Challenge set by Julia Rees

Welcome to day 3  of the “New Year New You” Challenge, and here is your challenge for tomorrow.

We are posting each challenge the evening before so that you have time to prepare your outfit/ your challenge ahead of time.

We call get stuck in a rut when it comes to what we wear, especially as we are being asked to work from home wherever possible during lockdown. It is so easy to reach for jogging bottoms and a plain top – it can become a uniform. There is no need to become invisible – even when working from home ( think about those potential Zoom calls – be prepared to stand out! )

So, tomorrow’s challenge set by Julia is “Wear a Bold Print”.

Today, I want to challenge you to wear just ONE print, but not just your favourite print, make it BOLD!

It’s up to you how BOLD you want to be and if you’re uncomfortable in “head to toe” print, then just add a small pop of print with an accessory.

One of the questions I am often asked about choosing prints is how to choose prints that are slimming and I have also often heard women say that they can’t wear prints as they think that all prints make them look larger/ are unflattering.

So, today I want to give you a few tips for choosing a flattering print for your body shape.

In general, large prints and horizontal stripes make you look bigger, whereas small prints and vertical stripes are slimming. But, here are a few more detailed suggestions.

How to Wear Bold Prints Over 50

Pay attention to the focal point – The focal point is where your eye is drawn, and you want to make sure that the focal point of the print is not at an area of your body that you’re not keen on!

Aim to choose a print where the focal point is at your best feature.

Scale – Prints can be small, medium or large, and you should ideally choose a print that relates to your overall body scale and features.  For example, someone larger can easily wear a large scale print, whereas this would be overwhelming on a petite frame.

However, in general, If you want to look smaller, wear smaller prints. Do NOT wear giant prints, especially on areas of your body you want to minimise.

Print Density – The more densely packed (closer together) the print, even if it’s a larger scale print, the more slimming it is, because the eye moves more quickly from one element to another.

In fact, because there is no focal point in the print, the eye has nowhere to stop and so just skims over it, making you appear slimmer.

If you’re very slim, or you have an area of your body that you want to highlight/ draw attention to, then you can go for a more sparse ‘aerated’ print, but if you want to use your print to camouflage, then go for a more dense, “busy” print.

Abstract and all-over – No matter which print you opt for, all-over abstract prints are the most slimming.

Value contrast –  prints where the colours are of a similar value contrast (ie all light or all dark) will also be more slimming as this makes the print look less obvious. A print where the contrast is higher (i.e. a difference between areas of the print in terms of light and dark) will make you appear larger.

The aim of this challenge is to experiment and have fun with your wardrobe, by wearing what you already own to put together new outfits.

It’s about putting together what you own in new ways and shaking you out of your style rut. So, just have some fun with it! It’s an ideal opportunity to shop in your own wardrobe

You can share your outfit on our Facebook Pages @Fabafterfifty (@StyleConfidenceandSuccesswithJulia and don’t forget to follow us if you don’t already ) and if you love using social media you can also share your looks on Instagram or Twitter with #NewYearNewYouChallenge2021.

“Look good, feel good, live your best life“

Julia and Ceri xo

PS How did you get on with yesterday’s challenge? 

Julia Rees

Julia is a Style, Confidence and Success Coach and she is passionate about helping women to look good, feel good and live their best lives. She helps women find balance, clarity, confidence, freedom and success both within their personal and professional lives, and she is also a Style, Lifestyle and Travel blogger

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