Dear friends. Looking back on 2024, I realise I've learnt a few lessons and thought these might resonate with you.
Lesson One: I Love Retro!
2024 was the year I went big on a 60s-inspired retro look. Having recognised at last that my style personality has some gamine in it, this made perfect sense.
I'd always thought it would be too difficult to find suitable pieces in the right colours. Not to mention, would this style make me look dated, in a bad way?
My first acquisition, the lime dress with crochet overlay, was picked up in a local charity shop. I then discovered Voodoo Vixen, who sell new pieces with retro looks. That's where I got the navy and white dress. The white Mary Jane shoes were also new, from Jones Bootmaker
I got more confident in terms of experimenting with things other than dresses. The cute cat jumper went very well with one of my shorter Boden skirts.
My two most successful outfits, in terms of likes/comments, were the gold brocade dress, and the Madcap England dress, below.
If you want to start collecting retro, there are four main ways:
- Brand new, from companies like Madcap England, Joanie, Voodoo Vixen and Top Vintage. Most of these have clothes from different decades, so if you like 40s, 50s or 70s style, they'll have outfits to suit.
- Genuine 60s vintage in excellent condition, from various sellers on Etsy. They will give specific measurements for every garment and it's important to make sure these are right for you.
- Charity/thrift shops
- Vinted and eBay. Set up searches for the type of styles you're interested in. I'm always looking for Peter Pan collared tops and dresses!
- Amazon is good for low cost boots, like my white ones. They were described as "fancy dress boots" but don't let that put you off. Flat T-bar shoes are also excellent and available from many places including Next and Boden.
Lesson Two: Keep Experimenting
I prefer myself in shorter or knee length skirts, being petite, but that doesn't mean I never wear longer styles. It's important to keep experimenting. Sometimes a longer style surprises me, like this denim skirt from Kettlewell (current).
I wouldn't have considered these striped trousers either (Cotton Traders) but I was pleased with how cool and easy they look. (NB - I never noticed at the time that the neighbours' cat was on top of the pergola!).
Lesson Three: I Learnt my Best Colours
I can't recommend enough the value of finding out which colours suit you best. It's amazing to see the journey that women go on, over at the Facebook Kettlewell Colour Club. Their confidence soars, and they are excited to wear all the colours of their season or tonal definition.
I already knew I was a Spring, but colour consultant Amanda Richardson gave me my
10 best colours from the spring palette.
Lesson Four: Less is not a Bore
I'm not referring to this in the Iris Apfel sense. She said: "More is more, and less is a bore," and famously wore lots of jewellery.
I refer to having a lighter wardrobe.
I was feeling stifled by the number of clothes I have around the house: in the attic, under the beds, in various cupboards. A lot of it doesn't work for my retired life style. I'm going through it in terms of deciding which pieces give me joy (the keepers) and the pieces that need to go, even though they made me happy when I was working, or going to glitzy events. This also applies to jewellery and shoes/boots. Every time a bag goes to the charity shop I feel lighter.
Lesson Five: Ignore the Click Bait "Don't Wear This" brigade
We're always seeing posts on social media and in the papers where women, usually a lot younger, dictate what older ladies should be wearing.
There's some value in it when the woman giving the critique is a well dressed female of our own vintage. It is quite easy to look staid when your personality is anything but.
There's a lot of psychology in what we wear. When I've been overweight I tried to hide it by wearing loose clothes, mostly in black, even though fitted with belts still looks better. Here's a reminder.
If certain styles make you feel confident, don't give them up just because some trout lipped influencer in her 20s thinks she can lecture us. And don't take any notice when told that leather, short skirts, shorts and so on make the over-50s look dated / Mutton / desperate. We should wear what we like. Clothes spark joy. One of the benefits of being older is that we dress to please ourselves and our friends.
What do you think of my learnings from 2024? Does any of it resonate? Do share in the comments.
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