LAST UPDATED ON July 22, 2024

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What To Wear In Your 30s to Elevate Your Style

If you are here, you are in your 30s or you are heading there. You have had changes in your lifestyle may it be personal or professional and your current style and the way you dress no longer feels like presents accurately who you are or you want to be. Or you are just so busy everyday with family and prioritizing everyone that you have no time for yourself. You don’t know how to take care of yourself and how to style and feel confident in the clothes you wear.

If any of these sound familiar then you are at the right place. In this I am sharing what you should be wearing in your 30s as you are getting older to look and feel good about yourself, dress appropriately without feeling like you are dressing too old. Because that’s a myth.

So, let’s get started.

Why Should You Care?

This is the first and most asked question. And even if you agree or disagree with any of these tips that I am sharing, knowing the reason why you should even bother with styling or thinking about how you dress in your 30s or even later.

The biggest misconception is that styling means just looking pretty, stunning or sexy. And it could not be far from that.

Even if you don’t care about the way you look you are still styling your outfits in a certain way even though it might not be flattering you. Style signifies how you want to represent yourself. And I am sure you don’t want to slack there. We all want to show the best in ourselves and style helps you achieve that effortlessly.

It also gives you a sense of confidence because when you look good you also feel good. And as we get older, feeling good takes precedence over everything else. We want to prioritize ourselves and want to feel great about who we are. And that is exactly what style can help you with.

And, I am not sure if you feel this way, but in 20s I just wanted to fit a certain mold and look like the next celebrity, but as I got to my 30s I realized I want to create my own mold. If you agree, leave a comment below.

Tailored Clothing

As you get older, and your body goes through life changes, you often look at yourself in the mirror and think that you no longer look good in clothes. Because you are actually wearing the wrong style of clothes. Tailored clothes always add structure and enhance your body shape. This helps you create a defined body shape as well.

There is a reason why people in uniform look much smarter and defined. The stitching and structured details of tailored clothing will automatically define your body shape.

And you don’t have to wear uniforms to look structured and those are not the only tailored clothing styles.

YOU CAN WEAR:

There are so many styles of clothing that look structured without being fitted.

Wearing Correct Sizing

There is a certain obsession in women to wear a certain size and even though we don’t fit in that size, we are so stuck on that number. If a size does not fit you anymore, its not because you have gotten fat or skinnier. Different brands have different sizing guides and often they don’t match.

So, don’t beat yourself up for not wearing a size that you have been trying to fit into all your 20s. Size has nothing to do how the clothing piece should fit on your body. Wear what fits you properly and not the size you want to wear.

Structured Jeans

I am not referring to not wearing skinny jeans. You can still wear skinny jeans as long as they are not jeggings. In my 20s, I can rock any style of jeans like studded jeans, printed, embroidered you name it. But as I got older I realized the power of owning a pair of good quality jeans that is minimal and basic. Because that compliments any top and makes my whole outfit look luxurious and expensive.

And I don’t even wear expensive jeans. Most of my jeans are from Levis, Loft or Madewell. Find good pair of jeans that fit you properly and don’t have rips, color fading or any kind of unnecessary prints and embroidery.

These jeans will look expensive naturally and elevate your outfit instead of making it look tacky. If you want some details in your jeans, or want your denim to look more casual, you can pick raw hem ones that have the distressing around the hemline which adds an edgy touch without looking too rough.

Some of my favorite pairs of jeans styles:

Wear Elevated Footwear

Its high time you figure out what is your shoe style. In your 20s you perhaps wanted to mimic a certain fashion icon and bought all the styles of footwear she/he picked. But as you got older, you know that they are not good for you. You don’t feel comfortable in them. Or you just don’t know how to style them anymore.

Or you might be on the other boat, you are just too busy that you think a pair of flat shoes are the ones for you because they are too comfortable to try anything else.

Now is the time, to find a pair that can effortlessly elevate your look. So, you can just slip into it even if you have no time to get ready in the morning with confidence. I am a big fan of footwear styles which do exactly that. And again, you don’t have to spend big dollars for them. Look for styles that flatter you, have subtle luxe details and most importantly are comfortable and easy to wear.

MY TOP RECOMMENDATIONS:

Loafers
Loafer mules

Slingback pumps
Leather slides
Strappy sandals with kitten heels

Espadrilles
White leather sneakers
Ankle Boots

Pointy toe tall boots

Proper footwear for proper occasion

This is an important style tip that will elevate your overall style wherever you are headed. It does not matter whether you are going to the grocery store, or heading for a formal dinner party, you need to wear the correct shoes for the occasion.

You cannot wear stilettos to the grocery store as you were able to do in your 20s. Its not because you can’t, you should wear what you feel like. But as you get to your 30s, you have personally grown and have experienced more in life. And your style should reflect that as well.

You could easily wear the fanciest shoes to your friends house for a hang out in your 20s, it was all about showing off the nicest shoes or outfit you own. But as you get older and you go through those life experiences, you realize its not as important for you to show the same level of maturity in your outfits as well. This applies to your shoes a lot too.

Moreover, there is no point wearing a footwear that is absolutely not appropriate for the occasion because you are uncomfortable in it. Rather wear ones that will add to your confidence.

Upgrade your basic tops

Its high time you figured out what basic tops actually look good and elevate you. And if you don’t own any you should invest in them. Now, don’t roll your eyes, I am not talking about buying all designer or expensive tops or t shirts.

Investment pieces are items that are versatile so you can get more wear out of them, hence the term.

So, pick t shirts that are not see through, but made out of good quality material. Instead of buying V necks only, pick crewnecks that look much more stylish. Ditch your tank tops and pick camisoles that look much more elevated scrappy tops, but they also don’t hug your body in all the wrong places. This always makes you frumpy.

ELEVATED BASIC TOPS I LOVE:

Crew neck T shirt
Satin Camisoles
Button down shirts

Puff Sleeve tops
Turtlenecks
Mock necks

Relaxed fit tops
Collared Tops

Add Elevated Accessories

In my 20s I only cared about owning more accessories or wearing none. It was all about quantity and never about quality. At a certain point I owned 20 random styles of watches. You really don’t need that many, now I only have 3. And if I add one more, I will really think about it.

30s is all about figuring out what your style is, and what flatters you. And accessories play a very important role in it. Find good quality (does not have to be expensive) accessories like handbags, scarves, sunglasses that will enhance your look. Stay away from lots of logos, or tacky materials.

You don’t have to try every style of sunglasses out there, find one that flatters your face and looks like its made out of good material. Pick a good leather bag for all year round usage. If you want a summer bag, pick a minimal rafia one that also looks good.

I think you get what I am saying.

Wear Minimal Jewelry

When it comes to jewelry, less is always more. I don’t have any specific rules in what style of jewelries you should wear. Its completely upto your budget. But my only tip is to create a balanced look while wearing them.

If you are wearing heavy earrings, go for lighter necklace. The same applies the the other way around. If you are wearing heaving rings, tone down your bracelets unless you are headed for a fancy event where its ok to do that.

But the most important thing I realized in my 30s that you might disagree, but I want to share this, I started categorizing my everyday jewelries from my special occasion ones. And I wear my everyday jewelries on repeat. This is something I wish I learned from my mom earlier, it would have saved me from wasting thousands of dollars on fashion jewelries that I literally threw away.

You don’t have to buy expensive gold jewelry, there are plenty of brands like Mejuri, Gorjana, Ross n Simmons where you can find good quality pieces that you can confidently wear everyday.

Create Your Statement Look

The previous tip was a great segway to this one. 30s is the perfect time to build your personal style statement. You have probably experimented with lost of different styles in your teens, in your 20s. And now you are in place in your life, you just want to figure out who you are and how you want to present yourself to the world.

I am a big believer of personal style. Yes there are times when I see something in a magazine or online that is absolutely my style and I instantly copy it. But those occasions are rare. Instead when I shop something or style something, I ensure that it fits my personal style, its comfortable and I stand out in the piece.

The third point is absolutely optional. But when you create a repeatable style that flatters you, you build a style statement.

Wear clothes for the right occasion

This goes hand in hand with the footwear tips, but there is a reason it deserves its own section. In my 20s, I thought every style of parties was a fancy party where I can wear something super flashy or club wear. At that point of time I did not care, I just wanted to look hot. Sounds familiar?

Or maybe you are someone who always wear laidback clothes because you just don’t like dressing up. But that does not mean you will wear jeans and T shirt to a cocktail event. Its important to own a few nice dresses that you can wear for those fancier occasions. And they don’t have to be too flashy. You can own a good black dress for night time occasions, a good colored or neutral outfit for daytime fancy occasions.

Now, that you are in your 30s, its important to get into the details of these things which also something that represents who you are.

I think you get the picture don’t you.

Own more than just workwear / athleisure

As women, we are extremely practical and as we get older our style reflects that as well. And there is nothing wrong in it at all. But in order to feel good and comfortable in your own skin, you should also prioritize yourself. Putting in something other than your athelisure or work outfit when you have a nice dinner to go to.

Honestly, as I have gotten older, these reasons don’t even matter to me. I don’t want to be defined by whether I have a job, or I am a stay at home mom. My wardrobe is my style and I want to wear pieces that makes me look good. That is also a reason enough for you to own a some nice clothes that are not just something you wear on an everyday basis.

I know this one is a hard pillow to swallow and you don’t have to buy super expensive clothes either. But you can definitely pick something else other than what you have to wear everyday from the same store you shop at.

Wear colors other than black and white

You can skip this one if you hate wearing colors, but honestly I would be surprised if you do. Most of us are scared of colors because they are too hard to style or we are not sure if we look good in them.

But now that you know its all about figuring out which color looks good on you, you definitely should try them. Colors have a way of elevating any look naturally. You just need to style them properly and make sure that you are not going too far with wearing too many colors at one time.

There was a phase in my 20s when I started wearing neutral tones a lot, but I realized pretty soon that my style was not what I was hoping for. I have plenty of free capsule wardrobe plans that will help you rock colors and style them effortlessly.

Its all about practicing. Once you know how to style, you will see the difference colors bring to your overall style aesthetics.