as for how to transition into dressing for your 30s…….well, i think that depends on a lot of things. first, i think the comment about the hemp-apron top is different and stemmed from 2 things: 1, you were dressed in hippie garb, which no matter how old you are, gets attention, even at something like a bluegrass festival. i learned that quick going on phish tour to all kinds of places where hippies don’t live, and even when we go to burning man, in the small towns along the way, people in grocery stores STARE at you. 2, most women in their 30s are too self-conscious to wear an open-back top like an apron top, so KUDOS to you for being happy with your body, and that comment was either made out of jealousy or, from a conservative point of view, was implying that you were “unladylike” for showing too much skin.

that’s something i know a lot about – being called or viewed as a “slut” for dressing sexy. in a lot of small towns, “sexy” and “slutty” are inseparable, so you either have to not care, or accept the fact that where you live, showing skin isn’t accepted and adjust your wardrobe accordingly. i would love to just say “screw them”, but i know for sure when i go to Michigan, i NEVER dress the same going out to bars there as i do in SF. no. way. so sometimes, yes, what’s ok to wear depends on where you live.

other than that, defining “age-appropriate style” is a little trickier, and i think that has a lot to do with where you live, for sure. most people in urban places consider “age-appropriate” style/activities to be an outdated notion. in places like SF or NYC, that idea isn’t as dramatic as it is in more conservative places. as long as you look good, no one cares if you’re 55 and dressed like Cyndi Lauper.

i think it’s OK to wear the same thing that younger women do, as long as it fits well and is, again, flattering. a lot of women don’t reach their full womanly-figuredness until their 30s (i sure didn’t), and then suddenly maybe the baby-tee with the tight low-rise jeans isn’t a good idea. also, things that are overtly juvenile – tshirts with cartoons on them – are also probably not age-appropriate anymore. basically, if you have to buy the XXL in the junior’s section to fit into something, it’s probably not age-appropriate. that’s more about size than style. there has been some recent press about “mother – daughter” fashion lines blurring, which you should check out: ezinearticles.com/?Have-You-Heard-the-Hottest-New-Fashion-Trend?-Mother-Daughter-Matching-Clothes!

so you kind of have to draw your own lines about what your comfortable in, not just based on what you LIKE, but how people treat you when you’re wearing certain things. in any case, just because you get older doesn’t mean you have to give up your fun clothes and start wearing Mom Jeans or dress like some kind of Gap commercial. be funky, be cool, be sexy – but just be aware of how comfortable or uncomfortable you both look and FEEL, and adjust accordingly.