The Longmont Senior Center hosted "Fashion on the Cheap" taught by a fashion consultant and personal shopper named Adrienne Hynes. The class focused on the topic of good looks for older women (55+) to be accomplished as cheaply as possible. (I suppose anyone who can afford couture dressing is already getting good fashion advice.)Happily, she is not a fan of the Lollie Look (Little Old Lady). "Posture and presence," she advised, along with jewel tones, boots, scarves and ponchos. "Attitude matters more than your clothes." However, the seminar had nothing to do with altering or transforming either attitude or posture.
We were asked to arrive well-dressed and to bring two outfits. I was happy I talked my more elegant sister-in-law Carol to go with me. I admit I showed up looking silly trying to put together an artist get-up for the receptions coming up, and I brought one suit too small which I have hopes of shrinking back into this year. (The instructor advises dressing in what you have, not what you hope. Sigh.)
She advised us on the fit and possible accessories to jazz up the ensembles. Fit should be body skimming, not baggy nor tight, no matter how fat or skinny one might be. Everyone complained about their flabby arms (long sleeves) and scraggly necks(scarves). For lengths you can't beat skimming the knees. Given the swollen knees us older ladies have, any shorter than that is disgusting. She also recommended tights for a longer look. For skinny women, horizontals; for chubby, vertical. This was not news. "The more the better," she said, "not just stripes but lines of buttons, cut of the dress." Hmm.
Senior women should give up on pastels and wear jewel tones, which look good on nearly every skin color, she said.
As for cheap, the goal is to update our closets for pennies on the dollar.
1) Her top recommendation was to buy at thrift stores, where she recently purchased designer shoes for less than $10. It is still possible to find silk scarves with hand-rolled hems for a buck. Pennies on the dollar. Of course, it's all a mystery what you might find there.
2) Selective purchases at Ross, Kohls, Target and Marshalls, especially during sales.
3) Accessories: "Forever 21" and "Not Your Daughter's Dress Store," two places I've never been.
4) Consignment stores: more expensive than thrift stores, but more likely to get brands like Coach and Prada. Haven't been to "Fabulous Finds" in Longmont, yet, but it comes highly recommended.
We took a field trip to the local Goodwill, which happened to be Seniors day with a 30 percent discount, so I got three nice blouses and a yellow purse for $13.00. Thrift stores in Boulder were recommended for superior merchandise. She mentioned a skanky place she goes in Denver that she claims is so dingy it must be run by the mafia with no dressing rooms but great quality stuff. Goodwill was clean, had nice dressing rooms, and not very impressive stuff.
We brought our stuff back and played with hats, belts and scarves, which can make a surprising difference in creating "A Look." It was easier to see this on other women.
The instructor did bring ponchos to sell, a hot item this fall to be worn with boots and belt. I bought one, brown and tan, reversible, very snuggly, makes me imagine myself as a tall, curvy cowgirl. Ha! As for fashion on the cheap, my opinion is that you can get the best deals in the summer. That's when you can spend Friday and Saturday browsing garage sales or church rummage sales. Still a few in the classifieds this fall, but another few weeks and that's it. At yard sales you can find nice, even new, never-worn items for less than pennies on the dollar, often for one or two dollars. I bought my black lambskin jacket for $10 at a yard sale (Motorcycle Mama!) and a gorgeous tailored red leather jacket for $35 perfect for fall. As they say, retail therapy without the guilt. We Boomer and Senior women need fashion as much as ever.