A grown-up's guide to dressing your age

As a teenager, I’d sometimes see a woman in her 30s and think, ‘What the hell is she wearing? She’s too old for that miniskirt – why doesn’t she dress her age?’ But when I hit 30, of course, the obvious happened. I didn’t feel old. I certainly didn’t feel old enough to change the way I dressed. So, instead of converting those ageist teenage thoughts into useful pearls of wisdom, my mind stuffed them in a huge cupboard of denial. And as a result I’ve been ‘underage’ dressing ever since. Cut to a few weeks ago; I’m 35, I have a party to go to, I have nothing to wear (will this really happen for the rest of my life?). My sister Florence suggests I rifle through her dresses. I don’t know who’s the bigger idiot – Florence for thinking I’d fit her clothes, or me for thinking I’d look good in them. FYI Florence is ten years younger, two sizes smaller, two inches taller and a model. So I wriggled my muttony body into her little lamb skins, each one shorter and sparklier than the next. The result was tragic; me trussed, stuffed and red-faced in a sequined minidress, with Florence trying to look encouraging. Finally, my denial cupboard had burst open and reality spilled on to the floor. It was time to grow up and go shopping. But where to go? In part, I blame my sartorially arrested development on there not being much to service this awkward in-between stage – too old for Topshop, too young for, say, Phase Eight. But this season things have changed. For the first time in a decade, designers have gone back to basics: out are minis, 80s leggings, ruffles, from-outer-space heels; in are crisp shirts, elegant coats, cigarette pants and pumps. The big guns dictated that for winter, grown-up dressing is cool. And where Céline and Chloé lead, the high street follows. But don’t get your style references wrong – this is not about Maggie Thatcher’s 80s power suits. The role model here is the late Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in the late 90s. Remember the pictures? CBK in camel coat, starched white shirt and Hermès Birkin bag looking effortlessly elegant. Despite being in her early 30s she stuck unswervingly to her more mature, classic look. Never, it seemed, was she tempted by unsuitable sequins or frothy whimsy. Surprisingly, other role models for the new grown-up include Angelina Jolie, who despite lashings of tattoos is always smartly turned out in ladylike dresses and courts. Then there’s Vicky Beckham, way ahead of the game when she sussed years ago that sleek ’n’ chic was the look for her. However, there’s one glaringly obvious problem with dressing like a grown-up – it makes you look grown-up. Those rail-thin models at the Chloé show, barely past adolescence but dressed head-to-toe in camel, all look 20 years older. So adding a dash of colour, a multicoloured scarf or a studded handbag is a good tip. The other danger is that, if done on the cheap, grown-up dressing can look a bit, well, cheap and officey. So how to get it right? First, don’t scrimp. Buy fewer, slightly more expensive clothes with a better quality cut and fabric. A tailored camel coat is a good place to start. MaxMara is a label that has always been hot on camel coats, and a shop I’d never previously stepped into. But now my quest for grown-up chic is taking me to all sorts of uncharted territories including Aquascutum, Austin Reed and Jaeger. Geographically, the French and the Americans get grown-up right. French women look like they were born wearing a Chanel jacket, and Americans practically invented the colour camel. So my hot list of French brands includes APC, Carven, Chloé, Vanessa Bruno, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Paul & Joe and Sandro. US brands to check out are Gap, 3.1 Phillip Lim, J Crew, Michael Kors and Anthropologie. The best, most dreamy grown-up collection is at Céline, but don’t forget Stella McCartney, Joseph and RM by Roland Mouret. Not all the new grown-up looks work, though – steer clear of kitten heels. If you want comfort, wear flats and if you want sexy, wear high heels – and avoid anything in-between. Thankfully, the high street is becoming more aware of the market of 30-plus women who grew up with Topshop but want to move on. Shops such as Cos, Loft Design By and Banana Republic make sophisticated clothes without being dull. The day after my Ugly Sister moment, I fixed my partywear crisis in Matches. I found the perfect little black dress by model Ben Grimes’s label LPBG. It’s elegant: knee-length, cap sleeves with a slight stretch in the material that follows the lines of my 30-something body without gripping it like a tourniquet. According to my boyfriend this is the Holy Grail of being sexy but not slutty. And, unusually for me, it’s shine-free, without embellishment or tricksy details – which are all things I should have given up when I was 29.

Personal style: Tips from the mundane to marvelous

Personal style is apparently such a difficult a concept for women to grasp that not a day goes by when someone out there isn't telling them how to get it. From the youngest blogger to the long-deceased Diana Vreeland, the advice keeps coming. This being the holiday season, you can bet your Birkin bag there will be more. Right on cue, a new batch of style-guide books offer both inspiring and mundane advice. Janie Bryant, the game-changing costume designer for "Mad Men" whose sexy early-'60s designs for that hit show influenced designers including Michael Kors and Miuccia Prada, has written one. So has Lloyd Boston, the TV style personality, as well as Lisa Armstrong, fashion editor of the Times of London and frequent contributor to Harper's Bazaar. There are reasons to take each author's advice - they all have credibility and many years behind the scenes. Taken as a whole, all the dos and don'ts eventually do add up. While nobody can dictate one's individual style, the consensus advice from these books, is: Dress for your body type (not the one you wish you had); make sure your clothes fit well, no matter what your size; get a good bra; invest in a few key pieces. Wear what makes you feel feminine/sexy/confident/happy.

Vivian Dawson's humble gift to Hermès-loving Jolin Tsai

Sincerity, not the price tag, is what pop princess Jolin Tsai values in a present. Vivian Dawson, the rumoured boyfriend of Jolin Tsai, attended a media conference for Porter's new line of handbags yesterday and was requested by the company to take a handbag home. The model had a hard time deciding between a brown and a purple one, when Four Gifts actress Cynthia Wang suggested "the purple one is more suitable". Vivian did not seem to know Jolin's preference for Hermès Birkin bags. His NT$4,750 (approximately S$200) gift pales in comparison to the S$28,000 pink ostrich skin Birkin bag the singer has. Jolin is known for her love of Hermès bags. She once spent more than S$25,000 for a celadon ostrich skin Birkin bag in Japan. At a recent dance practice, the singer was spotted with a Hermès Kelly Bag, which costs more than S$12,000. It was evident Jolin had expensive tastes, judging from the bags she carried. How would she react to Vivian's humble present? "Jolin has always valued sincerity and not the price (of the present)," clarified the pop singer's manager. Once an unknown model earning less than NT$10,000, Vivian shot to stardom after his rumoured relationship with Jolin. In a short span of five months, the model raised his popularity and net worth, pocketing more than NT$2 million (approximately S$84,000) from events and endorsements. Vivian is currently worth NT$150,000, ten times his previous net worth.

For hire: Designer handbags

As regular readers of any fashion magazine will know, each season sees the introduction of a new ‘it’ bag, often seen on the arm of Hollywood celebrities. But such style statements come with a hefty price tag. One of the most famous ‘it’ bags, the Hermes Birkin bag, named after actress Jane Birkin, has a waiting list of anywhere between eight months and six years, and the basic version costs a whopping 5,000 euros. While designer handbags are available to buy in Helsinki’s high-end fashion boutiques, for most people wishing to emulate designer trends the solution is usually to buy cheaper “look alikes” – not to be confused with fakes, of course. But now, budget-conscious Finnish fashionistas can get their hands on the real thing – by renting one. Entrepreneurs Susanna Pouttu and Marika Kivimurto started their designer-handbag rental business Vesca last year, inspired by seeing the Sex and the City movie, where Carrie’s assistant, played by actress Jennifer Hudson, decides to rent a designer handbag because she can’t afford to buy one. Pouttu and Kivimurto, who work in the interior-decorating and construction industry, admit to being fashion addicts, and say that there are plenty of other Finnish women like them. “I think people are more interested in higher-quality products these days, and they also know more about fashion than they used to,” says Pouttu. “We’d heard of fashion-rental companies in other countries like Sweden and the UK, but were disappointed that nothing like this was available in Finland. We decided to set up Vesca as a way of helping women like ourselves, who love beautiful things.” Vesca offers luxury bags for those on a budget. Staying up to date Vesca’s customers are typically 20-40 years old and come from all walks of life. “They love fashion, but they’re also normal people, who want to know how it feels to carry their dream handbag,” Pouttu explains. “Some are adventurous and want to take risks with their style, while others want to look polished. The right bag can complete a look, and make even a very simple and inexpensive outfit look good.” Customers first register as members of the Vesca club for a minimum of three months, following which they can opt to rent their choice of designer arm candy by the week or month. Members can then choose from a range of coveted bag designers including Burberry, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, DKNY and Mulberry. Prices range from around 39 euros for a month’s worth of a Guess handbag, to 186 euros for a Louis Vuitton “Manhattan”, adorned with its distinctive monogram print. “Designer bags easily cost more than 1,000 euros. But even if you can afford to buy one, you have to be certain that it’s right for you because it’s such a big investment. By renting, you can try it out and, if you love it, you can also buy it from us,” Pouttu explains. Most women have wardrobes of unworn clothing and accessories, she adds. Renting allows women to stay up to date with the trends and change their wardrobe regularly without spending a fortune, and without further accumulation. Designer bags can easily cost more than €1,000. Making the right impression Some of those who rent from Vesca may be in need of an accessory for a special occasion, or perhaps hoping to make the right impression at a job interview or important meeting. Others may look on a designer bag as a status symbol, a way of emulating the style of their favourite celebrity, or feeling part of the high-fashion world depicted in Sex in the City. Others still, says Pouttu, may simply appreciate quality and beauty in an accessory that they can use every day. Whatever the motivation, the demand from an increasingly fashion-conscious population has already secured success for online fashion-rental companies elsewhere in Europe. Pouttu and Kivimurto intend to continue building their current customer base in Finland, and say the biggest challenge is to win trust with a Finnish public that is still somewhat cautious about buying or hiring luxury goods through the internet. “All of our bags are certified 100% authentic, but people in Finland are wary about buying designer products without seeing them in the flesh first, because there are so many fakes out there in the market,” says Pouttu. Fashion-conscious women will remain the main clients, but the two fashion entrepreneurs don’t rule out expanding into the male fashion market: “I think women understand a bit better than men the attraction of a designer handbag. I compare it to buying a sports car – you don’t need a luxury car to get from A to B. We don’t have any man-bags in our collection at the moment, but maybe in the future!”

Hermes can’t deal with LVMH by stiffing minorities

The Hermes family thinks it has been wronged. But in its fight against an unwanted shareholder, it seems intent on sacrificing the French luxury group’s remaining minority investors. To fend off the unwanted advances of larger rival LVMH, which stealthily amassed a 17 percent stake in the Birkin bag maker, the family is planning to pool its shares in a holding company that will control more than 50 percent of the group. It has asked the French regulator to exempt it from rules that would trigger a formal bid for the whole company. But there are no compelling reasons for the regulator to agree. Minority holders shouldn’t pay for the supposed sins of Bernard Arnault, LVMH’s owner. The family, whose members collectively own about 73 percent of the shares, has always maintained that it is in firm control of Hermes. Still, it was shocked and worried by news of Arnault’s intrusion back in October. Those family members who are actively involved in the company say they want Arnault out. Others seem to have sold some of their shares to him. Either way, the plan to consolidate their holdings seems to show the family’s control of the group was not that tight after all. None of the family shareholders own more than 5 percent of the company, and they aren’t currently obliged to act together. As a result, the family’s argument that the new holding company doesn’t really change anything is spurious. Indeed, the plan would involve participants pledging part of their future dividends to the new vehicle, so that it has cash to buy out those family members who might want to sell. Arnault aside, Hermes minority shareholders own no more than 10 percent of the company — their shares are worth around 1.6 billion euros at current market prices. The family has profited handsomely from its investment: the company’s shares are up 60 percent this year alone. The Hermes clan can surely spare a dime to give the silent witnesses to the brawl the option of cashing out.

Beyoncé treated to £225,000 worth of Hermès goodies for Christmas

household. The huge assortment of orange-coloured boxes under their Christmas tree would have sent us into a veritable frenzy, for lucky Beyoncé proved she was the fairest of them all as she received an assortment of Hermès gifts from her adoring husband Jay-Z, to the value of £225,000. It seems that the term 'last-minute Christmas shopping' doesn't mean the same thing as nipping into a couple of high street shops when you're an internationally successful businessman, record producer and rapper worth around $450 million. Handbags at dawn: Hermès vs LVMH is a battle set to run and run 41-year-old Jay-Z reportedly amassed the huge bill on presents during a single visit to the Hermès store on New York's Madison Avenue. The Sun reports that a source said: "Jay was in a private room of Hermès doing last-minute shopping. He had a guard standing watch outside." The source added that the musician bought several Birkin handbags - a favourite of Victoria Beckham who is reported to have a collection worth £1.5 million and which sell for up to £78,000 each - as well as some other items. Outlined below is what £225,000 could get you in a single trip to Hermes: - Birkin bag-lady: the Birkin bag, named after singer and actress Jane Birkin, costs around £10,000 on average, so 22 Birkin's could be at one's disposal - For the woman who has everything: a collection of no less than 441 giant silk twill scarves worth £510 each - All about the bling: pile on 38 gold bracelets from the fine jewellery collection, where prices start from £3,860 and range up to £8,240 - For the showjumping enthusiast: 160 pairs of jumping boots in calfskin adorned with the famous 'Kelly' buckle, worth £1,400 a pair - For the beach bum: never be caught without a spare beach towel again by stocking up on 608 towels with eye-catching, colourful designs, worth £370 each.

Jay-Z spends large at Hermes

Jay-Z certainly knows how to spoil his lady. The rapper was spotted spending up large at the French luxury store Hermès on Christmas Eve. He's reported to have spend around US$350,000 (that's about NZ$450,000) on handbags and other items. It seems that "a bit of last minute shopping" means something quite different than the norm if you're a multi-millionaire record producer, rapper and businessman; although with a fortune worth over $450 million we guess it's all relative. The Sun newspaper reports that a source said: "Jay was in a private room of Hermès doing last-minute shopping. He had a guard standing watch outside." The source also reported that Jay-Z bought several handbags, one (a Birkin) which is also owned by Victoria Beckham. Mrs Beckham boasts a Birkin collection worth over ₤1.5 million (that's near on $NZ3 million). While we don't know exactly what gifts Beyonce was given, we can guess those little orange boxes took up a lot of space under the couple's tree. Here's what you can get for US$350,000 at Hermès: Birkin, and more Birkin: Prices for the much coveted Birkin bag start at around US$9,000, and rise up to US$34,000 if you want it in crocodile skin. We know that Jay Z bought one of them, but he could well have got 38 of the most basic ones they have. Oh my jewels: We all know Beyonce loves jewellery, and we're sure Jay Z knows it too. Hermès jewellery ranges in price from US$660 for a pretty enamel bracelet to US$3,475 on a 18ct rose gold pendant. 530 bracelets Beyonce? Tie me up: Everyone knows the old Hermès silk scarf, and at US$730 for the big ones Beyonce could have chucked a few in her hair, round her neck and on her handbag. Silk scarves 479 to be exact. How Beachy: All those days spent out on the yacht, surely a towel or two would come in handy? How about a lovely printed Hermès beach towel at US$530? He'll have 660 please. Well Seated: Surely the Z's entertain; so what about an armchair or three? Or 32 to be precise, at US$10,800 for the pear-wood and cow hide fold-up variety. Good luck wrapping those though Jay Z.