A Woman's Prerogative?

Last year I declared that "cute" wasn't a good look for the over 60s and maybe it was time for me to grow up. This is the original post: is cute a good look for over 60s?. However I'm a woman, and we women are allowed to change our minds, aren't we? Over the last 12 months I have been looking at Dressing Your Truth (DYT) and, according to their guidelines, I am a type one. Guess what? Type ones are described as bright, animated and cute!

So was I right in saying that cute wasn't a good look for over 60s? I think it's probably a matter of how much cuteness we over 60s should allow ourselves. I had already thrown out some t-shirts with really cute pictures on them, and clothes that had far too many frills, which I think was the right decision. There is a thin line between cute and juvenile, especially for the more mature woman!

Pre DYT outfit

I had discarded black and brightly coloured tops as well, which I think was also a wise decision. These colours wore me rather than the other way round and black in particular is too harsh for most women of a certain age. If you look at the photo above I look a bit washed out, even though I was wearing make-up, whereas I think I look far better in the following photos where I am wearing brighter colours.

 

Many of my trousers and skirts stayed, however they are mainly neutral colours such as the navy, stone and brown trousers in the photos above. In these photos I am wearing DYT colours - the three tops are all purchases from the DYT type one store - but that is only part of the story. What I like about type one colours is that they are tints, i.e. pure colours with white in them, which are flattering against more mature skins. All of these tops are very light to wear, which is a feature that has always influenced me when choosing new clothes. In the three outfits I am wearing light, colourful accessories, which is very much a type one trait too.

With DYT, unlike some seasonal colour analysis systems, clothes don't have to exactly match your colour card, so long as they are in harmony with it and "pop".  If I go shopping without my colour card, but I am wearing a top or scarf that I know is the right colour, all I need to do is check whether my new purchase goes with what I'm wearing.

The shapes for type one are circles, stars and hearts, so design lines should reflect this e.g. rounded jacket bottoms, round or v-necklines. Pushed up sleeves and skirt lines that flare are also good looks for us.

Chunky textures are out - clothes should feel crisp and have a light weave. Light to medium weight fabrics are the best choice, with fabrics that look crisp and feel light and fresh on the body. The best patterns are animated with small and/or medium shapes and light, upward movement in the designs. A lot of these features work well for me as a petite size.

I've said it before - but it's worth repeating - that too many of these colour and style systems are overly prescriptive and you do have to use your own intuition and a bit of common sense. When I've looked on-line at the DYT store, there have been many items there that didn't appeal (either the colour wasn't one of my best colours or the style was a bit too fussy for me) but equally there have been many items that I have loved.

One type one tip that I have deliberately avoided though is wearing a flower in my hair. The look of horror on my daughter's face when I suggested that I might try one for the recent family wedding was enough to reassure me that this idea was best forgotten! I wore the flower on the lapel of my jacket instead, so everyone was happy.