VINTAGE DENISEBRAIN: How to wear vintage for the 40+ year-old woman, part VIII

I have come to the conclusion that you can spend several weeks reading about 40+ style and not even scratch the surface. Are we “age appropriate” wearing vintage over 40? Should we be so visible? Can we go all out with it? Can we be elegant? Quirky? Too elegant? Too quirky? Does caring about wearing vintage over the age of 40 even matter?

I am going to try to summarize my own thoughts on the subject in the next (and last) post. Thank you for hanging on while I’ve rolled out these many posts. I’ve learned a lot from so many people, including discovering many thought-provoking bloggers writing on the subject.

A roundup of ideas from across the web

I was inspired to write about wearing vintage for the 40+ among us by a conversation started by Theresa of Blue Velvet Vintage in the Vintage Fashion Guild Forums. As a long-time vintage fashion wearer and seller, Theresa was feeling the urge to show to others that vintage is not just for younger people. She showed a number of 40+ VFG sellers in her blog How to Wear Vintage Clothing if You’re Over 40, and included their tips and ideas.

Theresa is a stunning vintage dresser herself, and you can’t help but want to believe her when she says that 40+ year olds can wear their vintage any way they want to!

Jessica of the Chronically Vintage Blog recently wrote a thoughtful and detailed post on the subject (By request: Advice on vintage fashion for women over 40).

Jessica includes an interesting section on the mid-20th century phenomenon of clothing made for specific age groups. (Do any of you remember Mrs. Exeter?)

Some of my favorite takeaways from Jessica’s post:

Consider dressing in vintage from decades prior to your youth to avoid the impression that you are living in your own past.

Make the most of your best features with vintage. I love this point because various eras emphasized waists, backs, shoulders, legs... Consider vintage an open-ended resource for finding your best styles.

Jessica discusses what might work best in vintage-styled makeup and hair, a subject I can’t find many writers embracing.

She makes a list of classic fashion choices that have been neither “too young” nor “too old” since they first appeared.

I wholeheartedly endorse her “the more we age...the more important it is that we retain a sense of our identify through our fashion choices.” Jessica herself is in her early 30s; I look forward to seeing how all her advice evolves.

Lizzie of The Vintage Traveler blog covered the subject in her usual thoughtful way. Read Are You Too Old for Vintage?

The Suzanne Carillo blog has a post titled Top Tips For Shopping Vintage, and although it is not specifically aimed at the 40+ year old, her blog in general is filled with inspiring style ideas and photos featuring her proudly over-40 self.

If you are not already clued into the Advanced Style phenomenon, you might start by the collection of posts that reference vintage. I owe a lot of ideas and images to the inspiration presented by Ari Seth Cohen and the fashionable older people he has helped us to know.

One blog that is completely devoted to beauty and fashion for over-40 women is 40+ Style. Again, all an interesting read, but you might start with the posts on vintage.

Starting to form your own strong opinions on the subject? Please add to the list by commenting...or writing your own blog post. I look forward to reading it!