When you hit a certain age or point in life you sometimes start to question your clothing and wonder if you should start abiding by the “what not to wear over….” articles that seem to flood your Facebook newsfeed.
I hate those. Hate them.
I’m not going to post a link to any because they can make you feel like shit and I don’t want to do that.
I think it is normal to question fashion choices. I did after the birth of my first child and I was only 25. I thought, I am a mom now and should start to abide by what society believes moms should dress like.
Where that brainwashed thought came from I can only blame on the feeling of failing in every aspect of my life and if I dressed like society believed a mom should dress than people would at least think I was a good mom.
I also equate those feelings to having undiagnosed postpartum depression but that is another post.
A blog post titled 24 Things Women Over 30 Should Wear passed through my new feed a couple of weeks ago and I loved it. It voiced my mantra of “wear whatever the fuck you want”.
That’s the only fashion rule I follow and the only fashion rule I think anyone needs.
This post comes as a request via Australia. I received an email several weeks back (I have a little backlog) asking for some help.
The request is actually twofold with a couple of parts to it. First she is a 40-year-old woman and is going back to school (congratulations! That is huge, and I might be a little envious) and wanted some clothing ideas that would keep her on trend but not too young, and on a budget.
Second, she is also going on a trip to Italy in October and was looking for ideas on what she could bring to cover the exploration/sightseeing aspect with some dressier dinners.
I am going to try to tackle this over a couple of posts with the first being the 35+ back to school wardrobe.
I picked the pieces based on her favourites colour palettes and her style of French Classic, mixed with some boho, a bit of Rock Chic, and eclectic. I find that I am partial to each of these styles and they filter through many of my clothing choices as well.
It’s hard to pick things for others because you never know if you are going to hit the mark or be way off from what they envisioned, and I try to remind people that the items I pick are only suggestions.
You can interpret those anyway that you want with any colours or prints that you choose, because it’s basically like a list of generic things with some visual guidance to help out.
This is like a capsule wardrobe that will cover back to school, as well as most other situations (except you may need a pair of heels added).
I want to say to Andrea who made the request, I know that you think that jeans aren’t the most comfortable for all occasions but I have an uncontrollable impulse to include them 😉
I find if you stick to a style with spandex or elastane in them they are quite comfortable (I know, I know but it is hard for me to choose a wardrobe without them) please bear with me.
Also, many of these pieces or something similar might already exist in your wardrobe, therefore, making it easier for you to plan out.
I am going to take some of the selections from this post and turn them into a packing list for Italy in another post also with some outfit ideas to give you a better visual of how to wear them for different occasions.
I tried to pick as many items in this list that run from sizes 8-18 and higher as I could. I also realize that the coral dress doesn’t seem very schoolish but I think that it could be very versatile.
It has a 1930’s vibe to me and I can picture it being worn with a messy undo and scarf tied around your head in retro fashion.
Everyone has their own fashion rules, stick to yours.
I sat last night and put together as many outfits as I could from the Basic Work Capsule Wardrobe in my last post. I managed to get 40 different outfits (1 long collage at the top of the post and 3 down below) with room to make more. The point of this workwear list was to show you how you can find your own work wardrobe by using many pieces that you already have in your everyday wardrobe. Because realistically how many of us can afford to buy a whole new work wardrobe before you start a new job? Yeah, no. Maybe a few new pieces to freshen up what you have, but most people have to wait for a few pay checks before they can afford any more substantial wardrobe updates. Even then there is a chance that it might not be affordable for you depending on your expenses to income ratio. As women we can usually find a skirt or two, a few sweaters in styles and colours sweaters, a dressy blouse (maybe more than one), plain t-shirts, black pants, and a pair of dressy heels. All of these items can be put together to give you a basic work wardrobe. With the pieces from this list I made 40 outfits, so that means almost 2 months of not repeating the exact same outfit. I say that is pretty good 😉
What is your go-to professional work look?
(If you are on the main page than there is more after the jump. This many collages are way to long to load in one page) Continue Reading →
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Camisole • Mango | T-shirt • H&M | Striped Shirt • Mango | Black Shirt • Mango | Long Sleeve • Mango | Print Blouse • Mango | Black Blouse • Mango | White Blouse • H&M | Print Long Sleeve • Mango | V-neck Sweater • Mango | Cowl Neck • Mango | Long Cardigan • H&M | Chunky Cardigan • Mango | Blazer • H&M | Pencil Skirt • H&M | Midi Skirt • H&M | Culottes • Mango | Light Pants • Mango | Black Pants • H&M | Trench • Mango | Wool Coat • Mango | Brown Purse • Steve Madden | Black Purse • Gabriella Rocha | Scarf 1 • Steve Madden | Scarf 2 • Ones King Lane | Scarf 3 • Betsey Johnson | Belt • Fossil | Black Boots • Topshop | Brown Boots • Timberland | Print Flats • Dolce Vita | Black Flats • VANELi | Sandals • Sarto 
