Style: Mixed Chicks Tell How to Rock the Hair Your Mama Gave You

Mixed Chicks are Wendi Levy and Kim Etheredge

Today we're so happy to talk to the chicks behind Mixed Chicks, a cruelty-free and vegan natural hair care brand specially formulated for multi-textured hair.

1. What is the most important thing women in their 40s need to know about their hair?
That they are stuck with what God gave them!! Actually that now that we are in our 40's there is no better time than now to take chances and wear the styles you never thought you would. If you're looking to go natural go for it. Whatever your heart desires you should fulfill.

2. Let's talk about style: What worked back in the day that won't serve us well today?
I would have to say the jheri-curl and the shaved look on the side. Now women can wear their hair in a curly style without the greasy, smelly product that can ruin your clothes and pillowcases and have curls that flow and move naturally. There are so many products on the market that can help one achieve the look for their specific curl pattern. In the 80's it was popular to shave off one's side of the head and women today were trying to bring that back. It's not really in your best interest because the waiting time for your hair to grow back in and the awkwardness of the way it looks is enough to stay away!

3. What advice does Mixed Chicks give to a woman who has a radically different look for work and for play?
Versatility Rocks!!!

BONUS GIVEAWAY: "Like" us on Facebook between now and July 1, 2012, at www.facebook.com/40licious and get the chance to win a free Mixed Chicks leave-in conditioner, perfect for your gorgeous summer hair.

Mixed Chicks offers a complete hair care line at more than 350 stores and will be expanding to more than 700 in July, including Target and target.com.

Style: How to Fix a Hole in a Cashmere Sweater

While our boots straighten themselves up in the closet, anxiously awaiting to traipse and frolic in the chill of fall, our cashmere tends to come out beaten and defeated from wily critters that take a bite from the most inconvenient places. It makes me sad.

Here's a cashmere sweater I got for $1 at the thrift store. I figured I could darn the hole, but as I looked closer I got a better inspiration: Patch it. In a cool way.

So I ransacked my fabric bag and found the remains of a T-shirt I'd recycled as a dress for a friend's baby. Then I found an image of a bird silhoutte I liked online, and to make it the right size, just copied it to a Word document and expanded it. Then I cut it out and traced around it on the T-shirt fabric, and sewed it on with black thread.

Sad for me but happily for someone else, it turns out this sweater is a little TOO complimentary to my bustline, so I will end up passing it along.

Send in your stories and pictures of [clothing] salvation and we'll feature them on 40licious!

I liked the bird so much he lives on my window now.

Style: Don't Be Invisible

If you have to be invisible, do it like Jessica Alba.

My husband, Steve, and I got on the shuttle bus that took us from the LAX terminal to get our car. A woman in a pink sweatsuit got on. I looked at her. Matronly, short haircut. Of no particular color, just ashy. Maybe some makeup. Maybe some glasses. And then I realized she was about my age. In her 40s. I felt overwhelmingly sad.

I turned to Steve. "Tell me please, if I ever become invisible like that."

Now I don't know any back story on Pink Sweatsuit. Maybe she's a fashion rock star by day and she just happened to get off a 24-hour trans-Pacific flight from somewhere exotic. I'm talking more about the complaint I hear more and more often from my 50licious and 60licious sisters. "I'm invisible." They feel ignored by society and passed over in public. They have to speak up to let people know they are there.

But then I think of the women I know who are not invisible: All my 40licious girlfriends. My aunt Corinne who looks exactly the same as she did in 1970, not a gray hair on her head. My cousins Elizabeth, Maggie and Siobhan, who are whip-smart, funny as hell and have never stopped turning heads. My mom, an ethereal being with her long white hair, quip for everyone and prima ballerina posture.

Maybe sometimes you want to be invisible, like when you have a cold and have to slog to the grocery store for some Nyquil. Or when you're walking the dog and going straight back to bed after. Or maybe you just had a baby and it's all you can do to put on your own clean underwear. Other than that, I can't think of any good reasons.

Here are some 40licious ways to avoid being invisible:
1. Take a second to put on lip gloss, even if you aren't wearing other makeup. Even if you are alone. I carry about six with me at all times.
2. Comfy clothes that fit well = good. Comfy clothes that are roomy enough to hold a family of wombats and their friends = bad.
3. For your hair, pick a color. Any color. Just pick something. And if you can't "do" something with it, add a cute hat, scarf or pile it in an knot on your head.
4. If your wardrobe and eyeglasses are from the presidential era of George H.W. Bush or before, you need to go shopping.
4. Stand up straight, make eye contact, and smile.
5. Exercise regularly, or start walking places. Your chi, or life energy, is your true beauty.

Style: Sylvie Levine on How to Wear Jewelry, Day or Night, Work or Play

"I feel that a woman in her 40’s is more secure and centered in her personal style. I think she is less affected by trends and desires pieces that are more meaningful and lasting."

Jewelry designer Sylvie Levine knows a thing or two about how to rock your rocks: She was born and raised in Antwerp, Belgium in the center of the world’s diamond trade. The third generation of her family to be in the diamond business, Sylvie developed a passion for both all of the business at a young age. Today, her collection, Sylvie, is gaining traction in the fine jewelry industry. She works along side her husband designing diamond engagement rings, wedding bands and bridal jewelry, and is dedicated to helping every bride find the perfect ring for them.

Sylvie Levine is so gorgeous she doesn't even NEED jewelry to shine.

1. How does our relationship to jewelry change when we're in our 40s?
I feel that a woman in her 40’s is more secure and centered in her personal style. I think she is less affected by trends and desires pieces that are more meaningful and lasting. I hope that most women are in a place where they are comfortable with who they are—and that confidence allows us to be more in control of our fashion and jewelry wardrobes. At this point in our lives we can say what we want and what we deserve… And, then, we can even purchase it for ourselves! In our business we see customers having more of a disposable income and willing to make a self purchase.

2. What does a woman's jewelry say about her?
A woman’s jewelry is highly personal and makes a statement of about her style, individuality, creativity and/or personal values (ie: religious symbols, etc).
A woman in her 40’s knows what she wants to wear because she is more certain of what makes her look and feel good. She is also able to communicate that better and seek it out more than she might have in her earlier years.
Some women may choose really bold items, which would tell you about her bold personality and comfort to show it off. Others prefer classics or sentimental items, which can show their feminine or romantic side.

3. Are there do's and don'ts for day/night and office/play, or does anything go?
Maybe it is because of my European upbringing, but I’m inclined to say that in 2011 anything goes! We live in a culture that is no longer restricted—so business environments are leaning towards casual attire and women are no longer forced to wear pantyhose and full makeup to work. If you love diamonds, why be limited to when you can wear them? Being a designer that primarily works in diamonds, I tend to keep my larger more showy pieces for evening and wear my more wearable diamond pieces during the day. I like to guide my customers to pick jewelry that can be worn with jeans, casual outfit, as well as with a dressy outfit. The beauty of fashion today is the mix of casual and dressy—and high and low-end designers. I think a great pair of diamond studs can be easily worn with jeans, a pair of flipflops or Louboutins.

4. What advice would you offer someone who wants to go into the jewelry business?
My first advice would be that you have to be very passionate about this industry. Secondly if you are going into fine jewelry it does take a large amount of financial commitment. The advantage I’ve had is that I have been able to work from a young age in different areas of the industry which all culminated into what I do now. It helped tremendously to understand all the different aspects of the business. The personal and emotional side of it is very rewarding and challenging as a designer and the face of a growing brand.


5. Anything else you'd like to share about being 40licious?
I’m living the best decade of my life right now!! I have learned to stick to my own values and not worry about what others think or how others live their lives. One of my favorite quotes applies to that “To Be Yourself in a World That is Constantly Trying To Make You Someone Else, Is The Greatest Accomplishment of All,” Ralph Waldo Emerson. I would not trade my 40’s for my 30’s – I say it to all my younger friends who worry getting there. We are so much wiser and therefore more confident and clear about our paths.

Fashion: Fashionista's Most Influntial List Includes Women over 40

“There are a lot of people over 40, those are the people leading the industry. They’ve been around longer and they know how it works.” 

Iconic Vogue editor Anna Wintour

Fashionista, a fashion news and resource website, recently revealed its Most Influential People in New York Fashion list. Among them were at least five women over 40.

• Vogue editor Anna Wintour
• J. Crew designer Jenna Lyons
• Vogue stylist Grace Coddington
• Japanese and Italian Vogue editor Lori Goldstein
• Former Barney’s fashion director Julie Gilhart

To determine the winners, said Fashionista’s executive editor Lauren Sherman, “We used our own knowledge of the industry, combined with advice from industry sources. We also considered each candidate’s consumer reach–through sales, media, etcetera .”

Sherman said that we tend to think of fashion as a young industry, and it’s really not. “There are a lot of people over 40, those are the people leading the industry. They’ve been around longer and they know how it works.”

The traits the leaders share are that they are creative, willing to adapt to change, and they’re developing new ideas – all important in an industry that is in a constant state of flux.

J. Crew designer Jenna Lyons

The legendary Vogue editor Anna Wintour is especially influential, for example, “because she makes a lot of deals behind the scenes, referring young consulting designers, serving as a bridge between retailers and designers.”

“Someone like Jenna Lyons is just such an amazing example for all women,” Sherman says, citing Lyons’ balance of family and work life. “ There’s so much talk about that you can have it all – that idea is dated. You should have a full life no matter what that means.”

Designer fashion is a 40licious game, as mass retailers target women in their 20s. Sherman said. “Women under 30 can’t afford most designer stuff. On a designer level there’s a lot of stuff for women in their 40s.”

Sherman says that there are no hard rules for 40licious fashion. “Women should wear what looks good, don’t just follow trends. It’s about researching and finding your own style. “It’s never too late.”

See the Fashionista 50 slideshow.

40licious Style: Breast in Show, or, Don't Rock Your Boobs at Work

Breasts: Something we can all get behind on Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine’s Day. I’m very aware that we’re all in different places romantically – some of us are blissfully partnered, others are happily single, some in relationships about to implode, and still others are unsatisfied going it alone. So we’re not going to talk about love in the regular way.

The thing I would like us all to celebrate today -- one of the few things we 40licious women have in common -- is our breasts. If you’re not completely titillated with them already, I want you to fall in madly love with yours, be they perky, ginormous, re-created, enhanced, barely there or the source of an infant’s feeding frenzy. They are the first part of you that enters a room, so treat them accordingly. Dress them. Take them out for a walk. Admire them in the mirror and perhaps write a little poem for them. 

Author Elisabeth Dale

One of the breast, er, best experts on the subject is Elisabeth Dale, also known as “The Boob Lady.” She’s the author of “Boobs: a Guide to Your Girls.”

Although all women own their breasts, expert Dale says that really, there is only one entity that claims them in this country, which she calls the “Breast Industrial Complex”: The porn industry.

“The porn industry has an exclusive lock on showing nipples, so nobody in the general public gets to see them. So when people try to breast feed in public people freak out. All they are is part of a baby bottle when you’re nursing. To see people to reject nursing in 2011 is insane to me.”

Nursing is good for the baby, and also good for preventing breast cancer, she says. It’s Dale’s job to take the bewilderment out of breast ownership, and to stop feeling bad about them.

“Our boobs are like living targets, they’re constantly changing,” she says. “We often see the ‘ideal’ breast in the media, on a 20-25 year-old. Very few women look like that. Most of those women are photoshopped. Cleavage doesn’t exist in nature – it’s a bra pushing their breasts up to their chin.”

DRESSING YOUR BREAST
Whether it’s from gravity or pregnancy, your breasts will be different than they were at 25. Same as if you gain or lose as little as 5 pounds.

“There’s a great deal of wisdom behind the 40-year-old breast,” Dale says. “A 25-year-old might not appreciate her body. A 40-year-old woman is more comfortable in her skin, unless she has major body image issues. She understands that nobody’s perfect, only 1 percent of women have a model figure. “

To best dress your breasts, she says that a professional fitting is crucial – and NOT from the Victoria’s Secret, where the fitters are generally very young, but from Nordstrom or a small boutique with a variety of bras. The good news on the lingerie front is that there are more choices than ever for beautiful lingerie in any size.

“If you’re physically active, wear a really good sports bra,” she says. This will help prevent pain and tissue stretching. Those of us who rock a large B, C or bigger cup should get an “encapsulator” bra that separates the breasts. Our sleeker sisters in an A or small B cup can get away with the “compressor” bra (that sometimes results in the dreaded “uniboob” if it doesn’t fit right).

We know our breasts are beyond powerful. Presented properly, they can steal the show and cause immense distraction and distress. Not to mention the sexual pleasure they bring to everyone involved.

But Dale has a word of advice for bringing them to work: “If it’s not in your job description, don’t write it in.” Cleavage in the workplace doesn’t help your credibility unless you’re a waitress or in the entertainment industry.

“You wouldn’t wear shorts to a job interview, you wouldn’t wear tennis shoes with a suit,” she says. “What’s the message you’re trying to send?”


The next post with Elisabeth Dale will be about the breast health – how to get it and keep it.

40licious Style: Faux Fur

Today's contribution comes from the smart folks over at The Thread via Yahoo!'s Shine site. They say that women in their 40s should go for an elegant, classic fur look. I'm thinking about those Blackgama ads on bus shelters that used to captivate me as a child in New York. It's all the fun without the cruelty.

Sophia Loren, 1982

 

If you want to see more Blackgama glam through the ages, check out Fashion's Most Wanted.

40licious Style: Shopping and Organizing Your Closet

This is our second post from an interview with Audrey Beaulac, who tells us things we probably already knew, but couldn't put into words.

Audrey Beaulac is very 40licious

Style strategist Audrey Beaulac wants you to throw out anything you don’t love, doesn’t make you feel good, or is no longer working for you. Especially your fat clothes.

“Like a big handbag, big sweatpants will fill up. When your normal clothes start feeling tight, that’s the warning for you to cut back,” she says.

But perhaps none of your clothes fit that well anymore. “You have to be realistic about who you are,” she says, and your 40s is a really important time to define your style. “A lot of clothes in your closet come with a story. You should only have good stories in your closet. Get rid of the self-recrimination in your closet.”

Assessing takes a while. Leave some space to thoroughly go over what you can let go from your closet, and to understand what is still working well. “It’s OK to like what you like,” Beaulac says.

What if you’re still not sure if something is a tosser? “Get your picture taken in it,” Beaulac says, “then get ready to work. Instead of condemning yourself, get ready for some feedback. When you do it on film. You don’t have the same projection cycle as you do in the mirror.”

The trick to keep in mind is to play up your assets and make sure the clothes you keep are highlighting the good stuff you’ve got. If you focus on something you don’t like about your body, say a poochy belly or wide hips, chances are you’ll subconsciously draw attention to them in your clothing. And no matter who you are and how you look, a little advice from Mom goes a long way: keep your posture long and straight, and keep your voice strong but soft.

Jared! Throw out your fat pants!

For building your improved wardrobe, Beaulac suggests starting with the basics: your underwear. As your body changes, chances are your bra size will too, and you most likely are due for a bra fitting. “Be realistic,” she says. She suggests Nordstrom or Linda the Bra Lady. “Look for silhouettes that make you feel good about yourself.

The rear view is equally important – there should be no pantylines. “Spanx are great, but remember, anywhere you squish in, it’s going to come out somewhere else,” Beaulac says.

When you’re ready to move forward with your wardrobe, don’t pay attention to size – fit is what matters. If you’re ordering online, measure yourself and match that to the site’s size chart. And don’t get too attached to the product until it arrives and it works. “Internet ordering is getting better and better about returns,” she says, calling out Amazon.com, Zappos and Boutiques.com as good examples of pleasant and efficient shopping experiences.

She offers this caveat, however: “If you’re looking around and there are boxes all over the place and the clothes are not making you feel very good about yourself, you need to reassess.”

Feeling forlorn about how to conquer all this? Arrange a clothing swap, aka “Naked Lady Party” with your girlfriends. It’s the perfect excuse to take a harsh edit of your closet, takes some risks with new looks, and get honest advice from people who care. Best of all, it doesn’t cost a dime and you can donate all the leftovers to charity.

NEXT UP IN 40LICIOUS STYLE: FINISHING TOUCHES

40licious Style: Dressing the Part

From Tahari

There is a lot to love about style strategist Audrey Beaulac. First, there’s her career trajectory – she’s been on staff at Yale School of Drama costuming department, and has directed the look of a $700 million Hyatt resort in Hawaii, from desk to top-ranking staff. She’s been trusted by politicians, executives and other VIPs to help define their look and “visual signature.” But the main reasons I love Audrey, whom I met nearly a decade ago in Seattle, is because she is so smart and funny and warm. She’s the kind of person who tells you straight up how it is, in the nicest way possible. The knowledge she imparted to me back in the day of an eclectic closet and uncertain personal style have served me well to this day.

Today, she divides her time between Washington, DC and Seattle and is the go-to style reference for authors such as Charla Krupp, Danielle LaPorte and Laura Leist.

I interviewed her about what people – especially women – need to consider as they navigate their 40s. We got so much that we ended up with what will be a series of postings on 40licious Style.

Today: Dressing the Part: How Women in Their 40s Claim Authority

Women in their 40s are a powerful force, style strategist Audrey Beaulac says. We are credited with 25 percent of all the billions of dollars spent on fashion each year, she says, adding that, “We’re a little bit smarter, older, more thoughtful in our choices. We’re producers. We can produce a lot.”

That’s why it’s important for women to present themselves with the authority they’ve earned – while not aging themselves.

Melanie Griffith is current -- for 1988

Consider the 40-something woman in your office who is competent and smart – and disastrously frumpy, with the 1980’s shoulder pads, matching matronly skirt, and flats that have seen a tad too many shuffles to the conference room.  Come on, you know this woman. You might even be this woman.

Dowdy dressing, says Beaulac, “is a hangover from how we came up in the business world. Being dumpy isn’t taken more seriously than being in a skirt that’s too short.”

She advises women to ditch the pants that are too high-waisted, collars that are too tight or too high, pleated denim skirts and the A-lines, and focus, instead, on staying current. “Being current doesn’t mean being trendy. It’s going forward.”

“Part of that frumpy business look also comes from not being well groomed,” Beaulac says. No-no’s include:

• A haircut that is no longer working
• Bad hair color: color too flat, wrong hue, or not keeping up with highlights
• Makeup that’s been the same for two years or more
• Neglected manicure

She says that if women in their 40s are still doing the “grab and go” lifestyle – throwing on whatever clothes don’t smell bad and leaving home with wet hair, they’ll be fighting an uphill battle. “In order to be taken seriously, you have to be put together… How you dress is the introduction to the story of who you are.”

            Beaulac recommends dressing in columns, in neutrals, and with no high-contrast transitions. “When you’re presenting in a power position, don’t cut your body in two. Pay attention to your face; it’s your communication center. That might mean lighter on top, and wearing necklaces. Bring your focus up.”

So the beige twinset with the black pants and beige shoes may seem completely inoffensive, but the result is choppy, and drawing attention wherever the sweater ends. Better: Pair the black pants with a darker top or jacket and dark shoes, to elongate the look. “The more vertical your appearance, the slimmer you’ll feel.”

The other thing to keep in mind for daring fashionistas who like to radically change their looks: “If you are not creating a consistent impression, people can’t get a handle on you. They won’t trust you.”

Beaulac suggests we take a tip from those in the public eye: “The biggest secret of the A-list people is the strategic use of style to tell the world that they know who they are.  They wear the clothes; the clothes don’t wear them. Those who either rely too much on outsiders or choose blindly end up with bad haircuts, lots of unused make-up and clothes that don’t work even though they should.  Instinct is the wisdom; reasoned analysis implements the wisdom consistently.” 

Coming up next: SHOPPING FOR AND ORGANIZING YOUR 40LICIOUS WARDROBE