Friday 28 March 2014

Refreshing take on style


I always try to look for the silver lining especially when sitting in the dentist's waiting room. The primary consolation has to be the prospective removal of pain as the hole in my tooth is filled and I leave the chair with sparkly white teeth. I try not to think about the even bigger hole that's going to be left in the bank balance.

The fun silver lining bit really does come into play with the selection of glossy magazines for patient's perusal and the time to sit and read them. Ones with lovely fashion plates and interesting articles that you are half way through reading when the dental nurse calls out your name.
Almost an incentive to actually arrive much too early for my appointment.
Yesterday I was admiring a lovely dusky pink linen jumpsuit in Marie Claire when my time came. Fortunately it was after I discovered that 'the must have' buys for this year are forties and fifties inspired wearable items like palazo pants, skirts that fall softly below the knee and jumpsuits...clothes that not only are inspired by the 40's and 50's but are also appropriate apparel for ladies in their forties and fifties...even though the beautiful model obviously hadn't yet reached 20.

When I got home I indulged myself in a little more reading...this time blogs. One that I'm increasingly drawn to is the
Advanced Style blog written by Ari Seth Cohen that I stumbled across when looking for vintage clothes. There on his latest posting was a picture of his grandmother circa 1940-something also co-incidentally wearing a jumpsuit.

It's unusual because unlike most other fashion related blogs Advanced Style is refreshingly devoted to style icons in their seventies and upwards! Although some as you can see here are merely in their sixties...

images via
Since starting reading it a couple of months ago I noticed that thankfully this is a trend that seems to be being replicated on the catwalks. I discovered these images of models on the Yonji Yamamoto catwalk over on a pattern a day a couple of weeks ago



and before Christmas I noticed that some of the models in the Toast winter menswear section were not in their first flush of youth.....I just loved the fact that they dared to fly in the face of convention a little bit and were unafraid of nonconformity. I knew it would happen eventually.
The other trend that I really love is that of women in the public eye actually daring to let their hair grey naturally. When we first moved here I used to visit an accesories shop purely because the manageress who I think was in her thirties had the most amazing long grey hair that she would pile high on her head...she looked so good. I think it looks beautiful and as the grey streaks are appearing through my naturally ashblonde or as my hairdresser calls oyster and my sister-in-law calls green hair! (I've not quite worked that one out yet!)I think I will too...well that's the plan so far...




nb. and for once this is an occasion where the younger models are following the trend of the older ones.....images via

...I think I'll treat myself to March Marie Claire so I can show you the pink jump suit then you'll know what I was talking about...
ps you might like to read a little bit more about the grey hair debate in the Sunday Times here and here.

13 comments:

  1. What a fantastic post Deb! Thanks for sending us to the Advanced Style blog - amazing. I've just started to get a few grey hairs recently and while I keep praying that I'll get one of those great shocks of white hair at the front, my hair seems to have other ideas. I think it's a bit harder to accept the greys when you have dark hair but I'm willing to go along with it for now...

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  2. Thanks Caz. I've found Advanced Style compelling reading....such wonderful characters. I agree with you about the grey hair choice being harder if you have naturally dark hair, it must be more difficult to get used to.

    It's a choice I didn't think I'd have to make for ages yet because both my parent had really dark hair and got just those little distinguished bits going grey at the side and one of my older sisters, two years older also has really dark hair and I haven't spotted a single strand of grey yet.

    I remember as a child I was always concerned that my parents and three sisters had varying shades of both brown hair and eyes whilst I had blonde hair and blue eyes! My siblings would always tease me about the milkman! That was until we had a biology class at school on genetics and the model family in the diagram had exactly the same colour pattern, I get mine from grandparents. I remember the relief that day!

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  3. Funny you should say that about your sisters. My sister are both blonde with blue eyes while I'm brown hair and brown eyes. My mother had blonde hair and amber eyes and my dad had what he always referred to as 'Black Irish' colouring, black hair and blue eyes. Genetics are amazing aren'y they?

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  4. Such a great post ... and Advanced Style is such a joy for the eyes and a never-ending source of inspiration ... thanks for bringing it to my attention! :)

    I'll think of this post when I next visit the dentist and need to be a little braver than usual.
    :)

    I've been reflecting on getting older lately, and realise that I was probably more concerned about the aging process when I was younger ... which is kind of ironic really.

    PS. I can't wait to see the jumpsuit! :)

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  5. That's interesting Caz we come from reverse families! I hope your sisters didn't tease you about the milkman!

    Interesting too about the black irish colouring...I haven't heard that expression before but it totally describes a friend with Irish parents who had dark, dark hair and the most amazing blue eyes that seemed to be emphasised by the darkness of his eyelashes...sadly he doesn't have so much of the dark,dark hair any more! but still the lovely blue eyes...

    I agree that Genetics are fascinating....I'd love to know more about them...so much to learn....

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  6. Thanks Tracey....but I hope that your dentist visit will be later rather than sooner and that it won't involve any holes....just a clean bill of tooth health.

    Mine was rather self inflicted....I broke a tooth on a pomegranate seed when eating a big healthy salad!! Tough little things those pomegranate seeds!

    I'm glad you like Advanced Style, it's such an unusual blog...Oh and I will post the images of the jumpsuit....

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  7. Oh no...I've done it again...I was just looking for this post to share with Tracey of Clover-seven blog you can read herehttp://clover-seven.blogspot.co.uk/ and accidentally republished it...
    Sorry....
    debx

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  8. I really enjoyed this post! Thank you for sharing the Advanced Style blog--I love it! It is refreshing to see photos of stylish, mature men and women. As I grow older, I worry about dressing "too young" in an attempt to keep current--I need more examples of stylish dressing for women of a "particular age". I have the same dark hair as my mother, but whereas she was mostly gray by the time she was forty, I have only three or four strands.I intend to let nature take its course with my hair. I loved the videos of Jenny--what a beautiful woman.

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  9. Ah thanks Susan. I have the same problem. It's hard to get the balance right not looking dowdy but not mutton dressed as lamb. I think I might look to French woman for inspiration they always seem to get it right. I did start a little scrap book a few years ago of ideas, I should start it up again or probably record things on pintrest. Your hair is beautiful it reminds me of my sister Janet she has naturally very dark hair too.

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  10. I have recently been to the dentist (last week in fact) and experienced the same interruptions whilst totally engrossed in Vogue! Anyway me and my siblings all very dark with dark brown eyes, the youngest brother has gone the greyest so far my younger sister and I still dark with a few strands here and there of grey although over the last couple of years have noticed them more and more. My own children two boys two girls (bearing in mind hubby blonde with hazel eyes) 1st boy blonde brown eyes, - 2nd boy brunette brown eyes, 3rd girl blonde blue/green eyes, 4th girl brunette light hazel eyes. Genetics go figure. Loving the grey hair, although as I have said to tracey at Clover I think the cut is the most important and the colour second although some of these very silver ladies have beautiful hair, I feel my hair has actually aged - if that makes sense. Of course it was only a matter of time for the designers to realise that the baby boomers are the largest demographic!

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    1. Vogue...oh I love Vogue. My aunty had every single issue from probably the forties or maybe earlier. She bought it religiously, every single copy. They were stored in the glory-hole (cupboard under the stairs) in her home. When I was tiny, I used to sit in the glory hole and pour through all the magazines. Looking at all the beautiful ladies in there amazing gowns. As a treat, usually when I'm on holiday I'll buy a copy. I have my own teeny collection that I get out and re-read every so often.

      Genetics are(is?) fascinating. My husband is Iranian with coffee coloured skin, eyes like brown sugar and what was thick black hair and is now thick white hair. Our daughter Hannah had jet black hair and big blue wide-open eyes, with and creamy white skin when she was born. Her eyes remained blue but her hair turned golden yellow. All her aunties and uncles, on the Persian side of the family called 'Hannah Talla,' meaning `Hannah Gold.' They used to tease my husband that he couldn't possibly be the father. Her hair has darkened to a darker ash brown...underneath the henna.

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  11. This was such a refreshing post as I, as of late, have been pondering fashion for this over 40 mom of 10.I want to look fresh and stylish...not frumpy and definitely NOT, as you put in in a response to another comment, like "mutton dressed as lamb". I so love the feminine women's fashion of the 40's and 50's. And I too know a woman who has long grey hair that wears it piled on top of her head...it's so pretty!

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  12. Thanks Emily. From what I can see from the photos in your blog you look amazing. I am inspired by how calm and in control you appear to be whilst looking after so many others.
    debx

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