Do you love clothes but get despondent flicking through glossy mags? They are filled with images of lanky girl-children with flawless skin, impossible waists and legs that go all the way up to their armpits. If you’re anything like me you’ll find their statuesque beauty hard to relate to if not downright depressing. As Baz Luhrmann says, ‘Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.’
Advanced Style is the book that will get you back into your fashion groove and feel great about strutting your stuff regardless. It’s about finding joy in self-expression and you’ll find your faith in the sheer creative joy of clothes restored.
Inspired by his stylish grandmothers, author Ari Seth Cohen took to the streets of New York with his camera four years ago to capture the ‘sartorial savvy of the senior set’. What you see inside the pages is fashion being lived and worn by real people – and all of them are over 50.
There’s no prescribed colour, cut or hem length. No seasonal look or tips on accessorising. The women on these pages have found their unique style and the results are inspiring, life affirming and joyful. I lent this book to my mother-in-law and I had to wrestle it off her to get it back to the library. She had shown it to her friends and they wanted to show their friends – it’s that sort of book.
Once you’ve found your own style then fashion magazines become inspirational rather than intimidating and contain endless ways to extend your repertoire.
And let’s face it, what’s the point of fashion if it isn’t fun? So dig out your glad rags and celebrate being you.
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