It's great to be a woman in the prime of life, even if juggling the home/life balance and all the endless multi-tasking that involves can be a bit exhausting at times. Finding clothes to fit all your roles can be difficult, though…
Career Coach
Different careers have different dress codes, though even in some formal office environments things have relaxed a little in recent years. Even so, in many careers a great business suit is a definite investment. That's not just fashion-speak; there's evidence that looking and dressing the part can impress your bosses and accelerate your promotion!
There are business suits for all body shapes. Choose a style with a defined waist, rather than something too boxy. Boxy styles make anyone look bigger around the middle, whereas something with a waist need not be uncomfortably close fitting.
There's a bit of an 80s power dressing revival going on at the moment, with double breasted styles and gilt buttons, even exaggerated shoulder pads getting a new lease of life. Avoid these styles if you have an ample bust! And be careful about these styles if you wore them the first time around….
A big bust demands a lower cut jacket - perhaps a low, one button fastening - to create a V that slims and narrows the chest.
Wider hips and thighs can be skimmed with a longer line jacket. The sleeveless shift dress and matching coat combination, if in something business-like, such as a fine wool pinstripe, can also work well, with the addition gratification that when you sit down and slip off the coat, your slim shoulders and arms can be revealed!
Trouser suits for work don't follow the same logic as other fashions. Pretty much any trouser shape goes, as long as it suits your legs. Unless you are a 'tall petite' with long thin legs, tapered and cigarette pants may do no favours, but straight legs, boot cuts, and wide legs can all be worn - just avoid the latter if you have a short legs/long body shape. In all cases try to keep your trouser length long enough to cover most of your shoes, and keep shoe colours tonal with your trousers. Short boots are good with trousers, as they keep the leg-legthening one colour line going even when you are seated.
At Ease
There comes a point in every woman's life when she looks in the mirror, and though she's happy with what she sees, she starts to think…"Can I really wear that?" The diagnosis is 'fashion anxiety'. Changing jeans shapes, the rise and fall of asymmetric hems or gypsy skirts, the toes and heels of shoes, all the surprises fashion springs to keep things fresh can be perplexing. At work things are a bit easier, as the dress code applies, but relaxing, shopping, having a good time with family or friends, can bring on an attack of fashion anxiety.
The reality is, you can wear what you like, but sometimes it's easier not to think about it at all and to stick with the styles you wore, say, in your twenties, even though you are hitting 40. If that's you, it should ring alarm bells. It's not difficult to update your look without looking desperate or sad (and it's easy to look sad if you never update your look).
There's a use-by date on miniskirts and bare midriffs (cruelly determined by the state of your thighs or the toned-ness of your abdomen), but otherwise just use your powers of observation. If women your age, whether celebs in magazines or just people you see around you, look good in something and it suits your shape, trust your judgement - it'll work on you, too. There are no styles a petite woman can't wear - just keep things in proportion. Smaller prints, narrower belts, shorter scarves: scale down to suit your physique.
