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Dealing
with Your Image After 40
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*A
monthly column devoted to helping women and men
be their best and most confident in any situation.
Topics include dress, body language, attitude and
etiquette.
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Victoria Seitz, PhD
Image Expert |
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As I come upon my 47th birthday, I look back at what changes occurred
in the past three years. The biggest change was my body - what
happened to my waist? What is this bulge in my abdomen? My hips
and my stomach, they all grew. I hated dealing with it and thought
it was temporary so I exercised more and nothing happened. So
reluctantly, I gave up my nice cashmere suits and fancy threads
and went up a size and shopped online with Land's End.
In Romania, my stomach grew some more but I was not willing to
buy another wardrobe. It has boiled down to exercising more and
eating less. No fun. But how do you dress now with your new curvy
body? Here are some tips that will help you hide what you feel
are liabilities and accentuate your assets.
- Buy what fits your body and not by size. The worse
thing is to see someone in pants that are about to bust at the
front or size zipper or in the back seam.
- No gaps up front. Buy blouses that fit your bust area.
- For your protruding abdomen chose A-line skirts, sewn
down pleats and side-slash pockets
- Consider gathers at the sides of the skirt front or
pleats. Make sure that the pleats don't pull.
- Consider also empire waist dresses.
- Avoid clingy fabrics, dirndl skirts, loose pleats,
straight skirts, snug waistbands and tight belts.
- For wide hips consider box style jackets that hit
at the waist or those that hit below the hips.
- Avoid straight skirts and pants, unless the top covers
the rear.
- Avoid pocket detail, back pockets, big plaids, horizontal
patterns and bias-cut skirts.
- If you are petite and have wide hips avoid the long
jackets and go for the box style instead.
- If you have a flat rear-end consider two-piece outfits
with overlapping tops.
- Also alter trousers to fit and consider gathered skirts.
- As well, make sure that pants fit smoothly.
- If you just have gained weight all over make sure
that you clothing fits well. If it doesn't it draws attention
to the problem.
- Choose well-tailored dark suits, and clothing that
accents the face such as scarves and jewelry.
- Consider smooth fabrics with tops worn outside the
skirt.
- Take narrow belts and wear them slightly below the
waist
- Avoid skintight or very loose garments
- As well, choose patterns that are in proportion to
your size but veer away from the bold patterns.
- Additionally, avoid bulky sweaters, unstructured jackets,
and colors that change at the waist
- Finally avoid wide belts and choose those that are
lighter than your pants.
Discuss
this topic with others right now at
The Salon!
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Victoria
Seitz, PhD is a professor of Marketing at California State
University, San Bernardino and is author of Your Executive
Image, AdamsMedia, Inc, 2000 and Power Dressing, DonJon
Publishing, 1991. In addition to teaching, Dr. Seitz was a fashion
coordinator for Burdines, Florida and in retail management for
Saks Fifth Avenue, Phoenix, AZ. Clients of Dr. Seitz have included
Abbott Laboratories, Northern Telecom, Texas Instruments, Yellow
Freight Systems, Sally Beauty Company, the United States Armed
Forces, Travellife magazine, YWCA and Accountants Overload, in
addition to law firms, hotels, newspapers, universities, banks,
credit unions, national and local community and professional organizations
nationwide.
To learn more about Dr. Seitz please visit her website at www.cbpa.csusb.edu/vseitz.
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