It’s not like women over 50 need or even want to look young, but there are easy ways to stay chic, current and not look older than you are. You may have already read our top 10 fashion mistakes that make you look older post, but now I am focusing on fashion violations that occur specifically in the fall season. It’s easy to get set in our ways, and that can sometimes turn into a fashion faux paux. However the good news is that you can easily course-correct. So take note of these 10 fall fashion mistakes that can make you look older. Are you in violation of any of these?
1. Carrying the Same Fall Handbag Year After Year
Just because it’s fall that doesn’t mean you need to bring out that same old leather fall handbag year after year…after year. Sure, you probably need a heavier bag and one to stash more cold weather items like hats or gloves or an umbrella, but lugging around that same heavy bag will date you! I’m not saying you need a new fall bag every year… just don’t wait a decade. Take a look at the fresh new handbag shapes, styles and colors for fall. Your handbag is something you use a lot, and is a focal point of your entire outfit. A new handbag is an easy way to update your entire fall look, and an old one can ruin it!
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2. Thinking You Need to Wear Fall Colors
It’s fall now, so bring out the brown, rust, mustard and olive green right? Wrong! Bright colors, jewel tones and even pastels have been trending for fall in recent years. So break out and don’t get trapped into wearing colors you think you should be wearing…especially if they don’t look good on you! (Do you really like brown, rust, mustard and olive green?)
3. Wearing The Same Boots Since 1999
Take a quick look at those booties you’ve been wearing with your pants and jeans for fall and winter. I know they are comfortable, and if you wait long enough, they just may come back in style. But I don’t think you’re going for a vintage look, right? Compare them to the new bootie styles and see how your pair stands up to them. An old shoe can make a new outfit fall flat.
4. Fall Fashion Mistake: Forgetting to Update Your Jeans
When you’re over 50, you know what you like, and you may have a tried and true denim jeans style you always wear. But sometimes a simple update like a new pair of jeans with the proper fit or new cut can take years off of you. The wrong pair of jeans can definitely make you look older.
5. Wearing your Summer Hair Color in Fall
Do you use the same haircolor all year round? If you do, it can make you look older in the fall. Your summer haircolor may no longer suit your fall skintone because you may not get as much sun (even with sunscreen) as you did in summer. You may want to go with a richer or warmer tone, or simply change it up to look younger. Ask your color stylist or get a consultation at a color bar about the best hair color options to suit you for the season. Wearing last season’s color or the wrong hair color for you can make you look older.
6. Not Wearing White After Labor Day
Wearing white after Labor Day used to be a fashion mistake, but now you are mistaken to not wear it! Wearing white in the appropriate fabrics, such as white denim jeans, is stylish all year round and will add an instant update to your fall wardrobe. Pair them with soft sweaters, trench coats, leather jackets, plaid blazers, and more. White leather shoes and boots look modern when contrasted with your fall wardrobe. Forget the rules (like a young person who never even knew this one) and go ahead and wear white in fall. Call it winter white if that makes you feel better.
7. Wearing All Black
Women over 50 love our black! It’s slimming, mysterious, it can look dressy, and we just feel cool wearing black. However, black is not the best color for our aging skin (it really brings out fine lines and wrinkles) and can make you look older! Try a black alternative like navy, wine or pine green or wear a colored top that flatters you. At least throw on a colorful scarf around your face and you can still wear black for the rest of your outfit.
8. Forgetting to Update Your Accessories
I know I covered your fall handbag and boots, but all accessories including hats, gloves, scarves, jewelry and even your glasses can date you and make you look older. Take another look at those earmuffs you’ve been wearing, or if that cowboy hat has seen better days, or if you are still wearing that scrunchie… it’s time to update your accessories.
9. Trying Too Hard to Look Younger
The best way to look old is to try to dress too young. You probably don’t want to wear a midriff t-shirt anymore, but just in case, sometimes it is good to see what the 20-somethings are wearing so you can be sure to steer clear of it. But then again Martha Stewart claims she has been dressing the same was since she was 17, yet in truth it’s a updated and more age-appropriate variation.
10. Following Fashion Trends Head-To-Toe
Fashion is glamorous and fun, and you can deck yourself head-to-toe in a new trend, but that is not going to make you look younger. It will actually do the opposite! When you follow a trend full-throttle, you are covering up your own personal style. There is a difference between fashion and style, and most women over 50 want to show their style. So while I urge you to be aware of the new trends, you will be your most stylish self when you only wear the ones that you truly love and work for you.
Have you made any of these fall fashion mistakes that make you look older? Are there any others that I missed?
You may also like to read Top Fall 2023 Trend To Try Now: Long Coats! and 6 Totally Different Ways to Wear A Plaid Blazer for Women Over 50.
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Photos: Istock, NET-A-PORTER, Nordstrom, Madison Reed, ASOS
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