Small Changes for Modesty and Dignity

Ladies, I am finally willing to admit that I have entered the middle phase of my life. My life revolves around parenting, house maintenance and hoping to get today’s bills paid before something else breaks tomorrow. All in all, it is a good phase of life, I am happy, and I am making an effort right now to embrace it with dignity and grace. I am of that indeterminate age, somewhere between 35 and 50, and I have noticed that I can’t tell anymore whether the other parents around are older or younger than me, we are all about the same. A woman just 5 years older than me feels about my age, but a woman 5 years younger, a hot chick under 30, is at a totally different stage of life.

With that in mind, I spent some time this morning looking at what other women were wearing at Mass, in the hopes that I can do a good job of “dressing my age” without getting frumpy. I was pretty impressed with a few simple changes that I can make to my wardrobe which will keep me able to dress in current styles without looking like a grandma or a Forever 21 wanna be.

I wanted to share three key things which I am going to keep in mind for my summer wardrobe.

1) Make sure that skirts fit or are a little bit loose. Buy a size up if needed to achieve this. A skirt that is a little bit too small tends to slip up and become too short as well! On the other hand, a skirt which is a little bit loose will still be appropriately just-above-the-knees when I sit down, and will not cling to my backside making it look scandalous, regardless of its size.

2) Tank tops under criss cross tops and dresses. The lady in front of me was wearing a very stylish dress which had a cross over front, very flattering. In the past, I shied away from that style because you lean over to tend to a child and when you stand back up, if things have slipped at all, you are now sporting major cleavage. However, this lady of indeterminate age was wearing a pretty camisole which was just high enough to make sure that she was appropriate, no matter where her top moved.

3) Close toed shoes or sandals with a slightly stacked heel. I know that it is counter intuitive, but I noticed this morning in mass that older women in sandals look really old or inappropriately casual. I will save flip flops and even Jack Rogers for pool side, and where real shoes for mass, shopping and other outings.

With these three things in mind, I think that I can still wear very current, stylish clothes while looking and feeling put together and appropriate. Do you have any other tips? Have you taken a look at the elegant women around you to try to learn something from their style?

Can I also add that I sometimes, especially in summer, notice bad clothing in mass, but today when I made a point to keep an eye out for elegance I was pleasantly surprised at how much I saw! It’s a reminder that I should spend more time looking for the good around me!