The 8 Fall Fashion Mistakes Women Over 50 Need to Stop Making

Some of the biggest fashion trends this fall could actually make you look older. Today, I am showing you eight fall fashion mistakes I would be very careful of after 50 and what I would do instead. Our first fall fashion mistake is wearing head-to-toe autumn. You know exactly the outfit I mean. Brown trousers, brown sweater, camel coat, brown boots and maybe a brown handbag or scarf as well. Tunnel dressing can be very elegant but when every piece is dark, muted and similar in texture, the outfit can become heavy and flat. Instead of seeing the woman first, all you see is one big block of autumn color. Brown does not have to be your enemy. The mistake is wearing so much of the same depth and texture that nothing lifts the outfit. What I suggest you would do instead is introduce contrast. Try chocolate brown with pale blue, camel with crisp white, olive with cream and navy with camel. Then mix the textures cashmere with leather, wool with silk, suede with crisp cotton. Even when the colors and shades are very close, the change in texture gives the eye something to notice and gives the outfit more life, more oomph. My pro tip is less autumn uniform, more individual style. By the way, are you subscribed to my channel yet? No? Please click on the subscribe button now. A second fall fashion mistake is letting the shoes ruin your outfit. In my experience, footwear is the most important accessory. Shoes can make or break your outfit. Fall always brings back heavier footwear, chunky loafers, bulky boots and those awful backless loafers that look like the back has been trodden down. Some of those can look modern with the right outfit but a shoe can be fashionable and be completely wrong with the outfit and the clothes you are wearing and your own proportions. It is not what you want to wear but what the outfit needs that is important. For instance, it wouldn't work if you have a heavy loafer with a delicate trouser, a bulky boot overwhelming a slim ankle or a backless loafer making an elegant outfit look sloppy. This is what I suggest you do. Look at the scale, the shape and the finish of the shoes. If your clothes are refined, do not choose footwear that is heavy looking. If the trousers are elegant, choose shoes that are also elegant. So, try experimenting with a number of shoes and see what your style and the outfit prefers. My pro tip is the shoes should complement the outfit, not fight with it. A next fall fashion mistake is wearing dark autumn colors close to your face. Every fall, we see black, chocolate brown, rust, olive and deep plum come to the fore. Many of them are beautiful but they don't mean they look good on you. Many of you have told me that you are already noticing changes in your skin tone. So, wearing dark shades close to your face can be particularly aging. What I suggest you do is to hold the color close to your face in natural light. What do you notice first? The eyes and the skin tone or just you have suddenly bags under the eye and you look tired? What do I suggest you do instead? Wear the fashionable color but move it away from your face. Wear them on your trousers, a belt, a handbag or your shoes and wear the colors and shades that suit you close to your face instead. My pro tip is fashion tells you which colors and shades are available. Your own coloring tells you which ones to wear. I know you may have been admiring my beautiful bracelet. This is handmade by Sarah from Poshabella Jewelry. She makes beautiful bespoke jewelry using designer buttons and this one is from Chanel. Gorgeous! I will put the link down below to Poshabella Jewelry in the description box. Please check her out. A next fall fashion mistake is wearing the same fall outfit you have been wearing for 30 years. Maybe you have your own autumn outfit formula and you're styling it like it's 1999. Of course, nothing is technically wrong with it. Maybe it's all still fit but you know the silhouette, the length, the footwear change over the years and an outfit can date long before we notice it. And you know you change as well. You have to dress for the woman you are now, not the woman you used to be. But you can still feel like yourself. What I suggest you do instead, do not replace the entire outfit. Replace one or two elements. Change the jean shape or try a more current pair of boots. Replace a long waterfall cardigan with a shorter more structured knit jacket. Just show that your outfit has continued to evolve alongside you. My pro tip is train your style eye. Even one or two updates can bring the whole outfit into the present. Do any of these mistakes resonate with you? Let us know in the comments. Our next fall fashion mistake is taking the menswear trend too literally. I for one love borrowing elements from menswear. A beautifully cut blazer, a crisp shirt, a nice pair of loafers or even a tie. And they can look incredibly chic on a woman. But there is a point when menswear inspired pieces start looking like men's clothes. And the overall effect can look quite severe on us mature ladies. Take some of the leather jackets we are seeing this season. A very boxy shape, high zipped neck, wide shoulders and heavy finish can look identical to a traditional men's jacket. The whole outfit will harden your features. What do I suggest you do instead? If you are going to wear masculine pieces, ensure that you pair them with feminine ones that will soften the whole look and balance the outfit. And this will add some welcoming contrast to the outfit. By the way, talking about contrast, if you want to know more about how French women use contrast in their outfits, check out my French Wear Masterclass. The details are in the description box below. Our next fall fashion mistake is choosing a trendy print or detailing that dates you. One of the easiest traps this fall is assuming that just because it is back in the shops, it will make you look current. It does not. For instance, a leopard print gilet can look dated when the shape is already old-fashioned and a heavily embellished cardigan can quickly age you. So what can we do instead? I suggest choose one strong detailing instead of four or five. If you love an even print, try it in a scarf or belt. If you like embellishments, keep it to one detail only or choose texture instead such as lace. The point here is not to avoid detailing, embellishment, some prints or your personality. It is to prevent the detailing from overwhelming and aging you. My pro tip is a trend should make you look current. Many of you liked the twirl in my previous video, so here's today's outfit with a quick twirl. Our next fall fashion mistake is letting comfort, volume, and layers hide your shape. There is nothing wrong with an oversized blazer or wide-leg trousers. The problem starts where every piece is oversized. Then we add the comfort pieces, the loose elasticated waist trousers, the floppy cardigan, and finally the layers can cut the body into blocks. For instance, a long top, cardigan, and coat all landing at different points. Individually, none of these pieces are wrong per se, but put together, they hide your shape and you, the woman, inside your outfit. So what can you do instead? I suggest you control where the volume appears. If your trousers are wide, keep your top more structured, leaner, and closer to the body. If your coat is oversized, allow the outfit underneath to show some shape. Look for comfort, but with a structure. For instance, a knitted jacket instead of a floppy cardigan. And when you layer, preserve that vertical line and minimize the horizontal ones. My pro tip is, look at your whole outfit in a full-length mirror and ask yourself, can I still see me in this outfit? Our next fall fashion mistake is assuming just because a piece is fashionable, you should wear it. Fashion gives you choices, but you decide just because you can does not mean you should. If you want to know all about layering this autumn, watch the video on screen now.