How to look fabulous at 40-plus: the new rules

IT’S not hard to look good when you’re in your prime. Just be a bit brave — in the right places.

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 14: Jenna Lyons attends the 8th Annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards at the Skylight SOHO on November 14, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images)

TO be clear, 40 is nothing. Nothing. Especially if you have good bone structure, wear a size 8 and can afford the best clothes, accessories and beauty treatments. The rest of us get a bit tired of being told that Fabulous at Any Age is what we all should be. Yes, we can wear what we like, thanks for that, but only the deluded 40-something isn’t making a few adjustments here and there. There aren’t many rules of 40-plus dressing, but I can confirm after several years of trying and testing that the following will not let you down.

Be a jeans obsessive: Said it before, can’t say it enough: keep updating. Ask not what style suits you best (answer, bootcut) but what is the shape of the moment and can you get away with it. Current hot tip for 40s who feel like Tweedle Dee in their skinnies — the new relaxed, less grippy skinny from 7 For All Mankind.

Get bodycon: Not as in buy yourself a bandage dress; as in take a long hard reality check. To be blunt, 40 is the age when women (it happens to us all) get a boost of positive body dysmorphia. Get past 40 and you think: I am hot for 40! I am wasted in these regular clothes; I am going to get a bloody short skirt and some party shorts and a really filthy low-cut top right now. This is fine. Confidence is good. But ask yourself, why have I not worn this stuff before? Am I having a 40 Flush? Should I ease off in one area? It could be that you have never looked better. In which case, carry on!

Say no to safe shoes: If your shoes are bang on trend and awesome, that’s instant anti-ageing points. By the same token, avoid normal-looking footwear — even if it’s the height of fashion. A mid-heel court, a nice plain loafer, a modest Mary Jane? Do not go there. Safe shoes will make your face look 10 years older, just as risky shoes, providing you can walk in them, keep you looking young and edgy. The woman who many would argue is the most ­admired woman in fashion, J. Crew creative director and president Jenna Lyons, 45, always wears Manolos (higher, sharper and sexier than anything her US brand does).

Say no to normal: Beef up the minimal. White T-shirt? Only if it’s beaded. Black tux? Only if it has a satin lapel. Past 40, colour, furry trims, a bit of sparkle (an earring) — feminine detail is the phrase that probably covers it — comes into its own. Plain and masculine gets harder to pull off. You may want to switch the black trouser suit for navy, the white shirt for a cream silk one.

Use your ears: For earrings or ear cuffs. If you’re still a purist and consider gold sleepers the height of chic, time to wise up. You are wasting two major accessorising opportunities — and they are on either side of your face. As with shoes, this is where you can afford to get extreme.

Start washing: You may already wash frequently. You may brush your hair a lot and go for a lot of blow-dries. Just in case you don’t do this and are more of a disciple of the school of Deliberately Dishevelled (“I could be dating a rock star … I am not all uptight and done and varnished … do you see?”), FORGET ALL THAT. Honestly, that should all have been laid to rest the year you left university, but if it’s still the philosophy underpinning your look, desist immediately. The just-got-out-of-bed look is strictly for the Cara Delevingne generation.

The right hair: Even if you’ve never thought about your hair, this is when you need to start. Too done and you’re a Republican wife; too undone and you’re Republican wife in rehab. You want to go luxe and lush (Gillian Anderson), sharp and glossy (Jenna Lyons) or professionally roughed up (Kate Moss). Too neat and ladylike adds 15 years, and unbrushed with greying roots a decade.

The horizontal cleavage flash: Also known as the three-button plunge (see Jenna Lyons), this is a particularly effective weapon for the over-40s because it is obviously sexy while not being in your face like the regular jellies-on-a-tray kind of cleavage. Less try-hard. (NB: jacket required.)

Get a ’tache wax: From now on, it is necessary to make an effort in the following areas that, to date, you have not much bothered with. Specs: bad specs make you look old faster than surgical socks. Pedicures: horny toenails are more of a turn-off than a ’tache. ’Tache management: even if it is blonde, please. Ditto yellow teeth, messy eyebrows, chin hairs. There is usually one chin hair that you think no one can see. “It’s underneath; I’ll deal with it later.” They can see it. And chin hairs — whether unfairly or not — remind people of incontinence pants. Yup. No time like the present.

Sunglasses: A cool accessory you can exploit to the max post-40. Also joint equal with sunglasses is a killer statement scarf (see the shocking-pink ones at Dior).

Bare calves: Get them out whenever you can. If people can see that your calves are smooth and tanned and glossy, as opposed to flaky and crepey and wrinkled around the joints, they will assume the rest of you is in similarly beautiful condition. Ha ha ha. Clever or what? (Victoria Beckham, 40, is still showing hers off in the shorter LBD, which is a shame since she looks way better in the new midi length.)

Arms out: If you can be bothered to do all that Jennifer Aniston weightlifting while watching TV. If you can’t, three-quarter or bracelet sleeves are a good alternative.

Furry gilets: Add a touch of glam to your jeans and sweatshirt. Allows you to keep dressing in a somewhat grungy, not bothered way.

Fishnets: The ones with the small holes. For the days when the bare calves must be put away.

Sheer hems: As in an above-the-knee dress with a below-the-knee sheer layer on top (a Yasmin Le Bon trick). That way, everyone gets to see your fabulous legs but you’re a little bit protected, too.

Luxe trainers: Maybe suede with sheepskin lining. Leave the Stan Smiths to the kids.

One “wow” fashion thing: For example, a jumpsuit instead of a trouser suit. Or a black dress with a neon popsicle fur scarf slung over it. Or a Shrimpy fake fur coat. Or a snakeprint jacket. Or leather trousers and green heels. This is a hard one to call because not everything bold and fashion-forward is a good idea. Now that they are putting Mary Berry in Ryan Gosling-in-Drive-esque satin Chinese print bomber jackets, we can see that quite clearly.

Don’t diet: Well, do if you’re obese, but a little bit of flesh on a 40-something is all to the good.

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