Why Your Sweaters Look Frumpy After 50 — and How to Fix It

Why do sweaters look frumpy after 50? It’s almost never your body or your age. It’s the sweater: a shoulder seam that slides, a hem that stops at the widest part of your hip, or tired fabric. In this video I share the 3-Point Sweater Check I use before any sweater goes in my closet: Shoulder · Hem · Fabric, plus one finishing touch. Then I style 7 looks that fix each problem. Ladies, it’s not you. It’s the sweater. And every one of these is fixable. THE 3-POINT SWEATER CHECK ✔ Shoulder: the seam should sit right at the edge of your shoulder. If it slides down your arm, the sweater gets wider, and so do you. ✔ Hem: wear it above your hip, below it, or tucked. Never stopping at the widest part. ✔ Fabric: hold it up to the window. If it’s see-through or the cuff won’t spring back, it will cling, sag and pill. ✔ Then finish it: a collar, a tuck, real jewelry, or a pushed-up sleeve. A sweater on its own is a layer. A finished sweater is an outfit. THE 7 FRUMPY CULPRITS The shoulder that slides · The hip-line hem · Tired fabric · Volume on volume · Sleeves swallowing your hands · The neckline fighting you · The unfinished sweater THE 7 FIXES The French tuck (fixes the hip-line hem) A collar underneath (fixes the high crewneck) Oversized on purpose, with real jewelry The cropped sweater (the “above” hem fix) Cashmere and a denim skirt (fixes volume on volume) The cardigan that works like a jacket The long cardigan, sleeves up and belted (the “below” hem fix) Bonus: two habits