This gorgeous vintage piece is age appropriate! photo credit: Atlantis Home

Here is a great example of a lovely gray vintage dress that we found on Atlantis Home. This 80′s silk, jersey dress is super flattering with the way it ties at the hip.  The way it drapes would hide the tummy area nicely and is a style that one can wear at any age.

Vintage pieces also tend to have pretty details, like these covered buttons on the sleeve.

Now can you tell the difference between this new outfit that she just bought?

This fabulous bright leather skirt and coordinating sweater from the latest 2010 fall  Lyn Devon collection is classic and could be from any era. She has updated it with some super hip, thigh high boots. (This look might be over the top for some, but we think she can certainly pull it off!)

This bright skirt is from the new Lyn Devon collection photo credit: Atlantis Home

So the moral of this is… if you are going to try to pull off vintage, make sure you are going to update it with current shoes and accessories and that you can’t tell that it is vintage.

Are your taste buds still working?

Taste in clothes is one thing, but are our taste buds still working when it comes to tasting flavors?
This weeks Blogging Boomers Carnival # 175 has more on this and other Boomer topics that you just might enjoy!
Our host this week, is Virgina Cornue, from VaBoomer.com.

Enjoy!

Check out our jewelry line from Stella and Dot to find the perfect piece that will work for you!

This week, Wesley Henn is hosting over at Life Two where they are talking about a variety of Boomer related topics including:

• Issues that include midlife crisis
• Mid-life health
• Career changes and other increasingly relevant topics as we all age.
• How to find more info for those  over 40 women who never married, never had kids and are still happy!

Enjoy and make sure to leave a comment while your there!!

~Sharon B.

Hi Sharon,
Great question! We think you can wear jeans forever, however you really need to keep them updated.
When you are a pear, that means making sure you get the style that fits!
You probably will need to still take them to the tailor to get them to fit.

These jeans are updated and look great, but will not work for a pear shaped body!

Here are some ways to update your jeans:

• Wear a cropped jacket with a casual t-shirt
• jeans with rips and faded wash are “iffy” for women over 40.
• Darker wash jeans are classy and updated!
• Wearing jeans with traditional clogs is comfortable, but tend to age women over 40 unless you wear the new high heel version of a clog. (*if you disagree with this comment, go to our past post about clogs)
• For fall, boots are the way to go with jeans. Flat ones for casual, heels for a dressier look.
• For those that are pear shaped, you can tuck in and wear a belt…so those with other body types, try them with a longer top and belt at the hip or for go the belt all together!

After 40, we find we are all wearing jeans more than ever. Make sure yours fit well and you are wearing the right shoes with them.

Cheers,
JoJami and Deborah

Here is a quick tip on how to fix that and feel confident and fabulous after 40!
You can find a similar necklace and more at our fabulous Stella and Dot store!

Here is a fun clip to see what we might be able to do to get that “get away” feeling in the comfort of our own home!

We recently had a contest that featured  La Isha products and they are being featured again on this program.
I (JoJami) were given some testers to try and let me tell you, I LOVE THEM!!!

Here is why:

• they are made out of natural ingredients
• they have a lovely scent without perfumes
• they feel wonderful and light on the skin
• The oils have a plumping effect!
• they are specifically formulated for over 40 skin!

You can try it by getting a sample kit here!

Oh boy, It's Blogging Boomer Carnival time, again!

This week it is our turn to host the infamous Blogging Boomers Carnival! Every week we share with you a link to this creative group of Blogging Boomers and this week we  have them all here for your reading enjoyment!

Over at Contemporary Retirement, Ann has begun an occasional series of posts about people who are leading interesting and out of the ordinary lives. Head over here now and be inspired by Rita Golden Gelman.

SoBabyBoomer sees the population of boomer stay-at-home caregivers getting larger and the demands of their neighbors and families getting bigger.

What do you think of the guy who quit his airline job by exiting down the emergency chute? The Boomer Chronicles wants to know.

What’s the scoop on estrogen replacement and menopause?   Does it really cause breast cancer or does it just make menopause much easier to take?
Check out the Healthy Aging Blog for the latest research.
Some summer reading to make you feel that much better about yourself, some music you won’t want to miss (hint: Lang, Lang), and international hosting opportunities.  All on this week’s Gen Plus List!

It’s All About Aging is on vacation in Maine, trying to get a piece of mom’s famous raspberry-blueberry pie. Did we succeed?

Looking in the mirror can sometimes be a shock, writes LifeTwo’s humor columnist in “Older and Wiser.”

Can you get attention online if you’re not outrageous? Andrea Stenberg from The Baby Boomer Entrepreneur ponders this in her post, I’m Boring or How to market yourself without being controversial.

This week the Glam Gals went shopping in the closet for a dress to wear to a summer wedding and found a dress with a “self” belt! Do you keep it or get rid of it? Find out more…

This belt is not flattering and the bow is too cutesy for my taste!

Here is a dress that I (JoJami) have had in my closet for a while. I love how comfortable it is, but the self belt made this dress look too cutesy pie, looking for me. Also, it sort of made my tummy look fat. So I tried it with a wide leather with stretchy in the back belt that I bought recently and it updated the dress immediately! It is also much more figure flattering! 

So, why not go in and see what dresses you have that you can change out the belt and look better!

Here were here choices:

• A light yellow linen suit
• Blue sleeveless cotton pique dress (lined) with self belt. (bought on sale!)

This dress has a "self" belt

I asked her bring over the 2 options. The yellow suit was just too boxy looking and looked a little too casual for an evening wedding. The blue dress was really pretty, but there were 2 issues.

1. The thin belt that came with the dress was not flattering
2. She would need to buy a sweater to wear with it.

The first advice I gave her was to try the dress on with NO belt. How many of us feel that, just because a dress comes with a belt, we HAVE to wear it!  As we age, our middle thickens and tiny pieces of fabric around our waist does not look so great on many of our middle age bodies! So, we got rid of the belt and the dress looked a million times better on her.

Next, she felt she needed a top or sweater to wear over the dress to hide her arms. I took one look at her arms and said, be proud of your arms! They look fine! Sometimes we are too hard on ourselves!!!

However, she did want to get a sweater, since the evenings are starting to get cool in our area back east. The neckline on this dress is wider than normal, so not every sweater will work.

Here were her marching orders:

• Find a sweater that is not too long, best if it is shorter.
• Make sure to take the dress with you when you shop, so you can try it with the sweater.
• Make sure the sweater is a thin fabric and does not compete with the neckline
• Find a pair of nude shoes to go with the dress.
• Do not try to wear a necklace with this type of dress. Instead, just wear earnings and a cuff style bracelet.

It ended up that Aunt Mary, went out to find a sweater and and ended up with a new suit, instead for the wedding.  Bottom line is, when buying a dress on sale, make sure you LOVE it!

If it comes with a self belt, throw it away and use a leather one or not one at all!

For more great tips on how to dress for a wedding, check out our e-book, Tweak Your Chic, Dressing the Mother of the Bride!

You can download this e-book now and get instant access to all your questions!

Dress with no belt...looks much better!