No matter what your age, I think it’s really important to feel good about the way you look, and have a few tricks up your sleeve for putting fabulous outfits together.

Style trends have come and gone over the decades (thank goodness!). I’ve adapted my individual style over the years, tweaking it here and there to fit my new lifestyle, body changes, and fashion tastes. At my age I don’t feel the need to fit into a fashion mold or look a certain way — I’d rather look unique, interesting, and like myself.

What about style after fifty? Surely our “assets” have changed over the years, so how do you continue to capitalize on your assets and have fun with style?

I don’t believe that age has anything to do with style. If you love current trends, wear them. If you have fantastic legs, show them. If you prefer to cover up completely, you can still look stunning! Everyone can have fabulous style at any age. The joy is in discovering your style.

Make Style Your Own in Your Second Act!

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Here are 4 Steps to Capitalize On Your Assets:

Step #1 – Know your colors.

Color is the first thing people notice about you. Wearing the right colors can make you look vibrant and energetic. The wrong colors make you look tired, washed out, and older. You don’t want to walk around looking pale and tired, do you? Knowing the colors that bring radiance to your face is worth a million bucks. It gets you noticed for all the right reasons! Your best colors are determined by your skin tone, hair, eyes, and personality. What is your coloring? Has it changed since you decided to go gray?

  • Color Tip 1: Wear a top that matches the color of your eyes. Your eyes will pop!
  • Color Tip 2: Bookending is a technique stylists use to create put-together outfits. Wear shoes that match the color of your top. It makes the eye skip everything in between!
  • Color Tip 3:  Wearing monochromatic color (all one color from top to bottom) naturally elongates your body.
  • Color Tip 4: Always wear your best color close to your face. Color doesn’t matter as much from the waist down.

Step #2 – Know your body shape.

Appreciate your assets and work with what you have. What is your body shape? Knowledge is everything and knowing how to flatter and enhance your body shape is a great way to approach style. I can’t tell you how many women I work with tell me about the body parts they hate. It usually takes me by surprise because that’s not the body part I expected her to criticize!

Think of your body as a geometric shape formed by the relationship between your shoulders, waist and hips. The whole idea is to use balance and proportion to capitalize on your assets and camouflage your flaws! The six shapes are Triangle, Inverted Triangle, Rectangle, Hourglass, Diamond, and Round. Are you curious to know which is your body shape?

Step #3 – Develop your own signature style.

“Style is effortless confidence in being yourself,” says Diane Von Furstenberg. Think of your signature style like a radio signal. When you have a style that is uniquely YOU, your radio signal is strong.

I work with my clients to develop their personal style by choosing a few words that describe their ideal look. Are you Classic, Artsy, Dramatic, Urban, Sexy, Bohemian, Tailored, Sporty, etc.? How would you describe your style, and do your clothes reflect who you are? Identify someone who has a style you admire. Understand the elements of her “look” and define why it appeals to you. What are the attractive style features that reoccur in the way she dresses? You can adapt the pieces for your look if they don’t work on your particular body shape. In my online “Style Success in Your Second Act Workshop” I teach you how to create a style vision for yourself.

Step #4 – Build a wardrobe of essentials and clean your closet regularly.

Great style is built on a foundation of good basics. Your lifestyle dictates what are essential pieces for you. When you invest wisely in essentials that fit beautifully and bring you pleasure, it boosts your confidence. For more information about essentials, download my free ebook, “Your Ten Wardrobe Essentials.” It’s on my website home page!

Create a wardrobe that allows you to Shampoo. Rinse. Repeat. What does that mean? When something works, run with it. If you feel beautiful and powerful wearing a pair of dark-colored straight pants, a white or blush top, and a structured jacket, then your closet should have several straight-leg pants, a dozen various light-colored tops, and several structured jackets. An outfit can have many re-incarnations and some of the most stylish women I know wear the same combinations over and over. Why re-invent something that is already successful?

Clean out your closet at least twice a year or when the seasons change. Remember, your closet is NOT a museum! Less is more…

Here are some of the looks that inspire my individual style:

Individual style is about re-interpretation and investment of your time and money. It is about being aware of who you are, your lifestyle and the opportunities available to you when you dress confidently.

Who inspires your individual style? I’d love you hear from you!