fight the frump

This time of year, I get so many questions about shorts! Shorts can go really wrong when they don’t fit well, so I wrote a post with some dos and don’ts for wearing shorts over 40… or at any age, really.

Do you struggle with how to wear cardigans without looking frumpy? Then this post is for you! These are my best frump-fighting tips for wearing cardigans.

Greetings and TGIF! Today we're talking about updating our sleepwear. Sleepwear may seem like a strange place to fight the frump, but it's an area that's easy to neglect, and even what we wear to sleep can affect our morale. So today I'm sharing some of my favorite sleep and lounge wear.

Here are some common mistakes women make with their jeans that can keep them looking frumpy, and how to fix them.

Fight the Frump is back today, and it's all about eyeglasses. (If you don't wear eyeglasses, these tips apply to sunglasses as well.) Eyeglasses are one of the easiest ways to date yourself (I try never to wear eyeglasses in family pictures for that reason) so if you're trying to update your look or fight the frump, it's probably time to reassess your eyeglasses.

I was racking my brain for more ideas for my Fight the Frump series, and I remember someone suggesting handbags as a topic. It's funny because I wouldn't have thought of a handbag as being frumpy, but handbags go in and out of style like everything else. Today we're talking about how to update your handbag, and I included a Save/Spend/Splurge handbag roundup at the end of the post.

I've had a lot of requests for this post, so I wanted to fit it in before we start our fall fashion series on Friday. After doing some online research and taking notice of some of the things women do with their makeup that seems to age them unnecessarily, I put together a list of 7 makeup mistakes that can make us look older than we really are and how we can fix them.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of Fight the Frump! Today we're talking about everyone's favorite subject: bra fittings. Haha, well anyway. It may not be the most desirable thing to talk about, but getting a proper bra fitting is probably the #1 thing you can do to fight the frump. No matter how cute your clothes are, if you’re sagging and dragging, ahem, you will look schlumpy.

We're back with another Fight the Frump post and this time it's all about shoes. Beyond wearing the wrong bra (more on that to come in my next Fight the Frump post) I think frumpy shoes are probably the biggest area where women make fashion choices that can age us unnecessarily. This is partly because we tend to get stuck in an era and never move out of it. The trends that were popular during that era are going to look out of style and frumpy as time marches on. The other reason shoes are such a big issue as we age is our feet tend to get more finicky and we can't wear all the flimsy shoes and high heels that are more flattering and stylish.

This post was popular when it first ran so I thought I would republish today with a few minor updates. As women age, it's easy to fall into the frump rut. We tend to think of everyone else first, and we're often left with little time to think about keeping up with current trends or putting new outfits together. If you're feeling out of touch and want to up your style game but aren't sure where to begin, I hope this simple list of 10 ways to fight the frump will help... or at least give you a place to start.