As we get older, I’ve noticed more and more that when it comes to fashion, we’re looking for comfort as well as style. Long gone are the days of being uncomfortable to look stylish. Thinking that to be in pain would all be worth it if you looked fashionable.
Now I’m thinking, but will I be comfortable in this? True, I do still opt for a pair of high waisted trousers, which aren’t necessarily uncomfortable per se, but they’re not quite on par with my pyjama bottoms.
Shoes are perhaps where I struggle most. I still seem to buy high heels which look beautiful but ultimately, leave my feet red, swollen and in pain. I only tend to wear heels for special occasions now, so I tell myself it’s worth it, but finding a pair of heels that are both stylish and comfortable to wear, is definitely on my “need to invest in” list.
So, what changes? Why when we’re younger do we wear uncomfortable crop tops, ill-fitting jeans and towering high heels (more so than now)? Is it because we’re experimenting? Finding our feet? Discovering fashion? Following the no-go rule of style over substance? As the years tick by, we’re better versed to finding style and substance. Perhaps we have a little more money to spend, we now know our body type and have grown up enough to know what suits us, and what doesn’t.
It is all part and parcel of growing up though. We must experience those awkward stages – the experimental teenage years, the sometimes-wearing-less-than-nothing clubbing years – to reach a point where we have found our personal style. I sometimes feel that, especially girls, are missing out on this stage now altogether. They are reaching that early-20s stage of feeling more confident much, much earlier. There are no fashion faux pars – no wearing matching stripy socks and denim skirts with your BFF (yes, really) – or embarrassing photos to look back on.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it just means they are missing that all-important style evolution. The journey of discovering what their personal style really is. You have to go through the bad – and the ugly – to truly find the good. It may take 20, 30 or even 40 years, I certainly still haven’t reached that point, but it’s worth it. Some of the most confident women I know are in their 50s, because they’ve finally cracked what makes them feel their happiest and at their best when it comes to fashion. Style isn’t the only requisite that makes a person reach this point, I know that, but it’s surprising how much of a positive effect it can really have.