She’s still got it: The new age of fashion

Vivian Billick (R) is helped by stylist Katia Lepage during a shoot in the studios of The Gazette in Montreal Monday May 2, 2011.

Photograph by: Tim Snow, The Gazette

The hips may get hippier, the belly may get rounder and the derrière may drop. But as women age, they often gain in wisdom and confidence what they might have lost in tone.

So for every woman past 50, say, who laments that fashion has left her behind, there are many who, with good grace, have found the means to stay stylish.

Their daughters borrow from their closets, and no, they don’t want to dress like the younger generation, even if the body still holds.

To mark Mother’s Day, we invited two women of great personal style to The Gazette’s studio for a styling and photo session. Katia Lepage, 45, a former model who started a styling business three years ago, consulted with the women, then shopped to dress them in a way that would suit their bodies and personalities.

Vivian Billick, 62, arrived at the studio in fabulous little purple suede flats. She considered the question of whether the fashion industry has ignored older women.

“Women today are most definitely in better shape than they used to be,’’ Billick said. “You can wear young people’s clothes. You just have to edit what you buy.’’

For Trudy Crane, 51, and so many other observers of modern style, age is just a number. “I don’t think a 51-year-old woman today is the same as a 51-year-old woman 30 years ago,’’ she said.

“You’re as young as you feel and you have to express that in your clothing.”

Lepage chose personal styling as her specialty, rather than editorial photo shoots.

“Every woman has something special and beautiful. Just watching themselves looking in the mirror, rediscovering themselves in new clothes, seeing them smile at their new appearance – it’s great. It’s worth gold,” she said.

Modern moms

“This is not going to look good on me,’’ said Vivian Billick, 62, checking out a colourful, flirty A-line dress hanging on a rack in The Gazette’s studio. “It’s too clingy.”

A mother of three, Billick arrived looking très chic, in pointy purple suede flats by Blue Velvet, a crisp long baby blue Space FB shirt and Cambio leggings, topped off by a black and white plaid raincoat. Like many stylish women, she accessorized with a great bag – a black cowhide tote from Zambia.

“Fortunately, I know what looks good on me,’’ she said.

“I like to have fun with clothes,’’ Billick said of her personal style. “I always look for something quirky, of interest, either in the texture or cut.

“As I am getting older, I am starting to enjoy more architectural clothing. I never used to like Japanese style,’’ she added, noting that long, layered looks are quite stylish these days.

“I try not to wear frills, which you might see me in in the picture,’’ she joked, referring to an orchid silk top she donned for the casual look on this page. “I like to go for cleaner looks, and I also rely more on good fabrics.”

That doesn’t necessarily make it more expensive, she said; she got a good pair of Joe Fresh pants for $29.99. She’s also travelling a lot now, so she likes to pack light and buy multi-seasonal things.

Billick emphatically does not like to dress like her 23-year-old daughter.

“She likes a lot of my clothes, which is a great compliment to me. She takes a lot of my tops and accessories,’’ Billick said. Still, it’s not a two-way street.

“But my daughter and I have the same cowboy boots.”

Billick shops at Sally Yep Bis, Joshua David, Des Vertes et Des Pas Mûres and other independent boutiques, as well as mass retailers like Joe Fresh and the Gap.

At 51, Trudy Crane is a head-turner with her mane of silver grey hair and slim 5-foot-9 frame. The director of marketing for Yves Rocher in North America, Crane likes to push the fashion envelope. That’s natural, perhaps: she worked for a major Canadian retailer before switching to beauty three months ago.

Still, her style has changed over the years.

“The skirts are getting a little longer,’’ she said. “I think twice before I leave the fitting room and buy something.

“I see what’s in fashion and adapt it for myself and my age.’’

Yes, she notes, there are clothes that are too short or too frilly, but she does not feel left behind or underserved by fashion, shopping at Zara, Sarah Pacini and All Saints, a funky British high street brand not yet available in Canada.

Over time, she said, her style has become a little simpler. She calls her look a bit eclectic, and comfortable – “but here I am in five-inch heels.”

She’s loving the colour trend this season, and showed up at the shoot in bright orange jeans and cream top from Zara, with a khaki Diesel trench and Louis Vuitton bag, punctuated by those heels. “I wear a lot of black, like everybody,’’ she added. “I haven’t worn a lot of colour, and this year I said that’s what I’m going to do.”

Crane and her 17-year-old daughter do share some clothes. “She has her own style and will take one of my tops or sweaters and wear it with different things than I will, a mix from her wardrobe.’’

They can share shoes and boots, and Crane will sometimes borrow a sweater or blazer from her daughter.

Styling advice

Katia Lepage, a former model, has always loved fashion. Now 45, she’s returned to her first passion as a stylist.

The biggest issue for many of her clients who have reached a certain age is not respecting the way their bodies have changed, she said.

At that certain age, perhaps 40, 50 or 55, your body changes, she said. Here are some tips on how to dress for those changes:

For ample hips, choose straight-cut trousers and balance your hips with a strong shoulder.

If you have belly rolls, look for draping, ruching and wraparound styles to create the illusion of a waist. Prints are distracting, as are interesting necklines and jewellery.

Look for clothes that outline your figure without clinging. Do not go for formless sacks.

Want to mask your arms in the heat of summer? Try butterfly or batwing sleeves. Don’t go tight. Also, lace or sheer sleeves work up to a certain age. Do not emulate Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, in her wedding gown. At some point, a lace sleeve can look grannyish.

If you’re short and want to appear taller, try trousers that hit the floor with a high heel to lengthen the legs. Choose jackets that are proportional for your body. And don’t cut your silhouette with colour blocks, but go monochromatic from neck to toe.

Of course, you must stay true to yourself, Lepage added. “I don’t do metamorphoses.”

Retailer loves ruffles

Sally Yep knows a thing or two about style, at any age. A retailer since 1980, Yep, 55, now serves a clientele of about age 40 to 70 at her boutique on Mountain St.

She’s got two kinds of clients: those paring down and becoming more circumspect in their choices, and another group “really cutting loose,” Yep said.

“They’ve come into themselves. They’ve accepted who they are, what they look like and know what they want to portray.”

Yep accepts the notion of age-appropriate dressing to a certain extent. “It’s all part of your character. A lot of people don’t look their age and can get away with a lot. It’s a state of mind.’’

What’s important is proportion or fit: if a waistline falls in the wrong place, you might look like you’re wearing a baby-doll, she notes. Also, most boomer women might want to ignore super-short minis – unless they’re paired with black opaque tights.

And ruffles? There’s nothing wrong with ruffles. “They’re girlie, feminine and flirty. We can’t lose that part of ourselves,’’ Yep said.

Still, head-to-toe trendiness is not every woman’s cup of tea. “Sometimes it’s just that one piece, that coup de foudre.”

That could be an accessory: this season a good choice might be a blush-tone neutral purse. “It enhances you, not just the clothing.”

Chunky jewellery and ornamental belts are also favourites for Yep.

“There are women who dress only in black. They don’t want to, but they can’t help themselves. So you throw on a metallic belt and you’ve got the zing in your outfit.”