Twiggy's Guide to Looking Fabulous Over Forty
New Style Guide Gives Down-to-Earth Advice on Fashion & Beauty
Oct 30, 2008
Twiggy, A guide to Looking and Feeling Fabulous Over Forty from Penguin Books, has just been released in time for the perfect Christmas gift.
What sets this book aside from the others is that Twiggy not only gives a wealth of sensible and practical advice but draws on her experiences and knowledge of being not only a model but a down-to-earth mother and wife.The guide is written in a very relatable, personal style.
This guide for the over forties runs the gamut of 40-something fashion advice, beauty, skincare, and healthy eating and fitness.
The author (Twiggy) encourages readers to try new things and new looks and learn to enjoy and have fun with fashion. In her book she says, “Getting older doesn’t mean throwing away my favorite color lipstick or pair of boots, cutting my hair off or donning sensible shoes and a twin set.”
Fashion
In the fashion section Twiggy proffers a wise word or two on what NOT to wear and what to bin. These include cropped tops and slogan t-shirts, baby-pink lipstick and too-tight trousers.
Twiggy’s suggested year-round wardrobe staples for the over forties include low V-neck long sleeved sweaters, black turlte-necks, seasonless jeans and boots (yes, even with summer dresses!).
Age doesn’t mean waving goodbye to style and individuality, in fact, in a recent survey carried out by Marie Claire magazine (September 2008), 83% of women said their style improved as they became older.
There is an interesting section on the history of fashion and on wearing colors and prints. The chapters on fashion are broken-down into tackling the problem areas such as “boobs and arms," "in the middle,” and “bums and hips.”
Beauty and Skincare
One of the best beauty tips is how to apply moisturizer. Putting it on both hands and dabbing them around and over your face and neck, rather than rubbing it in. According to Twiggy, as women age a trick with make-up is to use beauty products to make yourself look healthy — this automatically makes your face look younger. In the October 29, 2008 Daily Mail article,"Lulu's Beauty Secrets," the iconic 60s British singer Lulu, agrees. "When you’re older, less is definitely more — too much make-up can give you the eccentric Aunt Sally look!"
At the end of each of the book’s beauty sections from cosmetics to skincare to hair there are valuable recommendations from specific products for all budgets. These recommendations come both from Twiggy and a number of respected beauty experts such as Barbara Daly. Twiggy also advocates the use of non-animal tested cosmetics and skincare products. The website www.leapingbunny.org (the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics) has an extensive list of these.
Health & Fitness
Twiggy advocates long walks or Pilates classes when it comes to keeping fit. She also espouses the benefits of dancing and having a regular relaxing massage. Her recommendations on eating well is about re-learning a healthy but tasty way of eating, focusing on those which make nutritional sense.
Recommendations to the Reader
Overall, Twiggy's guide is an informative and useful book for any woman in her 40s, 50s or 60s who wants down-to-earth advice. However, a word of warning to the North American reader - as the author is British, when it comes to brand/retail recommendations, some of the content is more relevant to those in the UK or Europe, as many of the stores are UK based, and are well-known European brands like Zara and Marks and Spencer.
Twiggy, A guide to Looking and Feeling Fabulous Over Forty is printed by Michael Joseph - Penguin Books, ISBN No. 978-0-718-15404-2. There are also a number of other useful style guides which offer practical (life-changing?) advice.
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