mirror and for the love of God, have a look at yourself before you leave the house.

Ah, the fashion debaucles we could solve if more people would do that.

Smooches!!
Danni