Tamara took this photo of the young sales girl wearing a headband. Would you wear this as a woman over 40?
I have seen all kinds of head-wear lately – cute little headbands with pretty accents (see picture on the right). I’m wondering if those types of head-wear are appropriate for over 40?
Thanks, Tamara
Thanks, Tamara for sending in this question!
We posted this question over on our Facebook page and we got so many comments that we wanted to share them with you all here as well!
While a simple headband can be fine no matter what your age, when you start trying to add all sorts of flowers, bows and large do-dads, then you are treading in some risky waters!
The young gal in the photo certainly looks adorable in this headband and it works well with her romantic lace top, we feel the effect would certainly be different when you add maturity into the mix.
With fashion tips, it is a good rule never like to say “never,” however, we would highly recommend that you think twice about trying this hot trend. While we’re sure there is someone out there that could pull this off, for the rest of us… trying to sport a large, flouncy bow, well… it might come across as almost “costumey.”
We suggest leaving fancy headbands to the younger set.
What are your thoughts on headbands? Please comment below:
Transitioning into fall can be frustrating. One day it’s hot, the next cool. It’s October so you don’t want to look like you’re still wearing your summer clothes yet it’s not cold enough to break out the turtlenecks. Time to “shop” in your closet, use one of your light weight dresses, add a few accessories or layers to transform your dress into a new outfit. That’s what we call dressing Chic on the Cheap!
Here are a few tips on how to gently transition into fall:
Wear darker, richer colors
Take a simple cotton dress and add a stretch belt
Tie on a light weight scarf
Time to get out the boots, especially on those rainy days
Here’s a little video to show you how:
AFTER: Adding only 4 accessories makes this plain dress into an outfit!
BEFORE: JoJami in a simple cotton dress from Velvet
What are you wearing during this seasonal transition? Please comment below!
Looking for a simple way to go from Frumpy to Fabulous after 40? Simply add a great necklace.
Whether it’s a subtle accent or a giant statement piece, a beautiful necklace frames your face and completes your look.
But getting just the right necklace takes some thought.
Here are 5 Do’s and Donts to help you look like a knockout in a necklace.
1. Don’t Wear a Necklace that is Too Tiny
Too plain This bold jacket and matching top is a lovely, fresh color, but overall it looks a little too plain and bare without jewelry.
Too tiny Add a traditional, delicate, tiny gold necklace, and it still doesn’t look right. The necklace is dated and looks lost on the neck.
Just Right Instead try adding a fuller necklace to fill in the open space. A fuller necklace is more modern and it is more suited to the crispness and weight of this jacket. Also, because this necklace is a mix of gold, cream and silver beads, it nicely picks up on the large cream and silver button on the jacket.
2. Don’t Wear a Necklace that Competes with your Top
Too overpowering Big round gold link necklaces may be in fashion, but that doesn’t mean they go with everything. This necklace is much too contemporary, geometric and bold for this soft, flowing Grecian top with its smooth, draped fabric.
Too distracting It might be tempting to wear this gorgeous top with a more refined classic flat gold necklace in order to match the snake pin, however if you’re honest, you’ll see that the necklace competes with the pin and takes away from the stunning sweeping neckline.
Simple and Elegant This unique top is a showpiece itself. Leave well enough alone and in this case, forget about a necklace. The best way to accessorize this top would be by wearing a striking pair of gold hoop earrings or long dangles, and a stunning wide gold cuff.
3. Do wear necklaces that match your skin tone
Warm Skin The general rule of thumb is to match your jewelry to your skin tone. Deborah (shown here) has warm skin. See how beautiful the warm reds, oranges and browns in her top complement her yellow undertones.
Wrong color for skin The silver necklace is very cold and icy on her and is a stark contrast to a very warm look.
Right color for skin A better choice is a warm gold necklace. The little charms have gold and orange in them and blend in with her look. It all flows together very naturally.
4. Do Theme your Necklace to your Outfit
Too uninspired This gorgeous tropical print is busy and so many may think to leave jewelry out of the mix, but the opposite is true. This fun dress is calling out for a fun necklace.
Too conservative See how this plain gold box chain adds nothing to the dress. It’s far too prim and proper to do this exotic theme justice.
Perfect for the theme Instead you need to enhance the tropical feel and a large chunkier necklace made of irregularly shaped beads and stones is more natural and earthy looking, so in keeping with this tropical theme.
5. Don’t Settle for Just One Necklace
Too bare Many women are confused about what kind of necklace to wear with a wrap dress and so often go bare.
Too ordinary A long single chain can look nice.
Modern and Fashionable But the layered look is really popular this season. So, instead of wearing a single chain that looks “just OK,” take it to the next level, wrap it around your neck a couple of times. Then add a second chain for a fashion forward look!
On a recent trip to an Art Exhibit in LA, the Glam Gals met vintage jewelry collector, Maureen Haldeman.
At her recent photography exhibit Maureen Haldeman wears one of her vintage necklaces.
Maureen is a true Glam Gal who has an affinity for sparkle and bling. ” I’ve always been dazzled and drawn to vintage pieces from the 20′s!”
This vintage Art Deco piece can now be worn casually!
These days with vintage being so popular Maureen gives new life to old brooches. ” I have them redone so you can wear them on a chain or on a thin piece of leather. ”
Recycling has never “twinkled” so good. Her pieces recently caught the eye of Tennessee fashion designer, Jeff Garner who used them for his runway show at London’s Fashion Week. High style and the reuse of existing materials are his trademark for his company Prophetik and Haldeman’s pieces were the perfect “green” accessory.
But her creative side doesn’t stop there. The Happening Art Gallery was showing off her latest artistic fling, taking pictures with her Verizon Droid Cell phone. These were not your ordinary photos… According her husband Barry, Maureen has an exceptional eye and then uses a special setting on her phone that gives her photo’s an almost Andy Warhol-ish vibrance about them.
“We were at an Indian pow wow recently and we were both taking photos. I was standing directly behind her taking the same thing. When we got the photos back, mine looked like regular snapshots but hers were so gorgeous she ended up doing a show with them!”
Maureen commented, ”I wanted to be able to show that with technology getting so complicated, you can still take a simple photograph with your phone and make it special”
To see more of Maureen’s photographs check out the March Masters exhibit at The Happening Gallery in Marina del Ray, CA, running through April 3rd.
Even with a nice figure, this belt is just not flattering
When it comes to accessorizing, belts can be a tricky item to try to add into our wardrobe.
We took this photo of this gal at a daytime networking event. Looks like this fashionista was trying to have some fun with her outfit and wanted to add some fashion flair!
She gave it a good try, but unfortunately missed the mark on this one.
We are all for showing your creative side, but unfortunately this gold sparkle belt is not flattering or fashionable to wear day or night.
What went wrong?
When putting an outfit together, you don’t want all the attention at your midsection.
We’ve been seeing large jewels or sequins for daytime, but this belt has tiny sparkles and therefore looks inexpensive.
The casual scarf ( while a hot trend at the moment) is confusing the “look”… a scarf with some shine or gold thread might have pulled her outfit together better.
Wide belts usually work best when used to nip in the waist. They are harder to pull off down at the hip, unless you have narrow hips.
Belts are best in black or brown. If you opt for gold or silver they should be on the thin side.
Too trendy – If you want to be a daring, put your creative fashion feelings in 1 statement piece of jewelry, shoes or handbag. Most of all look in the mirror and if in doubt don’t wear it.
Less is more. Leaving off the belt or wearing one that was simpler would have looked much better!
After 40 we need to make sure we are not dressing too young or too old. See post below for a good example of how to wear a belt!
This belt is not flattering and the bow is too cutesy for my taste!
In an earlier post we told you to get rid of those self belts. Many of you asked, “and replace them with what?”
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!
This belt is leather in front and stretch in the back so it is comfortable!
Lucky me, (JoJami) was off to Paris for Mother’s Day and just got back!
My mother JoBee and JoJami in Paris!
Paris is one of my all time favorite cities and I have not been back in a few years so I was super excited to see what women over 40 were wearing these days!
Here we are…my mother in her new Cop Copine jacket and me in my orange, BCBG jacket that I bought last month (see post)…This jacket ended up being my everyday go to piece.
Even though it was May, it can still be cold there, so everyone was usually bundled up the entire time and layering and throwing on a scarf for warmth and style!
We found a charming and colorful scarf shop called Mandalas, and picked up a few there! (JoBee has her new scarf on!)
One morning, I stopped these two Fashionista’s for a quick photo shoot.
Ended up they were from Seattle, WA on a girlfriends trip to shop vintage. (The gal on the left was on a quest to find a wedding dress, Marilyn, on the right is a jewelry desinger!).
Gals on the street!
These two gals were looking stylish for being past 40 and 50! I was so surprised to find out that they were not French but Americans!They were sporting the all black look,that is so prevalent over there!
Vintage Prada
I saw shiny metallic shoes, handbags and tops, all over the place…on the young and not so young!
Talent and Style:
Chunky statement jewelry! Bigger is better on the streets of Paris. This is Marilyn’s own design, from her wholesale company, MB Beads!
Sequins go from day to evening:
It is hard to see in this photo, but under her lightweight ruffled jacket,she had on a gorgeous black sequin top that she had layered with a black long sleeved t shirt. It was one of their vintage finds…
Leggings and low heels:
How FAB are these little low heeled shoes with her leggings!
Dark skinny jeans and comfy flats:
Paris Hilton flats look perfectly great on her with her skinny dark jeans and sparkle top!
The best accessory is always a pooch!:
I could not believe all the women running around in high heels… This wonderful, Age-mazing gal came into the restaurant with her Burberry trench, oversised handbag, high heeled black pumps, large sunglasses, leggings and a dog!
She had just had her hair done at a local salon, it was short and very sassy! JUST LOVE the entire look!
Even the food is dressed up!
The women were lined up in all the pastry shops.How they stay so thin is a mystery to me!
This yummy cake was topped with sweet, wild forest strawberries.
When packing for a trip, it is smart to "try out" the outfits first!
When you are off to a trip, it can be mind wracking trying to plan what to wear!
So when packing for a trip it is great to make your outfits up first and then see how many different “looks” you can create.
We found that interior designer, Heather Clawson from Habitually Chic® has done just that with impeccable taste as she prepares for an upcoming trip to LA.
To see more wonderful outfit choices, you can visit her site, here!
Thisis dramatic and stunning! Don't forget the black scarf that tops it off!
Notes:
Flat shoes are comfortable and stylish
Love the oversized white tote
Simple colors all mix and match
Heather has expensive taste, however you can achieve these looks for much less and use them as inspiration!
Layering is always a good idea when heading out west, since you can never be sure it it will be hot or cold!
