How You Avoid Looking Fat in the Shine Trend over 40

Every now and then shine pops up as a trend for evening and weekend wear. This time around, the trend also encompasses every day wear. We know from former times when shine was a trend that anything shiny seems to add weight. Now in midlife, how can we adopt the trend to look modern, and up-to-date without looking fat? Can we wear the shine trend over 40 when pre- or menopause already took its toll on our body shape? Read what makes this trend tricky to wear and how to wear the shine trend right at any age.

Contents

Why Do Some Fabrics and Surfaces Shine?
For Whom Designers Seem to Design …
… Doesn’t always Match Who Can Afford to Buy the Clothes
What Are the Pitfalls of Shiny Clothes?
How to wear the shine trend over 40
Styling Example: How to Wear the Shine Trend over 40

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Why Do Some Fabrics Shine?

Some yarns and materials naturally reflect light, and, hence, seem to shine. Examples are, among others, silk, metallic threads or metallic color clothes or leather, patent leather, sequins, pearls, and beads.

Satin and sateen (satin made of 100% cotton). In satin, warp yarns run over n-1 weft yarns and under one weft yarn. Here the letter, n, stands for 4, 5, 8, or 12. This weaving technique creates a smooth, shiny front, and matte, dull reverse because there, the weft threads dominate.

Whether wearing metallic clothes, satin, etc. require some thought because the shine highlights the area where it is.

For Whom Designers Seem to Design …

This season’s trends look like a homework in designing school to come up with the most unpractical and hard to pull off trends for the customers. An important sub-assignment was that these trends, of course, must look awesome on a size 0 or 2 skinny 5 ft 7 or taller twenty something manikin. Recall that a manikin is a model of a woman.

Let’s be realistic. Even when we look at 40+ models, their bodies are quite different than those of most women, and us other gals over 40. Kate Moss (now 42), for instance, is 5 ft 7 (1.70 m) and 121 lbs (55 kg).

#fashionover50 midlife woman in shiny leather pants with a pop of color — Shiny leather pants in jeans cut, GNW Luxe cashmere wool sweater, Puma sneakers, and India Hicks scarf c/o ambassador Tammy Gray.

… Doesn’t Always Match Who Can Afford to Buy the Clothes

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average adult US woman is 5 ft 4 inches (1.63 m) and 166.2 lbs (75.4 kg). In Germany, the average weight and height of an adult women are 148.8 lb (67.5 kg) and 5 ft 5.5 inches (169 m) overall, and an inch taller when just considering German rural areas. Looking at Europe, women are typically taller in the North than in the South.

I could create a worldwide list, but these examples already illustrate the mismatch. The women the designer ought to design for and the women they use to show off the trends are as similar as apples and oranges. We have to conclude that the models do not even represent the mean of the actual sample of women.

From a statistical point of view, the models are even more than a deviation from the standard! Sorry, there speaks the scientist in me. How can we tackle the problem?

What Are the Pitfalls of Shiny Clothes?

Shine draws attention to the body parts that are shiny. At 40+, we all have learned that shine seems to add pounds. This adding of pounds makes the models look better than their skinny self, while it can make us look heavier, which is precepted as unhealthy.

Every shiny fabric gives the illusion of a more heavier you.

How to Wear the Shine Trend over 40

Here are my tips to solve the designer caused shine trend problem.

Keep shine to just one or two items per outfit.
When you are heavier than the average woman, and at the same time, tinier than the average woman, try the following: Go for items that have shine just as an accent, e.g., a T-shirt with a shiny graphic print, a shiny pleated skirt (The pleats create vertical lines that give the illusion of height and may offset the “pounds added” by shine, a jacket with shiny trim, a brocade skirt or jacket with shiny thread waved vertically thru them.
The easiest, safest way to get the shine trend right are shiny patent leather pumps or clutches.
Keep your shine grounded. Shiny is a girl’s thing. Therefore, pair a shiny silk blouse with menswear pieces to look work appropriate or ground the shine in a monochromatic look of shiny and textured items.
Keep your outfit color-coordinated. Shine is a statement. Therefore, pairing shine with neutrals is a safe bet to look elegant, sophisticated, and work appropriate in neutral colors like navy, brown, gray, black or even teal.
Go for a neutral color shiny item like silver, black, or champagne, and pair it with just a pop of color (see OOTD).
Fit and cut are key. Because shine grabs attention, buy tailored items in this trend. Stay away from anything shiny and tight at the same time because it would visually add 10 pounds.

shiny pants with a pop of color — Zoom-in on the outfit with shiny leather pants, Kieselstein Cord belt, statement snake tail buckle, GNW Luxe sweater, Puma sneakers, and India Hicks scarf c/o Tammy Gray.

Styling Example: How to Wear the Shine Trend

I like the contrast between the mate long blazer – didn’t we call this style duster a decade ago – and the shiny satin of the joggers. Style joggers for work and play with heels and flats, respectively.