30 Days to 10 years younger--10 minute tips. Tip 25: Break some rules

I pulled myself out of a huge style rut when I realized what bothered me about Lucky magazine.

It wasn't the non-stop shopping they were advocating. OK, I'm not as shopping-crazed as their editorial staff, but who is? And I'm a big girl. I can deal with consumer-overload.

No, I resented Lucky because it made me feel old and out of it. I didn't "get" the outfits. I thought they were idiotic-looking.

The thing is, the people at Lucky break every rule I ever learned. And if you're as old as I am, you're old enough to have learned a lot of fashion rules. Remember matching shoes and pocketbooks? Or no patent leather during the winter?

Well, guess what? Young women don't know these rules. And if they do, they break them.

Following the rules is correct. It's tasteful. But it's going to date you. Here you are, fussing because you're in a rush and you have to carry a tan messenger bag with your black sandals. As far as a 20-something is concerned, you might as well be refusing to leave the house without your hat and gloves.

It's time to get ready to break some rules. So let's go all Diana Vreeland for once ... why don't you ...

mix brown and black?

Kasmira of What I Wore Today

or navy and black?

Kasmira @ What I Wore Today

Wear white shoes before Memorial Day?

Image from Laura J. London Loves Shoes

Wear a "Texas tuxedo?"

Image @ Coutorture

Or tights with open toed shoes?

Image courtesy of Amy Salinger @ Sassnstyle

Socks with sandals?

Fashionable People, Questionable Things

Metallics during the day?

from StyleHits 101

Sequins and metallics during the day?

Nubby of Nubbytwiglet

or a three-inch bright green rhinestone half-gecko, half-giraffe brooch?

while you write an entry for your blog?

(I actually don't have the half-giraffe/half-gecko pin. But I have the black rhinestone octopus bracelet. And I'm wearing it right now. With jeans. Because I'm a rebel.)

30 Days to 10 years younger--10 minute tips. Tip 23: Send in the clones

Every time I try to rejuvenate my look, I run into a problem that can end up paralyzing me. And paralysis = not making changes = right back where I started.

The problem is fear of dressing too young. And it manifests itself not by the time-honored query "does this dress make me look fat?" but "is this too young for me?"

If this has never crossed your mind, you're dressing too conservatively. If you want to look and feel young, you're going to have to take some risks. Sure you can stay safe and secure in your cashmere twin sets and gray flannel trousers. You won't offend anyone. But you'll be dressing like an old lady. I say put down the Talbots catalog and live a little.



The question is how young can you go? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you can easily dress 10 to 15 years younger than your chronological age. Not only will nobody be offended, they'll think you're stylish as hell.

Now, the question is, what's the easiest way of dressing 10 to 15 years younger? Easy. Find a celebrity whose style you admire and copy her.



I'd love to pretend to be a style guru like many of the bloggers I read, but I'm really more of a makeup and skin care person. When it comes to clothes, I've been examining, dissecting, and stealing the brainy style ideas of other, better-dressed women since I was a sophomore in high school.


So pick a celebrity who's the right age--10 to 15 years younger--and use her as your style guru. I don't mean run out and buy what she buys; nobody can afford that except another celebrity. But examine her outfits and incorporate aspects of her style into your own.

Say hello to Jennifer, my celebrity style crush. Now, I don't look like her at all. I lack her golden tan, blonde hair, banging bod and hunky ex-husband. But her simple, pared down style really appeals to me. I admire and respect celebrities like Chloe Sevigny and Bjork, but they're too extreme for me. Jennifer Aniston is perfect. She goes bare and glamorous at night, and always looks wonderful on the red carpet. But it's her day time outfits I like best.


So that's my advice. Find a celebrity who's a good 10 years younger, and steal as many style pointers as you can from her. I'm generous, so I'll even let you use Jennifer.


After all, I'm probably not the only woman who spots something cute in a store and wonders WWJD?