The Best Outfits For ANY Age

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Mama Mia acknowledges the traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast is recorded on. Here is an episode from the Nothing to Wear archives that I think you'll love. Sometimes an item of clothing can make you feel a little ugh, but maybe that's because you are pairing it with the wrong item or styling it in a dated way. So in this episode, I'm joined by Leoni Barlow to unpack the wardrobe tweaks we can all make to feel more timeless, classic, and confident in every outfit we put

You live for fashion.

Hello, and welcome to Nothing to Wear, the podcast that solves fashion problems and levels up your wardrobe. I'm Lee Campbell, and every week I'm going to talk to an expert who is going to help us work out out how to get more out of the clothes we already own and tell us exactly what is and isn't worth adding to our wardrobe. Today we are talking about how to look timeless. We've had a bunch of listeners contact us asking for tips on how to look more timeless and

Well, thank you so much. It's great to be back and catch up and chat again. I love it.

It has been a little while. So tell me what fashion item are you obsessed with right now? Now?

This is a bit of a strange one for me, but I'm absolutely obsessed with bandau tops, just completely strapless tops and dresses vests. I absolutely love them and it's kind of out a character for me. But I tried one on and like a mist or no, all sorts of different tops, so I've got one that's a stretchy one and that's from Dish, which is just so easy to wear. And I love wearing it underneath blazes and jackets, just as a layering.

Piece such a tank or a cami exactly.

And I think that's what it was. I had sort of tank fatigue, basically, and I needed a different option, and a strapless top has been great for me. I love them.

Oh, I'm going to try that. And what trend are you dipping your toe into that you thought maybe you never would Now?

This is one that I have actually dipped my toe in before, back in the it was probably the nineties actually, and it was wearing skirts and dresses over pants. And I know this is going to divide people because you either love it or hate it. And I loved it back in the day, and I think that I'm going to love it again, and certainly getting into the cooler weather, it's kind of a great way to wear some of your more summary pieces and skirts and dresses into the

I want to try that too. I saw a beautiful image online of like a lace shift dress over some pants. I didn't think I liked it, but I liked it on her, so it's something I might try.

I think it's something you can just kind of play around with at home. What I have seen with this particular trend is more wide leg pants worn underneath, and that's not what we saw back in the nineties. So it's sort of a bit of a new take on an old tree.

Yes, and God knows, I've got enough wide leg pants to make that work exactly well. Today we're talking about the items that we might be wearing that might be aging us. And of course, again before we started recording, we were chatting about how we don't believe women should have to adhere to any rules, and of course we can wear whatever we like. But sometimes we put on an outfit it makes us feel a bit frumpy or we can't quite work out while we don't feel great

There's one pair of pants that I just have a problem with, regardless of your age essentially, and it's pants that cut you midcuffs. So the classic sort of capri pants.

Yeah, I was gonna say, pedal pushes. Is that the same you go the same thing. Yeah.

In terms of illusion dressing and figure flattering styling, what you try, or what I always try and avoid, is having a hemline cutting you at your widest part. And that's essentially where capris or pedal pushes cut you. They cut you off midcuff, and for most of us, that's

Okay, I agree. I've seen the occasional capri or pedal fishes recently. Look okay, but they're with sky high stilettos and I'm not wearing those. So what are we looking for instead? Then?

Look, I think it's all about where that hemline falls. So one of the big trends that's happening in the Northern Hemisphere is the return of Bermuda pants. Bermuda shorts so long the line shorts, So what I think for us, and obviously going into the cooler months, it's not going to be easier to think about wearing shorts. But certainly go for a pair of pants that are a little bit longer, so three quarters, so they're not cutting your midcalf. They're just slightly.

Longer like an ankle grazer.

Like an ankle grazer very much as three quarter peer pants. So something that's just definitely going to cut you off at a natural part of your leg that starts to narrow, so not at your widest part.

And also it's the pant itself a bit wider rather than that sort of tight capri pedal pusher.

Yeah. Look, I think the pedal pushes that I see that I find and feel are particularly aging. I feel uncomfortable even saying that now I know what you mean. I don't like judging, but I think that they tend to be sort of baggy, elastic, caated waste and cutting you off midcalf. So there are other options pairs of pants that are you know, you look at your inner seam as well, and just make sure that they're a little more fitted.

Tell me about the enseme. I know what I like, but I really don't know all the technical terms. Why does the end seam of our pants matter?

Because it basically dictates the fit of the pants. And when we try on baggy loose pants that have a longer end seam, they're really comfy because they don't actually fit you properly. And that's the whole idea of these sort of baggier style pants. They really are roomy and baggy. And that's why I say trackies and tracksuit pants are super comfy because generally that seam is a little longer. So it's a little bit of a trap when we're going for a comfortable pant and we put something on

Either, So it's more about the seams still up under the crotch. But then the leg is wide if we're going for a wide leg pant.

Yes, exactly, so they're still fitting you. And I think that that's a trap that we often fall into. And like me as well, I just I like to be comfortable, and I think you get to a certain age and stage in your life that you need and deserve to be comfortable.

We're warm the uncomfortable stuff for too many decades, exactly.

We've heard ourselves in the past, So now's the time to be comfortable. But you can be comfortable and still wear clothes that are well fitting. And then that's where a sort of fabric comes into it as well, fabric with a light stretch in it, so that you still get that tailoring and a nice fit, but you get draping and you still get that comfort as well.

Because I wanted to talk about the fit of our clothes, because oversize is having a moment, but there's ye kind of fashion oversize and then looking like you've rummaged around in your husband's wardrobe, which I often do, and sometimes it looks cool and sometimes it doesn't. So how can the fit of our clothes make us feel older, look older, feel frumpy?

You're right there in saying that you know there has been a lot of oversized styling and trends happening, and I think that that is comfortable and it's great, but you do have to be careful. I think the older you get as well, because like you said, it does potentially skew to looking like you've rummaged around and your

You're a big fan of rap dresses, aren't you.

I'm a huge fan of rap dresses because they fit your body absolutely your body, So you're going to wrap that dress to fit you.

Perfectly, make it as tight as you like, as loose as you like.

For me, I always think a rap dress is just universally flattering. There's no one that can't wear them. If you've got a fuller bust, it may become an idea to wear maybe a chemistal underneath or something.

But one of your little bando tops.

One of your lego here you go.

It's funny when we talk about fit of clothes because I had the opposite reaction when I was postpardon, because you know, my body was changing, and so I thought I must get back into the skinny jeans, which were a thing at the time. So I went to kmut and bought really tight but really stretchy skinny jeans to say, see,

Those postpartum days are so hard hard enough as it is.

And you do feel older in that you're not getting any sleep, so you feel like one hundred year old corpse.

Yeah you feel haggard.

Yeah, you feel haggard. Now I want to talk about the devil as in the detail, because you want to talk about accessories, and this is scaring me because I do agree accessories can make or break an outfit, and I love reaching for earrings or a necklace and I've literally just had the brain capacity to throw on jeans and a T shirt. Talk to me about mistakes we might be making with accessories.

Accessories are something that can, as you said, make or break an outfit, and they're a really easy way just to update a look. And so for me, I like to keep a little bit of an eye on what is happening in terms of accessories. And I've just been to Sydney to see my mum and was looking through

And you're not changing your whole outfit or even your top, but it's just that little tweak And there's so many great affordable accessory brands at the moment, even you know Yourzara and your H and m's are doing. Levisa does great little stuff exactly. But I do want to defend. I agree with the chunky beads, but I'm enjoying like a chunky gold or silver necklace.

Yes, now that in my mind is different. That's not what I imagined in terms of, you know, chunky. I think a statement gold necklace is a great idea. But again, I think you just have to be a little aware of how many layers you're wearing, what you're wearing, and

Let's talk about colors and how they can make us feel a certain way.

Colors are really important. It's the whole sort of dopamine dressing thing that we I mean, I personally jumped on the bandwagon and feel that when I wear something that's a great color for me, I feel great. And it also people respond to me better. So it's that whole.

Great thing is that color emotion link to it.

There's a huge emotional link to it. But one of the things that you definitely find as you age is that your skin does change. And certainly for me, if I'm wearing zero makeup, my skin is very ray looking, and if I try something on and I don't have any makeup on, it can look really terrible. And so for me, I always suggest that you park your opinion until you perhaps have you done your hair and makeup and you're ready to roll. But I think there are

You and it's a little bit costume dressing in a way, it.

Can look a little bit costume dressing exactly.

So what if we're afraid of color, then you know, it's funny because now I'm forty two, but I'm only really just getting into color. But what about people that are like, oh, well, I don't want the color to say something wrong.

If you're not going to go and get your colors done professionally, then go into a chain store where there's going to be lots of color options and just put the color up to your face. And that's always Again, it's about how you feel when you look at yourself in the mirror, and it's difficult to tell whether it suits you or not. But that's why I kind of like focusing on how you feel you feel when you

Anyway, go for whites. There's beautiful grays around this season, and tans exactly.

Or just tonal. Yeah, we're color on color, but just tones of the same color family.

All right. Proportions are key. Some people don't know their proportions. Some people want to hide their proportions. And we're all about celebrating what you do enjoy about your body or your outfit or your clothes. So how do we consider our proportions when we're getting dressed.

This is a whole big topic proportions, But I I think it's just making sure that you create an outfit that has a certain amount of balance. And I was styling a woman a few months ago, and she was a petite woman. She wanted to wear some wide leg baggy trousers, but felt that being sort of shorter, she

Now I want to talk about matching out because I'm seeing everywhere on Instagram it's kind of color blocking. I guess it's all shades of brown or all shades of gray. Let's talk about MATCHI matchie.

I think some of the MATCHI matchie is about us just having a go and having a bit of fun and trying something different and new. Our grandmothers and mothers used to wear sort of, you know, always match your shoes to your handbag, and I think that's not happening quite so much. But there are definitely those little matchy

But I liked what you said about shoes and bags because I just always thought, well, black bag, black shoes.

Then I think like even if you do want to do a little sort of MATCHI matching, maybe you've got some green sunglasses or just a little hint of that somewhere else.

Yes, to talk altogether, the.

Tie it together, and just to make it look intentional.

Intentional that's a good word.

Yeah, I mean you don't need to, but it's just a way of kind of saying, these green shoes, won't it exit?

I didn't leave the home at four am in the dark. Now let's talk skirts, because of course, any women of any age can wear any length of skirt. But I'm seeing online some really beautiful Maxis or Madaxis and then I'm seeing what they're calling a micro mini, and thank goodness, online shopping is saying this is a micro mini. Thoughts on that.

Look as you get older, I think micromeni's are very tricky. Now, I'm sure I'll come under fire for saying that, because you can have great legs and great style at any age. Yes, but I do think the older you get, the harder it is to pull off that look.

But you know what where what you want, but it's just not comfortable and I need to be able to bend over and put the washing on and you know.

Executive, and also like for me personally, at my age, my legs just don't look as good as they did years ago, and I've got age spots, they're just as much. I go to the gym, they're still not looking as great. And yeah, there's part of me that thinks, well, I'll just wear whatever and show them off and I don't care what other people think, which I don't.

And there's other outfits that make you feel more confident.

There are plenty of other outfits that make me feel more confident. Yes, well said yes.

So lastly, shoes, because as I hit my late thirties and now into my forties, my one prerequisite is comfortable. Can we do comfortable stylish shoes.

We've all been wearing trainers for the last or sneakers whatever you call them, for the last few years, and I do think that there are really very modern on train sneakers that don't look too young.

Or too or that you're going to the gym.

That you're going to the gym. And I do think that we're all kind of of the opinion now that you can wear sneakers and trainers with a dress and a skirt and still look good and not look like you're trying to look too young as well. So I do think that there are lots of really comfortable sneaker options, and.

We're suiting as well, you know, with a beautiful wide leg pant. It's funny because I I think here that they got ten years ago. When I used to catch the bus into the city, I would see women in trainers and their wide leg pants for the office and then obviously change into the heels. But now I'm seeing women where they're suiting in wide leg pants intentionally with trainers if their workplace allows, and it looks so cool exactly.

But there are options, and I think that, you know, women of a certain age will always opt for shoe stores that target women of a certain age, and I don't think you have to be stuck with just those brands to feel comfortable.

I couldn't agree more. You know, I often go to the nine West outlet. We've got one in Sydney. Oh, I guess there's some classic styles and nine West really is quite ageless. I've got some shoes that I bought there ten years ago that are still great. But then they do like they've got a great little pointy flat at the moment or ballet flats or the mesh flat. So it's nice to see flat comfortable shoes having a moment. It's very expensive, Damn, honey, how hundred these percent? All right?

My budget is right here and you just mentioned them. So these are the mesh ballet slats brand Dick Cuba, Oh Fab. They were sixty nine dollars here in New Zealand, so I'd say they'd be about fifty nine.

Or sixty dollars, So comfortable about those. It's closed in mesh, but it's got the little sort of Mary Jane strap across the front.

Exactly, so it just looks a little bit more modern, a little bit interesting. And these go with everything from my Maxi skirts to my wife's pants, shorts, you name it.

And so good trands seasonally. Well, my budget is a pair of jeans. They're on Next I think Next. It's a UK based site, but they ship to Australia. I get a lot of stuff from there, including my son's clothes. But they're are rank called River Island. They're the River Island high Rise relaxed straight jeans eighty eight dollars, and I like it's a creamy kind of oat color. And this is exactly what we were talking about, because they're wide but not super wide. They're high waisted but not

My bougie is a Izimiaki tote bag and it's a I think it might actually be called the Prism tote bag. And I just love bags and I love interesting bags as well, and this one I've probably had my eye on for a good few years now.

Is it on sale yet?

It's not on sale yet. I do want a few different wish lists. Yeah, I think it's about eight hundred UIs. It's a lot of money, but it's one of those pieces that I know I would love and wear for either So it's a timeless piece, but it's interesting as well, and it's a good size.

It's a color just to come in different colors.

Yes, and the color that I've got my eye on is just a beautiful metallocke silver, but it's not too not too shiny, not too blingy.

Well, my Bougie is not expensive at all, but it's more expensive than my budget, and I wanted to bring it because it's a bit of a challenge related to this episode. Because cardigans are back. Suzan has one. It's called the knit Shacket, so it comes in red, I

It sounds great. There are a lot of beautiful cropped cardies around in the world.

Yes, Col's has a beautiful one.

I think sometimes the cropped length is a good way to wear a cardi, but look a little bit more moderness.

I agreed exactly, Leoni. I love chatting to you. You're such a wealth of knowledge. Thank you so much for joining me and we'll have you back on soon.

Thank you so much, Lea can't wait.

Thank you for listening to Nothing to Wear. Don't forget to sign up to our Nothing to Wear newsletter. There's a link in the show notes and it's free. That's where you can find all the products we've chatted about today. And if you enjoyed this episode, why not check out the one we did with Trinny Woodle and Mia. They had a great chat about the biggest fashion mistakes women make. Pop alink in the show notes. See you next week. This episode was produced by Emmeline Gozillas with audio production