Below Jane Pangbourne talks about body positivity. You’re 50 Plus so own your style and be confident! …
So, you’ve reached that certain age when the topic of losing weight has really worn thin (if you’ll excuse the pun!) If you’re anything like me, you just want to get through your day feeling calm and in control of your life. Preferably looking amazing at the same time obviously. You certainly don’t need to be reminded that you are a little curvier than you once were!
You’re an intelligent woman. You can see the changes in your body thank you very much!
There lies one of the issues I see and hear every single day. You either have no idea HOW to look and feel amazing right now or you are so heavily influenced by others’ idea of how you ‘should’ look that you’re totally stressed and overwhelmed every time you open your wardrobe.
Do you really care what body shape you are or what the rules are for dressing your shape?
Don’t Worry What Others Think!
I certainly don’t stress about it anymore, but at 51 years old, it’s taken me a long time to get to where I am with my confidence and body positivity. I pretty much spent my whole life until I was 49 years old, worrying about other people’s perception of me, until I decided to be better than that.
Having had a short pixie cut for 20 years I grew my hair long and changed the way I viewed my look, to the point of knowing what works for me and not striving to fit in with everyone else.
I am unique and of course – so are you!
Let’s be clear on this! I am not an advocate of reaching the age of 50, popping on a blue rinse and spending my days baking in my slippers and housecoat! We 50+ women are a different breed to that of our mothers. And so we need to learn to love the body we have right now. Whatever journey we are on.
You may wish to lose weight to improve your health. You may wish to improve your confidence levels so you can be brave enough to wear a sassy dress to the Xmas party? Or you may just be sick of feeling rubbish about your look and want to stop spending time and money on clothes you never wear!
In order to dress well for your shape and your individual style you should consider my:
3 Top Tips To Fashion Joy
- You have to be comfortable in the item! I only realised 2 years ago that I am not a size 7 shoe but am actually a size 8!! No wonder my feet were always so sore! The reason for this was simply that when I was growing up there were no nice shoes above a size 6 so I took size 6! When size 7 came in years later, I took a size 7 but never moved beyond that. I was stuck in a rut of not really knowing myself.
- The fashion item needs to showcase YOU and your style. Your personality is key to your confidence and as I said to a client recently: You can be professional and formal at work without losing yourself in the process.
- The item needs to be appropriate for the event. So, wearing a pair of summer shorts to a formal dinner wouldn’t work. However if you have a pair of legs you want to show off there are plenty of elegant ways to do this while still enabling you to be authentically you. Perhaps wear a short shift style dress in your favourite colour. Better overdress than underdress!
Easy To Get It Spot On
It really isn’t difficult to move from getting it very wrong for your look, to getting it spot on!
For example, if you are a voluptuous Cello shape (similar to an hourglass – think Jennifer Lopez); you will probably have a smallish waist and some lovely curves, so you can be brave, BUT aim for tops that show off your chest. If you try to cover up, you’ll look frumpy – so no high collars, and when wearing fitted clothes make sure you buy items made from high quality materials as the cheaper ones will cling to every lump and bump.
When wearing trousers as a Cello or hourglass shape, aim for leg lengthening styles like boot cuts and wide fit, but If you can’t resist a skinny jean then balance this with a wider looser top which reaches your hips therefore not enhancing your wider hips and bottom. 
Top Tips For Body Positivity
If you try on an item of clothing and need to spend more than a few seconds adjusting it to make it sit properly on you, or if you take more than a few seconds to like what you see in the mirror, then that outfit is NOT for you, so move on and save yourself time, money and stress. If it’s not right now, it most certainly won’t be right when you get it home. You need to dress to suit your style and personality so, go ahead….break a few rules along the way.
Jane Pangbourne – Body Positivity Coach
You can also find Jane on FacebookBodyPositivityCoach
