5 Celebrity Trends We’re Brave Enough To Admit We Kind Of Like
Ugh, we might even say love.
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by The Candidly Team
In our 20s, we fell victim to a lot of faddy things that can now be coined objectively ridiculous. We can still feel the sting of 16 butterfly clips gripping our scalp and the phantom bruises of our loooow denim waistbands.
Nowadays, you wouldn’t call us “trend people.”
99.9% of trends are just too fleeting … too young … and, honestly, too unflattering to bother with.
That’s not to say we don’t like to dress tastefully or look excellent.
We just tend to gravitate toward things that are more classic. Timeless. Comfortable. Chic. Like THIS. And THIS.
So what are we even doing here, you might ask. Well, I believe the term is “eating our words.”
That’s right. Because today, we’re going to divulge 5 trends that we really, truly love and wear and fully embrace as over-40 women. And we do it, not because they’re trendy, but because they’re all those things we mentioned above: timeless, comfortable, flattering.
But enough adjectives. Let’s get to the trends, and the specific pieces that make them come to life.
Image: Materialists | Sony
1. THE “Clean Girl” UNIFORM: LOOSE Jeans + TUCKED BUTTOn-DOWN + SNEAKS
Why we love it: Here’s the gist. The combination of a white button-down with a longer, looser-fitting pair of jeans is just very, very foolproof and sophisticated and flattering on every shape human. It’s why we’ve seen it on Marilyn Monroe and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and every soul-crushingly fashionable celebrity in existence. Tucking the shirt makes waists look more nipped and legs look longer. And then, of course, there’s the fact that it’s pretty much like wearing pajamas in terms of comfort. Just big, fat wins all around.
The Jeans You Reach For Every Day They’re Clean
WHAT: Quince Bella Stretch Wide Leg Jeans*
Why we love it: No reason to spend $250 when the stretchiest, most flattering, wide-leg jeans exist right here for $50. They come in 3 inseam lengths and aren’t too wide, so short and tall girls alike look phenom in them. And they come in lots of washes.
Price: $50
The Poplin Button-Down
WHAT: Vitamin A Nadia Shirt*
Why we love it: Did we write a whole article about why a white button-down is the ultimate staple in every elegant woman’s closet? Yes. Did we highlight a whole list of our favorites? Yes. But we recently tried this oversized, cotton-poplin version from Vitamin A, and it’s so versatile. Tuck it, half tuck it. Tie it. Wear it open as a cover up (it covers your bum … wheee!) or unbutton it devastatingly low to show a hint of a lace bra. It’s all just perfect with minimal effort.
Price: $130
The sneaks
WHAT: New Balance 327*
Why we love it: How these clouds that pretend to be shoes became trendy, we’ll never know. But we will be wearing them long past when the kids stop saying they’re cool
Price: $105
2. The Coastal Grandmother
Why we love it: Had you told us there’d be a trend that made everyone dress like Diane Keaton in a Nancy Meyers movie, we’d have thought you’d been spying on our dreams. But honestly, we get the mass appeal and why this trend is lasting year after year. Smart trousers and soft button-downs have a way of looking incredible on everyone. Here is the uniform you sort of can’t go wrong with:
The easy Everyday Pant
WHAT: Everlane The Utility Barrel Pant*
Why we love it: We’ve tried dozens - duzzzzens of light, cropped pants. Many are comfortable, but the way this pair fits is just very flattering and easy, and they work with every single tank, tee, button down, and blouse we wear on top.
Price: $118
The Subtly Striped Button-Down
WHAT: Everlane The Must Have Oxford Shirt*
Why we love it: A striped button-down sort of solves the riddle of how the hell do I look put-together and casually chic with minimal effort? This one is so light and breathable and looks just as perfect untucked as it does tucked.
Price: $98
The Flawless Sun Hat
WHAT: Aritzia Sunbeam Raffia Short-Brim Hat*
Why we love it: Why do more brands not make hats with this size brim? It’s the most amazing balance between a bucket and a sun hat that looks good on every shape of face. It sells out all the time sadly, so if you see it available, move quickly.
Price: $68
And here is one of us using all the above ideas to implement our own Coastal Gran aesthetic:
Image: The Flight Attendant | HBO Max
3. POET-CORE
Why we love it: We talk a lot about staples and neutrals, but if we can’t find a print or pop of color to express ourselves, what are we even doing here. Poet-core takes this idea to a more classic, almost academic place, where we can play with plaids, and stripes, and burgundy boots, but everything is grounded in something timeless and of yore.
The Plaid Coat
WHAT: Sézane Ander Coat*
Why we love it: We’ve done the boring beige peacoat for 42 years. We added a plaid and somehow, like magic, it both matches and elevates everything we wear.
Price: $385
The Striped Top
WHAT: Nation Neo Turtleneck*
Why we love it: Stripes are the highest tier of chic. Turtlenecks are the highest tier of chic. Bring them together and oops, you’re the chicest lass in the room.
Price: $125
The Accent-Color boot
WHAT: Madewell The Dimes Kitten-Heel Boot*
Why we love it: Wear something printed and poetic or wear your same white tee and jeans, but add these boots and poof, you’re styled!
Price: $170
Image: The Watcher | Netflix
4. WHITE ON WHITE ON WHITE
Why we love it: Naomi Watts’s creamy, dreamy, monochrome wardrobe in The Watcher actually inspired us to write a whole, long article. Wearing white on white is just classically chic, like wearing all black but a bit more romantic.
The Timeless Turtle
WHAT: Lilysilk Seamless Silk-Cashmere Blend Turtleneck Sweater*
Why we love it: If you’re imagining something in your closet right now will make you look more smoothed, polished, and Grace Kelly chic as this sweater, we must respectfully disagree.
Price: $149
The Non-Scary White Pants
WHAT: Aritzia The Effortless Pant™ - Crepette™*
Why we love it: These pants are so slimming and elongating, we bought them in white and never looked back.
Price: $148
The Cream coat
WHAT: H&M Handmade Wool-Blend Coat*
Why we love it: We already have the boring black coat. This cream one makes every winter outfit 10x more special and distinct. And the price is wildly low.
Price: $199
The Head To Toe Accessories
WHAT: Will & Bear Calloway Cream Felt Sun Hat* and Quince Eco Knit Heeled Bootie*
The hat* is that perfect not-too-big size that makes it elegant and a teeny, tiny godsend on grease-bomb hair days.
The boots* literally stretch like a glove. They’re bliss to wear. It honestly feels like we’re cheating.
Price: $112 for the hat
5. 80s Exaggerated Silhouettes
Why we love it: The 80s may have been host to the age of spandex but they also knew when to go big. By balancing tailored pieces with oversized, flowy fits, we don’t just get our most flattering proportions. Our clothes look more exciting and … we’ll just say it … more expensive.
Beautiful Billowy Balloon Pants
WHAT: All The Ways Dovie Balloon Pant*
Why we love it: 97% of the time, all we want when getting dressed is space. But we also want to look intentional and like we have shape. A balloon pant gives us a lovely hourglass and makes our waists look narrowed. By mixing a flowy pant like this with a tailored blazer, we look very luxe but feel deeply comfy.
Price: $78
The Snatching Blazer
WHAT: Aritzia Babaton Standout Blazer - (Re)ssential*
Why we love it: Have you ever seen a more stunning silhouette? Like it was custom-tailored.
Price: $248
The Statement Earrings
WHAT: Sézane Flora Hoops*
Why we love it: Add a statement, pop-of-color earring to an all-black outfit and you immediately look 72x more interesting. It’s just math. Sézane makes our favorite statement but still chic earrings.
Price: $90
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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