Sexy and not so young...
There's a wonderful thread about being sexy over 50 that got me to write a long comment. I thought this might be of interest to some of the people here as well, and I would love to continue the discussion...
What makes you feel sexy but not like you're dressing too young for your age?
Let me preface this by saying I’m a 46 year old freak (we reclaimed the term in the late 80′s). One of my friends named my style dainty punk a number of years ago and it still fits. I also live in LA where it’s temperate to hot year round, so heavy fabrics aren’t a large part of my wardrobe.
I’m bald, with visible piercings and a gorgeous tattoo that runs from my shoulderblades to my ass and which I like to show off whenever I can. As I get older I find that my style has changed, and that I still feel (and based on comments look) sexy even though I’m not wearing tight miniskirts and clothes for 20-somethings anymore.
I still love corsets and corset back tops to show off the ink, but I often wear fishnet or stretch lace under them now whether sleeveless or with sleeves. I wear a lot more thigh high stockings with garter belts too - that hint of skin when I move is hot. For professional situations I favor fitted collared shirts and unprinted ‘baby-doll’ or long sleeve t-shirts.
For everyday wear I like princess seamed dresses or skirts - form fitting to the waist/hips and fuller skirts in lengths from above the knee to the floor. I also always have on heels unless I’m barefoot at home (mostly because it changes my gait and walking doesn’t hurt as much, but it doesn’t hurt the way my calves look or my leg length either - like every woman in my family I’m starting to shrink). And I wear a lot of brightly colored sarongs (mostly ‘celtic’ prints) as skirts - they wrap my waist twice and hug my curves without being vulgar - you can also add a foot of grosgrain ribbon on each end to get the wrap if you’re not as thin as I am.
I love high waisted skirts with slits up the sides to around the knee (and ankle length ones that are slit to my hips for the club), and slightly longer than mini-length ‘foofy’ skirts (again for the club). A tuxedo cut (ankle length in back, knee-ish in front) skirt or dress is an excellent way to show off your legs without being too bare and are great without stockings when it’s warm.
For going out I also favor see-through or semi-opaque skirts - layers of tulle, patterned organdy, etc with ‘boyshort’ panties underneath. It lets me show off my legs without wearing stockings all the time, and gives a great silhouette.
As for colors and patterns - lots of black, blueish greys, white, and jewel tones. And simple geometrics or curves, oversize houndstooth, plaids and pinstripes. I also like embellishments - anything from a textured velvet around the hem to el-wire hooping to black-light reactive thread at the seams.
My style is a bit more sophisticated than it was when I was younger, but a lot of my staples are 20+ years old - a good cut never goes out of style as long as it still fits well. I also find that for blacks (I favor cottons except for the club) I re-dye them regularly now which I didn’t do - faded black doesn’t work as well anymore.
For some more ideas on how the aging freak dresses well, the ‘elder-goth’ communities have some amazing finds. People like Siouxsie and Kambriel and Amber (from http://nopants2011.com/) often have more formal styles than I do but they show options that may give you starting points to look sexy whatever your age.
What makes you feel sexy but not like you're dressing too young for your age?
Let me preface this by saying I’m a 46 year old freak (we reclaimed the term in the late 80′s). One of my friends named my style dainty punk a number of years ago and it still fits. I also live in LA where it’s temperate to hot year round, so heavy fabrics aren’t a large part of my wardrobe.
I’m bald, with visible piercings and a gorgeous tattoo that runs from my shoulderblades to my ass and which I like to show off whenever I can. As I get older I find that my style has changed, and that I still feel (and based on comments look) sexy even though I’m not wearing tight miniskirts and clothes for 20-somethings anymore.
I still love corsets and corset back tops to show off the ink, but I often wear fishnet or stretch lace under them now whether sleeveless or with sleeves. I wear a lot more thigh high stockings with garter belts too - that hint of skin when I move is hot. For professional situations I favor fitted collared shirts and unprinted ‘baby-doll’ or long sleeve t-shirts.
For everyday wear I like princess seamed dresses or skirts - form fitting to the waist/hips and fuller skirts in lengths from above the knee to the floor. I also always have on heels unless I’m barefoot at home (mostly because it changes my gait and walking doesn’t hurt as much, but it doesn’t hurt the way my calves look or my leg length either - like every woman in my family I’m starting to shrink). And I wear a lot of brightly colored sarongs (mostly ‘celtic’ prints) as skirts - they wrap my waist twice and hug my curves without being vulgar - you can also add a foot of grosgrain ribbon on each end to get the wrap if you’re not as thin as I am.
I love high waisted skirts with slits up the sides to around the knee (and ankle length ones that are slit to my hips for the club), and slightly longer than mini-length ‘foofy’ skirts (again for the club). A tuxedo cut (ankle length in back, knee-ish in front) skirt or dress is an excellent way to show off your legs without being too bare and are great without stockings when it’s warm.
For going out I also favor see-through or semi-opaque skirts - layers of tulle, patterned organdy, etc with ‘boyshort’ panties underneath. It lets me show off my legs without wearing stockings all the time, and gives a great silhouette.
As for colors and patterns - lots of black, blueish greys, white, and jewel tones. And simple geometrics or curves, oversize houndstooth, plaids and pinstripes. I also like embellishments - anything from a textured velvet around the hem to el-wire hooping to black-light reactive thread at the seams.
My style is a bit more sophisticated than it was when I was younger, but a lot of my staples are 20+ years old - a good cut never goes out of style as long as it still fits well. I also find that for blacks (I favor cottons except for the club) I re-dye them regularly now which I didn’t do - faded black doesn’t work as well anymore.
For some more ideas on how the aging freak dresses well, the ‘elder-goth’ communities have some amazing finds. People like Siouxsie and Kambriel and Amber (from http://nopants2011.com/) often have more formal styles than I do but they show options that may give you starting points to look sexy whatever your age.