“Elegance is not the prerogative of those who have just escaped from adolescence, but of those who have already taken possession of their future.”  Coc0 Chanel

A wonderful bon mot from the divine Coco and  so like her … anybody who can design a jacket still  paraded today, albeit in a slightly different form, knows the true meaning of elegance and style.

How many of us can say the same thing?

Do we know the difference between fashion and style?

Coco also said, “Fashion fades, only style remains the same”.

And that of course, is absolutely true.

Which makes it hard to understand why it is that women of a certain age are clinging to fashion in an attempt to make themselves feel a little younger.

Trying not to judge (!), do they really not understand that style is something you create for yourself. Why  try and wear what  18 year old girls are wearing? … badly! It’s much better to take small pieces of fashion that suit you (a scarf, a colour, a pair of earrings, a well-shaped fully-lined jacket for example) and add them to something that creates a chic, stylish and elegant look; and this is the type of dressing that actually makes us look more youthful.

Fashion as it is today can be a depressing prospect. It seems to have been designed for girls in the 18 – 25 age group who are tall and slim. Which means there are very few girls who can really wear what is fashionable because there are very few who are tall and slim! There are a lot of fashion victims which begs the question “Who are these clothes designed for and which planet do they live on?”

We all know there is no such thing as size standardisation, which is hard to understand because nearly everything is made in China nowadays, and seriously, how hard would it be to standardise sizes in the country of manufacture?

And while we’re on the subject of lousy sizing, why is it so hard to design clothes for the average western woman? Don’t designers know what we look like? Do they never walk down the street? Probably not …

We are constantly subjected to magazine articles and TV shows which show us how to make-over women our age. Unfortunately, the women who are making over are seldom anywhere near our age (or they’re a man), and what do they do? They take items of high street fashion and cram a middle-aged body shape into a dress or a pair of jeans, combine it with a jacket that doesn’t fit, put them in a pair of heels in which they can hardly walk, provide an inappropriate hair style and make-up that frequently contains ‘sparkle’.  I think I would probably slap somebody if they did that to me!

The tight clothing and the obligatory belt  are there to “Show off their figure” but in reality, they would be far better in something that skimmed their ample curves (they are invariably amply curved), combined perhaps with long necklaces and v-necks, and high heels you can’t see! They would look taller and slimmer and would feel fabulous. And hair is tricky as you age … most of the make-over experts use hairdressers who do exactly the same thing to each make-ovee. And I don’t even want to consider going in the make-up direction …

Do you ever wonder if the make-ovees  are really so enamoured of what has been perpetrated on them, or are they in raptures through the sheer excitement of the show and the attention? A lot of women get very little attention in their lives … and seldom feel pampered. And all their friends and family sitting up and taking notice must be a wonderful experience.

It really is time that all women of a certain age took control of how they dress. I know, it seems such a silly thing to say but if you are still wearing clothes similar to those you wore 20 years ago and if you still have the same hair style, perhaps it’s time to try something new?

If you absolutely cannot decide what suits you and what doesn’t, especially as you may be dealing with a slightly different body, then get some professional help but please make sure it’s from somebody whose look you admire because you will at least know they won’t try and dress you like a Barbie. Oh, and make sure they don’t rope you in for a bucket of money! It is very easy to re-vamp your wardrobe and yourself on a minimal amount of money.

Once you have the basics, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to create your own individual  style … with elegance!