It’s fair to say I get some odd looks from people. I’ll be walking along with my husband, chatting away and notice a disapproving look has been cast my way. It’s usually a sneering, downturned mouth grimace, and I can almost imagine the thoughts going through the person’s head: “what is she wearing?”
Luckily I don’t dress myself with other people’s approval in mind. I wear whatever I feel like wearing, whatever I think will make me happy or comfortable. Sometimes I pick my outfits the night before, sometimes I just grab something on the spur of the moment. I read the fabulous book The Curated Closet a few years ago, and came up with my own outfit templates, so now it takes me five – ten minutes to put something together. This is something I particularly appreciate on days when my brain fog is bad, and I have trouble making decisions.
I also read Iris Apfel’s style/biography book recently, and she had some really inspiring things to say about her attitude towards clothing and accessories.
Love or hate her style, Iris is definitely an individual and unapologetically bold. I love her approach to fashion, and that she finds joy in experimenting with her look. Iris turned 102 this year, and celebrated by collaborating with one of my favourite brands Erstwilder. I snapped up a few of the items in the collection and have loved wearing them.
Another style icon IMO is Myrtle Snow from AHS Coven. In a sea of black clad witches, Myrtle stands out with her flame red hair, statement glasses, bright colours and bold accessories. Myrtle’s outfits actually really remind me of Iris Apfel and I do wonder if the costume designer was inspired by her.
When I was younger I tried to fit in a lot more with my clothing. I went through a phase of wearing mostly black in my late teens/early twenties because I had the idea that this was slimming and chic. I was horrified when people labelled my style as “goth” – mostly because I was some variation of blonde and usually quite tanned (this was before I had to start hiding from the sun for medical reasons). My grandad was the first person to say that I seemed much happier when I was wearing bright colours. That might have been the case, but I always wanted to hide, to look smaller. Not to stand out. Now I really admire women with strong personal style. Whenever you see a picture of Dita Von Teese, for example, even when she is out shopping or walking through an airport, she dresses in a way that is instantly recognisable.
In her coffee table book Your Beauty Mark Dita talks at length about her style transformation, and makes the argument that it takes the same amount of time to put on a skirt or pretty dress as it does to wear jeans. I’m personally not averse to a pair of jeans (I do a lot of walking and they definitely keep you toasty when the weather gets cold) but I get her point.
I’m forty now, and always believed that at this age I would cut my hair short. Wear sensible, toned down outfits. Fade into the background. But why? Why do we think that women over a certain age should avoid the limelight? My style icons are all women above a certain age who dress unapologetically and aren’t afraid to be bold. As I go into my forties I will continue to have long red hair, wear bright red lipstick and all the colours I want. Even when I’m walking around a windy hill. If other people don’t like it, then that’s their problem.
Tell me about your favourite outfits and accessories in the comments below.
Stephani Xx
Stephani Michelle 