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Those of us who are “women of a certain age” have special considerations when traveling. Definitely go with Travel Fashion Girl’s concept of a Capsule Wardrobe. Always begin with a base color, usually a neutral, and add pops of color after that. Make sure everything can coordinate with everything else. Don’t take more than two or three pair of shoes. Layer layer layer, including your outerwear. All of those rules hold true.
This is a four-part article, make sure to read all the posts!
PART 1: 9 Tips to Get You Started with A Capsule Wardrobe
PART 2: Capsule Wardrobe for Mixed Weather
PART 3: Capsule Wardrobe for Hot Weather
PART 4: Capsule Wardrobe for Cold Weather
9 Travel Fashion Tips for Women over 40
by Phebe Schwartz
Now, where we depart from the suggestions is that we need to accommodate our changing figures and changing chemistry. Whether your body has changed due to having children, sitting at a desk job forever, that changing body chemistry, or just plain old gravity, few of us reach our middle years (or even senior years) being the same size as when we were in our twenties.
Our clothing needs more structure, often our undergarments needs more structure. We need to keep that in mind as we build our wardrobe.
So, a few considerations:
Fabric
Natural fibers breathe better than synthetics. Yes, synthetics dry more quickly when washing something out in your hotel room, but when you have a hot flash you want breathable fabric.
Cotton, linen, and rayon are coolest; trust me, silk can feel like a plastic bag in hot weather. For cold weather clothing, consider wool, cashmere, and alpaca for breathable warmth.
Learn more tips on how to choose the best fabrics for travel.
Knit versus woven
Knits pack easily into your packing cubes and barely wrinkle. But they hold in heat more than woven fabrics. I always pack some of both.
And my trick for unwrinkling woven fabric – carry a small empty spray bottle, the kind you use for spritzing plants. Hang clothing in a shower, spritz with fresh water, then hang to air-dry overnight. Barely any wrinkles by morning, and you don’t need to iron! Works even with linen!
Color
Our color tends to change a bit as we age. Skin lightens a bit, maybe we can’t take as much sun, hair color lightens or darkens or goes grey – whatever. Not everyone looks good in black, maybe you look better in a rich deep blue.
Maybe you’re a natural redhead (lucky you!) and look best in earth tones. Look at yourself in a mirror, try on various colors, and figure out what looks good on you NOW. It might be different than what you wore twenty or more years ago. Bright white can be harsh, and maybe you want to switch to ivory or pale pink.
Just keep color in mind as you build your travel wardrobe.
Structure, Fit, Proportion
If you’ve retained a tight, youthful figure, you can wear just about anything, including leggings with a short top. However, most of us reach middle age with a thicker waist, larger (and lower) breasts, maybe curvier thighs/hips, and sometimes parts that jiggle.
Structure and fit are needed here – that one-piece-convertible-dress-skirt-top out of a clingy knit just isn’t going to highlight our assets and camouflage our least-favorite parts. Look for clothes with a defined waist, or skip the waist altogether with a sheath-type shape.
Find jackets with structure rather than a loose floppy cardigan. We look best with skirts and shorts around knee length or so – even if the current trend is shorts so short your tush hangs out. (Because the older we are, well, sorry, but the more hang to the tush.)
Make sure nothing is so tight it binds, but also isn’t so loose it adds ten pounds. At the same time, think proportion – a loose top with fitted skirt or slacks; a flowing skirt with a more body conscious top; don’t have the tops and bottoms both loose, or you look overwhelmed by all that fabric.
Structure, proportion, and fit are essential in looking your best.
Layer
This is the only way to deal with hot flashes as well as changing climates and seasons.
It also increases your fashion options. More tips on TFG’s Packing for multi-season trips.
Modern look
Try a more modern look– I know, I grew up during the time when skirts were always worn over a tucked in blouse. It took a lot for me to try a skirt with a tee shirt or knit tank not tucked in. And you know what? It looks way better on me than tucked in, since I’ve never had much of a waist anyway.
Short cropped sweater over a long tee? Also looks good if the colors are from the same family, it has an elongating effect. Leggings under a short skirt? Wow, not bad at all!
Give some of the new trends a try, and look at yourself critically in the mirror. If you prefer how a new trend looks on you, go with it!
Age appropriate
Sometimes, there’s a style that is adorable. It’s so cute, you want to wear it. Maybe it’s a style you wore twenty or forty years ago. You try it on. It fits. You look in the mirror. And it just looks incongruous, this very youthful ensemble and your sophisticated, woman of the world face. So, don’t buy it.
Just because it fits doesn’t mean it works for you. Really, none of us want people commenting behind our backs, “Mutton dressed to look like lamb.” We want people saying, “Wow, that woman looks wonderful, so put together.”
We no longer look like Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz,” we need to try to look like Audrey Hepburn or Lauren Bacall.
We’ve moved beyond cute, and we’re now in sophisticated.
Undergarments
Again, our bodies have changed. Most of us need to wear a bra. Gone are our bra-less 1960s, and gone are the days of a little flimsy scrap of lace.
Wear a bra. Make sure the straps on your clothes are wide enough and placed properly to cover the straps. (I always travel with two beige and one black bra.)
Also, if you have ANY white or light color skirts, shorts, slacks, or dresses, please please please select your underpants accordingly. Nothing looks worse than seeing someone with white slacks over red polka-dotted undies.
More tips on travel underwear and how to choose the best bras for travel.
TFG’s Universal Packing Lists
Take a look at TFG’s Universal packing lists. Following the 10 piece travel essentials packing list capsule wardrobe I pack 6 tops + 3 bottoms + 1 dress. (Of course, you’ll expand that if you’re a Maximista traveler.)
Learn how to customize the universal packing lists to meet your needs.
Stay tuned for the other three posts in this series. What are your travel fashion tips for women over 40?
Please read the following for more tips and ideas on travel clothing:
- How to Choose Travel Shoes
- 10 Step Guide: How to Pack for a Trip with Different Weather
- 5 Anti-theft Travel Bags for Women
- Fabulous Fall Coats
- Top 10 Comfortable and Cute Ballet Flats for Travel
Author Bio: Phebe Schwartz started traveling and living overseas at age 19, and hasn’t stopped. Her career has included two years in Africa with the Peace Corps, and a three month trip home from there. As a result of living in Liberia, West Africa, she found a job teaching art in the US Virgin Islands, where she spent 25 wonderful years. Now retired, she and her husband are just traveling the world and having the time of their lives; the plan is to have no plan, the philosophy is that where they end up is where they are meant to be. Follow their adventure at their travel blog: Rolling Luggagers
Hi Dianne, thank you for taking the time to share your travel fashion advice with us. 🙂
I enjoyed your tips very much! Some of us are a lot over 40 (try 70ish) and still traveling. When a friend told me she traveled with a carry on only I thought she was off the wall. Then she taught me how when I went on a several week trip. I have used the techniques ever since. It becomes a mindset and now I cannot imagine taking a huge suitcase full of whatever! It is a huge help to have garments made of the newer quick drying fabrics that will dry overnight if washed and hung to dry in a hotel room. It is shear bliss to have just one bag and an underseater to manage and there are always those times. I enjoyed your tips very much.
Hi Kathy, thank you so much for your lovely comment and for sharing your travel experiences! 🙂
I would love to download the tips for older women, but can’t get them to download
Hi Sharon, thanks for your comment! Can you please specify the download you are referring to? Thank you!
Yay. I use the spritz water bottle to eliminate wrinkles too. So glad to see a writer sharing this easy, economical tip.
Glad you like the article Debra 🙂
What about over 60yrs
Same question here, 6 mos from age 70 and 1 month from annual hiking in theAlps! “Over 40” was easy but this … ;}
wonderful advice, really, that applies everyone who wants to travel with even a modicum of class, let alone style! and what’s this ‘over 40’? i’m hot natured and i was born that way, so i’ve been aware of hot flash tricks all my life. i fear spontaneous combustion should they begin to occur, but i’ve had years to prep!
linen/poly blends at low price chains seem to be quite popular of late and it’s wonderful. the lovely look and feel of linen–including the coolness and yet the quick drying of synthetics.
Hi Het, thanks for your comment! Yes tips apply to many women across the board this series was created as request from many of TFG’s readers over 40.Everyone is unique and we hope to create something for everyone. Thanks for reading!
I’ve been reading for quite some time now, any usually enjoy your blog, but this post has me irked.
Over 40? Are you kidding me? Women over 40 aren’t the only ones whose bodies have changed from having children or need to make sure their shirt covers their bra strap. And if a garment fits well and makes the wearer feel great, who is anyone to say it’s not age appropriate? I know many women in their 20s who, because of frequent travel, have stopped coloring their hair and are choosing to go gray. And more and more younger women suffer menopause symptoms due hysterectomy or prescription medication. What about those women over 40 who can still go braless or fit a size 4? My applause goes to them!
The title of this article really needs to be changed. You can’t just pick a number and choose it to be the defining moment a female traveler needs these things. Challenging and changed bodies? Sure. But not 40.
Hi Mia, thanks for your feedback! The article was based on requests specifically from readers over forty to have posts written specifically for them over forty. This was not a label devised by TFG. I also have requests for Plus Size, Senior, Family, Moms, Teens, etc. If you would like additional tips on this subject for women with changing bodies across all ages I can also source an expert writer for you as well. Alternatively, if you would like to offer your own tips as well I’ll be happy to consider them. Please let me know. Thanks for reading!
Always seems to be someone who needs to be offended. For this 50-something, thanks for focusing on needs of women who can’t wear little tank tops and leggings like are in so many other travel blogs.
Thanks Peri 🙂
Yes, yes, and yes! Loved the article. I use the spray bottle too. Bought new spray products to try over water. Both were a waste of dollars. I’m back to water spray bottle to eliminate wrinkles.
Hi Rhonda, thank you for your lovely comment, so glad you enjoyed the article! 🙂
Put some white vinegar in that spray bottle to eliminate wrinkles right away.
Very useful. I think there are dressing rules that work at all ages, starting with colour and line. My body hasn’t changed much since my twenties, but I’m no longer as taut or neat and have to remind myself not to swamp my body with clothing that’s too big. I love stretch jeans (including on planes) but never wear them skintight and always cover my knees with skirts. I love capsule wardrobes – but these days mine are more casual than when in the fulltime workforce. I hope you’re going to address shoes – which I love but these days find hard to get. They’re all too wide, too high or too flat! But I persevere and I sew, so I can match bottoms and jackets with workable, easy care tops and shirts (and it’s where brighter colours or patterns come in). Looking forward to the next segments as we older women are often forgotten in the fashion stakes.
“Mutton dressed to look like lamb” bahahaha!!! As a “ewe” of a certain age I found TFG’s advice before traveling to Asia and Italy and adapted it to my style, carry-on only, and wrote about it on my blog too. You are spot on with these tips!!!!
This is excellent! Thanks so much. Looking forward to more for women who have “passed cute” and are “now into sophisticated”!
Thanks Linda!