mutton dressed as lamb

image from google

is that me??  how do i know if i am too "old" to wear a certain type of outfit? As a woman of a "certain" age, I do have to be careful not to cross the proverbial line from classy to Oh my god did you see what she was wearing!
My dress sense (or lack of it) is more geared towards hippy chic.  I would love to be able to just dress down all the time in jeans or shorts and leggings( yes i still like my leggings and am ecstatic that it is back in fashion). Occasionally I do like to dress up in dresses and skirts but not in stuffy corporate suits and skirts.   I am fortunate that I work in event management and although when  required for on site work at an event, was in formal black attire, the usual days in the office were "dress to please yourself, just don't be vulgar", which suited me to a T.  As I move up in the years category I find that I struggle with knowing what a woman of a "certain" age can and cannot wear.  Magazines and shops are geared towards the skinny young people, the older women are supposed to go shop in frumpy stores that are dated and hideous.  I feel a little out of place in trendy shops with house music blasting from the speakers but I do venture in and honestly, I hurry out pretty quickly as I get curious looks from the sales personnel.
High street labels target the majority of women in the 20's to early 30's.  These are the women that are out there and have the disposable income to go shop.  What about us though, the older woman, we are at an age where we have sent our kids to university, we are in comfortable positions at work and also have disposable incomes to burn on fashionable outfits.  With older women more concious about their figures, eating right and exercising (yes i have to start that....soon), the matured older woman isnt a frumpy overweight figure anymore.  But.... we dont all want to be in designer dresses ( we still cant afford that) or in something totally inappropriate.  So, older women out there, where do you shop?  Where do you go to find that type of style that suits our advancing age without crossing the line.  Where do you go to find clothes that arent in size 0 - 4 that suit only Stick Insects (thank you Bridget Jones for this description).
For now I will continue to trawl the high street shops, try desperately to remember that I am not 25 and if  a few wardrobe malfunctions happen then so be it!