How to Wear Animal Print for Women Over 40

Embracing Animal Print Fashion After 40

How to Wear Animal Print for Women Over 40

Love it or hate it, animal print is everywhere once again this season.  And I have to say that it is my guilty pleasure! 

I say guilty, as when I was growing up in the UK we had (and in fact still have decades later!) a series on TV called Coronation Street, set in Manchester and one of the main characters, a lady called Bet Lynch, used to wear head-to toe animal print which was deliciously unsophisticated and in bad taste!

Of course, when the animal print actually came from real animals, it was only worn by the rich and famous, so was considered incredibly sophisticated.  Luckily, now, we have very good quality imitations, so everyone can participate, without cruelty.

Timeless Animal Print Looks for Women in Midlife

Stylish Animal Print Outfit Ideas for Women in Midlife

Animal print, especially leopard print, is considered a “neutral” as it goes with almost anything and any other colour.  I love it with red – it really seems to make both the print and the plain red “pop”!

Although it can be worn head-to-toe, like Bet, if you aren’t a dramatic style personality, I would recommend just sticking to one item, like a pair of trousers, a shirt, or perhaps a coat or jacket and mixing this with plain colours.  Or if you just want to dip a toe into the trend, then a bag or a belt in the print is a good way to start.

Mixing Animal Prints with Other Trends for Women Over 40

Mixing two current trends together, I love the wide leg, animal print jeans, that are in all the shops at the moment.  They are a really good look for women our age, especially the high waisted style (make sure the material isn’t too stretchy though as you want your tummy held in by the style, rather than highlighting it) and are very flattering.  If you are petite, go for a style that isn’t too wide and the print is smaller, so it doesn’t engulf you.

As I mentioned above, animal print also looks amazing with red, which is another hot trend this autumn and all sorts of different shades – one for everybody – can be found in the shops now.

Choosing the Right Animal Print for Your Body Type Over 40

There are lots and lots of variations of animal print –

Cow, Crocodile, Giraffe, Jaguar, Leopard, Snake, Tiger, to name a few.  They also now come in all different colour combinations and print size.

If there is part of your body that you don’t like to draw attention to, then keep the print away from that part, or keep the print very small and subtle.  Conversely, to draw attention away from that part, wear it on the other half of your body.  For instance, if you don’t like your bust area, wearing animal print trousers or a skirt, will draw attention away from your top half.

Snakeskin can be slimming, as the lines created by the design of the skin will elongate the area they are on, making the eye travel downwards, giving the illusion of length.

A bold giraffe print, because the pattern is bigger, is a harder print to wear and is probably best kept to accessories, or a coat.

How to Transition Animal Prints from Day to Night for Women Over 40

Animal print can look amazing for both day and night wear.  An animal print dress can be worn with boots, and a cardigan or jacket for the day-time, and then for the evening maybe add some elegant heels and a wrap for the evening.

Similarly, a skirt or trousers in animal print can be worn with a sweater during the day and then maybe a silky shirt and velvet ballerina shoes for the evening.

An animal print jacket can be slung over a cocktail dress for an edgy evening look.

The little black dress can be jazzed up with an animal print handbag or shoes.

The possibilities are endless!

The Dos and Don’ts of Wearing Animal Print After 40

As you will know, I am not a fan of fashion rules.  I think if you are to follow your instincts and dress for the person at your core, following rules is the antipathy of this.  However, that said, I would recommend caution with animal print and only wear it from head-to-toe, if you have a very dramatic style personality!

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Let me know in the comments what you feel about animal print!

How Mindset Is All Important - Empowerment for Midlife Women

The Midlife Mindset Makeover: Thriving in Your Prime

Art is good for the soul and for your mental health - stay with me on this one ...!

This has been scientifically proven, but I don’t need any sort of report or Government Enquiry for me to know that I always feel so much better mentally when I have been to an art gallery, visited a museum, gone to a classical concert or watched the ballet or opera.  There is something about the arts that speaks to me.  They still my mind and calm my soul on the one hand, but also stimulate me and inspire me on the other.

And in Italy, of course, you are surrounded by art, culture, and beauty wherever you go.  Even in a small, tucked away hill town, you will find stunning artistic works in the humblest of churches.  The countryside is breathtaking and everywhere you turn you will find another wonder to marvel at.  And it heals me every time I go there.

As Tennessee Williams said in his Memoirs - "As soon as I crossed the Italian border, my health and life seemed to be magically restored. There was the sun and there were the smiling Italians.” 

And I feel just the same. 

I am incredibly lucky that part of my life is spent living and working there. As soon as I step off the plane, or cross the border in a car, I, like Ilene Modica (Our Italian Journey) feel like I am home.  A sense of completeness comes over me and I like the person that I am when I am there.

What it is that makes me feel like that is hard to put my finger on, but it is like the final part of the jigsaw has been slotted into place.

Mental health is very much a hot topic at the moment and rightly so.  We, especially women, have a tendency to put everyone else first, fit so much into our days, find it hard to say no and end up running ourselves ragged, day in and day out.  We also have been programmed to feel guilty of spending time on ourselves, and also money on ourselves.  Investing in ourselves is bottom of the list and even gets pushed off this position when something else comes up.

But our mental health should be top of our list.  We need to start to look after ourselves and putting ourselves first.  As the saying goes “you can’t drink from an empty cup”, so in order to be able to give to others, we need to replenish our own reserves.  We need to change our mindset and re-frame our internal conversations, so that we acknowledge that we are important, and we deserve to be treated by ourselves, the way we treat others!

My happy place - Tarquinia!

As I say, I am very lucky that I have found my happy place and can make it my home and I realise that not many people have that same kind of freedom.  But I do believe that it is possible to still find yourself and obtain that sense of completeness by setting out to find who you really are.  That person may have been mislaid through the years, but he/she is still there, under all the layers of responsibility, broken dreams, different turns and decisions that have had to be made along the way.  To do this you have to strip back all the layers, lay to rest all the triggers that affect your mindset and remove the negative energy from people around you. 

It takes time and is an emotional journey, but the end result, of a more confident, positive and empowered you, is worth it.  YOU are worth it. You need to find who you are at the core because that person will never change.  It might be pushed out of shape a bit through the years and it may have been pushed right down to the bottom of your to-do list, but when you find it again, you will then have that coming home feeling.  Everything will suddenly fall into place and your self-confidence and self-assurance will come back. 

We have two images, the outer image we portray with our clothes and the inner image that is in our head.  These two may not coincide!  Have you ever had the feeling in your head that you look like, say, Audrey Hepburn, in the outfit you are wearing and how it is making you feel, but you catch sight of yourself in a shop window and look so totally different from that internal image, you feel disorientated and completely deflated?

One’s self-image can be so powerful that people have been known to see themselves as having no legs and don’t feel complete until they have their legs amputated!  This is a condition known as Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and although this is obviously a very extreme case, it serves to show how powerful your internal image can be.

If you see yourself, in your internal image, as a fat, frumpy 50 something woman, then until that internal image has been reformed, you are never going to feel comfortable or happy in your outer image.

Some people feel ugly on the inside, but can be considered extremely beautiful, or are considered plain on the outside, but feel internally very beautiful.  The internal image is the strongest – no matter how you look externally, if you feel beautiful and worthy on the inside, this is going to shine out of you and dazzle everyone you meet.

This is where Style Coaching differs from image consultancy.  We help to change that internal image to a positive one. No amount of change of clothes, hairstyle or cosmetic surgery will help if this isn’t done first.

I would be honoured to go with you on your journey to find the you that is at your core - for more information click here or email me at info@elinorsalter.com

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Finding your Brand Style

Whether you are employed or work for yourself your brand image is very important - here's how to do it

You only get one chance at a first impression - You will probably have heard that expression, but it is oh so true and can bear being repeated.

How you present yourself to the world, tells so many stories about you before you even open your mouth.  In fact, people will make their minds up about you almost from first setting eyes on you.

So, you really have to think about what impression you want to make and what story you want to tell. 

This is especially true in the workplace.  Again, the phrase “dress for the job you want” will be familiar to you, but again it is true.  No one is going to take you seriously if you are in a professional environment but yet you dress casually or scruffily.  You might say to yourself - well, it is my work they should be looking at, not how I dress. 

Whilst this is partly true, I always use this analogy – You are looking at two houses with a view to buying one.  They are identical in every way, same number of rooms, same size gardens, same price, etc.  But one is beautifully decorated, the gardens are well tended, the outside is immaculate and the other has peeling paint, rotten windows and weeds all over the garden.  Which one are you going to buy? 

The same is true in the workplace.  People will always gravitate towards someone who is well dressed and groomed, as that makes them feel as if they are in safe hands.

One of my favourite designers, Muccia Prada said, “What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today, when human contacts are so quick, fashion is instant language”.

Covid and working from home changed the dress code for work completely.  In some ways this has been a relief for a lot of people, but in other ways it has caused even more confusion and self-doubt, as the unspoken rules are now so wide open, we are not sure where we are. 

“Normcore” as it became known, is however, now being replaced by “corpcore”, a smarter more tailored look, which is also spilling into everyday wear.  Putting on armour in the form of a smart suit, gives both a sense of comfort and an invincibleness that projects confidence and self-assuredness. 

This new (old) way of dressing projects self confidence and a sense of capability, which will give you an edge over the competition immediately.  And isn’t it better to feel empowered in what you wear, rather than slouching around in sweatpants and hoodies, or the like?  Isn’t it also better to have a definition between what you wear for lounging and socialising and what you wear to work?  I can remember the wonderful feeling of casting off my school uniform in the evenings and putting on jeans and a top to enjoy my leisure time! 

Self-expression is always a good thing – one of the most important things I teach in style coaching is to find out who you really are and dress for that person – and I think that women especially are allowing themselves to be more feminine and vulnerable and not dressing like men would in the workplace, or how they think men would dress if they were women!

Therefore, your brand, whether you are in business for yourself, or you are working for a firm, must be given a lot of thought and the work put in, as what you wear is your “shop window”, it is showing people how professional you are, that they can trust you and that they are safe in your hands.

Your work wear might well be a smarter version of your leisure wear, or might be a completely different vibe.  Work out what your capsule work wardrobe will look like and build on that.  Look at other colleagues for inspiration, or go on to sites like Pinterest to get ideas of how you want to look.

If you find that the dress code needed is a bit dull and boring for you, look for ways to liven it up with jewellery and accessories, or a jazzy tie or socks, to make your work wear feel more “you”.

It is well worth investing in well made pieces in good quality fabrics for your work wear.  Remember that they are going to be worn a lot and go through a lot!  You will be commuting in them, sitting for hours, leaning on desks, getting in and out of cars, buses, trains, etc.  So, fabrics that crease, pull, shine or bag, are not only going to last for less time, but will annoy you and make you feel crumpled within no time!

Italian brands always give value for money. They are always well cut and made to last. If you want to be well dressed and have an edge on your colleagues, then this is the way to go!

Shoes are the other thing to invest in.  Comfort and style can go hand in hand, and a good, clean shoe, is something people always notice.

Even if you work from home, don’t be tempted into gym clothes or pyjama styles.  It has been proven that dressing like this affects your work attitude.  And, honestly, what is the difference between working from home and going to the office, apart from the fact that you might only be seen from the waist up?!  If you dress for yourself, rather than for other people, then of course you should dress smartly for work, wherever you are – if you don’t respect yourself, then who else will?  The clothes don’t have to be “over the top” smart, but they should still make you feel good about yourself.  As with shoes, style and comfort can still go hand in hand!

Whatever you decide on for your work “brand”, there are certain criteria you should bear in mind –

• If you work for a company, then their dress code, spoken or unspoken, should be adhered to out of respect to the company and to yourself.  This is the same if you are an entrepreneur in a certain industry, you might want to reflect what your “tribe” wears. For instance, if you work as a business coach, turning up to your clients dressed as a punk rocker might be a bit unnerving!

• Your outfits should be comfortable and fit for purpose.  You don’t want to be spending your day pulling down a skirt hem or fiddling with a too tight shirt collar.

• You should feel able to walk into any situation dressed as you are, from a board meeting to a casual client lunch, so you feel confident and empowered.

  
  

So – what do you feel about the clothes you currently wear to work in?  What changes could you make to be the best version of yourself and feel empowered whatever the situation? What tweaks could you make so you have a “professional wardrobe” and a “leisure wardrobe”?

 If you would like to find out more about finding your personal brand image, then Click Here for more information. I would be honoured to help you!