10 Things Older Black Women Can Do to Look Better.

I ran across this article at lifescript.com about how women in their 40s need to dress their age. I agree. Women in their 40s should not be trying tocompete with 20 year olds. A lot clothes nowadays barely look good on younger women, let alone the the older women. I love when I see older women who look really good. They inspire me and they usually look younger than their age when they dress well and take care of themselves. Here's a snippet of the article and a link at the bottom.

Walk into any mall and you’ll see a 40-something woman wearing every trend from Forever 21: tight tank top, low-rise jeans, metallic platform heels, plastic bangles and oversized earrings. Are you a middle-aged fashionista who just doesn’t know when to quit? Read on for the top 10 clothing items to leave in the past…

They list (with explanations)
1. Message T-Shirts
2. Too-Trendy Denim
3. Costume Shoes

4. Micro-mini Skirts

You can find the rest of the article here. 

Needless to say, this article was based on a demographic other than Black Women. This article was written for older white women trying to dial back their ages. Black women tend to speed up their maturity by not even trying to put themselves together and its a shame. Black women age the best of all people on the planet. We need to use this to our advantage instead of letting our good looks go to waste. Black women are encouraged not to look their best. They're encouraged to neutralize their beauty (by black men who struggle with self-control issues). The messages go like this 'you need to cover up more, we have to protect the men' or 'that color is too bright on you' or 'you wear too much make-up' or 'why are you so dressed up'. I could be covered from head to toe but when I'm looking really good, I feel like I'm looking for unneccesary attention. I'm uncomfortable with the increased attention I receive.  Its like I have been programmed to be wallpaper and just blend in. I'm assuming, from the looks of things, these messages get louder as Black women age. Needless to say, I am reprogramming myself and loving every minute of it. Let's do better together. I already did a post to the 20-year-olds.

Here are just a few tips for the seasoned women:

This woman could be as 'old' as 52.

1. Lose the weight. Women who are thinner ALWAYS look younger. If you struggle with losing weight, consider the fact that you may be empty in other emotional areas and you're using food to pacify yourself. Read 'This Is The New Happy' by Valerie Frankel & 'When Food Is Love' by Geneen Roth. Both books deal with the emotional side of overeating. These books have helped me tremendously on my weight loss journey.

2. Color those tresses. Some people are comfortable being silver foxes but gray ALWAYS ages a person. I don't care how nice their skin is or how bright their eyes are. It always makes a person look older.



This woman could be as 'old' as 35.



3. Take off that damn wig. We all know at least one older woman who is wearing a nasty wig. If its old, go and get a new one. The bad part is that these women have pretty faces. Hair is a woman's glory. Take care of your crown, mother. For some of you/us, you need to get a wig. Bald spots are not cute.

4. Make-Up is not a sin, use it. If you take care of your skin, you won't need much but a little eye shadow and lip stick/gloss never hurt anyone. Accentuate those big luminous eyes and sexy lips.

5. Drink that water. Water is the number one health & beauty agent in the world. Hands down!  

6. Bright colors are not the devil, wear them.

7. Get new glasses that compliment your face.

8. Let your children go and get a life of your own.

9. Deal with the bags and dark circles.

10. Dress well.

It ain't over 'til its ova, baby. Might as well be cute in the meantime...lol.