I’ve seen a lot of horrors cropping up on the high street – dresses with massive slashes at the hips or midriff. The idea of “cut-outs” usually makes me feel a bit sick. leather boots, £129, Zara Prada sunglasses, £376, Sunglass Hut earrings, £180, Aeyde bag, £29.99, Mango Left: Alberta Ferretti Right: Jo wears: Jersey top, £78, Reiss wool kilt, £135, Celtic & Co. So these days I look for the quietly sophisticated ways to nod to the big trends. I’d hate anyone to think I’m desperately trying to look younger. That said, none of us wants to look as though we’re in denial about our age. They have wildly different styles, but share an inspirational attitude to ageing glamorously and boldly. Two of my favourite fashionable women are Trinny Woodall, 59, and the former model and Instagrammer, 70-something Linda Wright. It’s important to me as I get older that I never look like I’ve given up. I don’t feel that pressure any more, but it turns out I still love getting dressed every day. Every outfit felt like another audition for my job, so looking like I had a clue about trends was vital. My outfits were regularly given a judgy once-over at parties, front row at fashion shows or even just at the office. I’m braver than her, because she’s in that self-conscious phase when standing out in any way is seen as a fate worse than death.Ĭlothes used to matter a lot more in my working life, when I was an editor of women’s magazines – most notably Glamour and the Mail on Sunday’s You. ‘‘That’s… a choice,” my teenage daughter will deadpan as I leave the house wearing feather-clad shirt cuffs. Yes, my husband finds my more experimental outfits (like my rainbow-striped jumpsuit) a bit much, but my Instagram followers laugh with me when I post the hashtag #clothesmyhusbandhates. In fact, I genuinely credit my interest in trends, and my love of getting dressed each day, with keeping me feeling visible. But as actress Michelle Yeoh said at the Oscars, “Ladies, never let anyone tell you you are past your prime.” It’s why I think now is the time to lean harder on fashion. We’re forever hearing that middle-aged women become “invisible”, that society would like us to slip into a hessian sack and please sit at home and watch telly, while politely awaiting death. Am I too old to wear fashion’s biggest trends? At 53, I think I’m too old not to.
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