Today’s clothing choices are driven by the fashion industry, media and celebrities. It’s rarer to see folks dress their age. Instead, we see folks who try to look younger when they really can’t mask their age any longer. Of course, you have the opposite situation—people who try to look older. They end up looking like kids playing dress up or looking just plain silly.

We saw one of the young female stars at the Oscar’s last night who tried to dress older. It only made her look younger and a bit foolish. I will say 99% of the stars including men, looked age appropriate. I especially liked that the men wore the correct cut tuxedo (jacket and lapels) for their age and body type. I also liked how we saw every man over 40 wearing a properly tied bow tie – no clip ons.

So, it does not matter what the occasion is. You will always look smarter when dressing age appropriate.