No mutton allowed..

This New Years Eve was a blast and an eye opener, as numerous people that night who were ‘mutton dressed as lamb’ inspired this blog. I haven't got the actual pictures to prove it as I was too busy having fun with the lads - was the only woman partying with seven (yes seven!) gorgeous men – don't hate, congratulate ;)

So, with a positive, realistic new year attitude, I will illustrate with pics what I view as age appropriate party attire.

If you are an older woman and have a beautifully toned proportioned body, it does not give you carte blanche to wear anything as the face often doesn't match (regardless of fillers/botox/facelifts) our bodies are representative of every decade that goes by - aged or not - our bodies grow up (Sorry Madonna!) Ladies over 35 don't be offended we just have to keep it real. And ladies under 30 don't run before you can walk leave the grown-up looks to us (Miley, Mary and Kate Olsen, oh and that annoying girl from Glee?!).

Anyway..here is a brief Partywear style guide to being true to yourself….

This Hervé Léger bandage dress is perfect for women in their 20s to early 30s with no bulk.

This Marchesa dress is perfect for ladies in their late twenties to mid-forties. It's sophisticated and effortless. This would look fab with a fashion forward red shoe and matching red lips. (Don't like the shoes worn with in pic shown)





This Kaufmanfranco piece with a 60s feel is also perfect for the 20something who loves trends - think Blake Lively or a chic 30something – think Eva Mendes. (She naturally doesn't look 37 years old - this is key.) 

Even though this Balmain dress shows a lot of skin, because of the tailoring it can easily be worn by a hot woman in her 40s - think Kim Cattrell. There is a mature feel to it. But this would look mutton on a twenty year old. This has to be given justice by a grown woman.



This fab Ashish number is another style that a 20 or 30something could rock. Curves work well with this dress.

This Erdem maxi would work on most women. Why? Length always communicates elegance and is ageless. This can be the look for a girl coming into womanhood as well as a woman that has already come into her own. You could never be labelled mutton in this.

If you can channel your inner Beyonce the ‘sex sells’ aspect of this Hervé Léger dress is definitely for the younger woman. I’d advise the over 35s to avoid sequinned bandage. What do you think?

This Christopher Kane number is perfect for you 20somethings. A bang on-trend piece. If you're curvy leave this style alone.

When youth is the key factor, skin and sex always feature. But when real womanhood is your x-factor then sexy sophistication is it  - never sex. 

Think Jennifer Aniston or Halle Berry for this A.L.C. number.

This Sass and Bride dress is ambiguous as long as accessories are kept to a minimum it could really work well on women in their early 20s to late 30s. 

This Lanvin dress is perfect for women who are 35+. The draping and shape is classy, yet sexy at the same time. Younger ladies would look too grown-up and therefore mutton in this. I love this dress. The colour screams confidence.

I hope I’ve shown that Karma-Style rules are fluid even though I believe in the boundaries of age appropriateness. We all should wear what works and looks good on us as individuals. 


Karma-Style believes mutton works both ways on the age spectrum - and that it's never a good look.

New Years Eve was also a reminder that a man's beer belly with a fitted stretch floral shirt really doesn’t work… more inspiration for my blog I think :)

Happy New Year.

CamilleA

© Karma-Style 2011

Disclaimer: All images from this post are used for illustrative purposes only and were sourced from Net-a-Porter.com. Images not used commercially.