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I love fashion. As a child I spent hours designing dresses for my Barbie dolls and walking them down the imaginary runway on my bedroom carpet.
As you get older there is a little voice in your head which says that you cannot be fashionable over fifty. You shouldn’t stand out, and the best one ever – never turn into mutton dressed up as lamb!
For the past couple of years I have watched the media and read blog posts on fashion and felt simply green with envy. A little while ago I decided that I would blog about fashion for the plus sized and for woman of a certain age. I am proud to say that this has been a much viewed blog post.
The Galway Fashion Trail
Last Saturday I joined the Galway Fashion Trail presented by Galway Now Magazine. It was a simply fabulous day and I can honestly say that I have learned that age and size does not determine whether you can be fashionable.
The day started with a stylish, and most delicious breakfast at the Raddison Blu Hotel in Galway. We whizzed up to the top floor where the view was simply wonderful. After enjoying this amazing breakfast we watched the first of the fashion shows featuring styles from Harpers and headpieces from Brid o’Driscoll Millinery and Majella Lennon.
I started my day by treating myself to two beautiful necklaces from Jewelbox.ie. I fully intend paying a visit to the other exhibitors, Sheniel Shoes and Optique Opticians soon.
As this was a fabulous day, we were chauffeured by Bradley Renault to our next stop. At Sarah Mason where we learnt about the hair from Sarah and about make-up from Aisling K. I was feeling glamorous already.
The day of fashion shows and food at Swamp, Greenes Shoes, Colette Latchford, Revive Café, Brown Thomas, Choice Boutique and Willow was like a full immersion in fashion. I found myself feeling so excited as I watched the models on the runways showing off clothes and accessories. I fell in love with some seriously amazing fashion from House of Mowhawk an IFIA finalist.
My Big Fashionable Over Fifty Fashion take-aways
There were some big take-aways for me, as a plus-sized 52 year old. What I learned is that you can take lessons and inspiration from fashion shows and magazines, from following Instagram and Facebook accounts and of course reading fashion blogs. Learn and then twist it to make it your own.
These are my fashion lessons from the Galway Fashion Trail..
- There are always new season colours. Pick the colours that work for you and add them into your wardrobe to update them. I love the dusky rose pink of this season and already have a fab pair of shoes and will be adding more – maybe a handbag! The other colour that really popped for me was tomato red! My all-time favourite royal blue also make an appearance which made me smile.
- Scarves are a beautiful way of making a statement. We were gifted some beautiful scarves from Swamp and Willow but also saw some amazing designer items from Louise Porter and Niamh Daniels both IFIA finalists. I will be adding scarves to my birthday list.
- Jewellery is a great way of making a fashion without trying to be too trendy. Jewelbox.ie have some great fashion pieces in rose gold that shout this season. I bought two pieces and will be featuring them in a new blog post soon.
- Dress lengths are great at the moment. The models showed off some amazing dresses at most of the shows that were on the knee or mid-calf. This is such a flattering length.
- Don’t judge a book by its cover. When we visited Swamp I immediately thought that there would be nothing I liked. I was wrong. There are quite a few items that are larger in size and might just be updating my wardrobe. Lesson learnt – go into boutiques and stores, and wander around with an open mind.
- When in doubt, go with your instincts and wear what makes you feel fabulous.
- Finally I generally buy things when I really love them. I might spend a little more, but I know when I love something, it fits well and makes me feel fabulous, I will wear it!.
I really want to say thank you to Golden Egg Productions and Galway Now for hosting this wonderful event. And to all the lovely bloggers many of them much younger than me who welcomed me and made me feel fashionably fabulous.
I am a proud member of the ITWBN and the Irish Blogger Agency who invited me to be a fashionista at 52. Thank you!
Thank you for reading
Kerry x
PS – Thank you to Sinead from Yummy Mummy who helped me with photos!
