Fashion & Beauty

Middle-aged women are over dressing frumpy

When beauty guru Bobbi Brown, 60, met with President Obama at the White House in May 2016, she didn’t spend a lot of time agonizing over her dress.

“I wore a pair of black pants from Band of Outsiders, a white button-down shirt and Stan Smith sneakers,” she tells The Post proudly. “The first thing Obama said when he saw me was, ‘Cool kicks, Bobbi Brown!’ ”

Bobby Brown  looks effortlessly chic in a bomber jacket, jeans and Stan Smith sneakers.WireImage

Not long ago, women Brown’s age — in fact, most women over the age of 40 — were expected to fade into middle age wearing low heels and dowdy dresses. But many of the outdated rules about what is — and isn’t — appropriate for ladies after age 40 are being thrown out the window by baby boomers and Gen X women with better bodies and savvier fashion sense than ever before.

“Thirty years ago, there were clear-cut rules about how a woman should look after a certain age,” says Poupak Sionit, CMO of GlamSquad, an app that allows users to order hair and makeup services to their doors on short notice. “But those lines are very blurred right now.”

Increased longevity may have something to do with this cultural shift.

“Forty seems young now that women are living to be 85, 90, even 100 years old,” says Natasha Cornstein, CEO of Blushington, a makeup and beauty lounge with a strong client base over the age of 40.

Many also see it as a natural evolution of the women’s empowerment movement.

“What people really care about today is authenticity and self-expression,” says Brown. “If a 45-year-old woman feels like sneakers or pink hair really speak to her personal style, she is going to go for it, regardless of her age.”

But while the old maxims have been kicked to the curb, Brown cautions the need to always “look appropriate.” In other words, say yes to ripped jeans on the weekend, just not in the boardroom. Likewise, purple hair can be supercool if you’re a hair colorist — or work in a creative field — less so if you’re employed at a conservative law firm.

So, what are you waiting for, 40-somethings? Put on your trendy sneaks and feel free to embrace these other fashion-forward looks.

Tanya Pushkin in distressed denim.Tanya Pushkin

Ripped jeans

When it comes to choosing jeans, body confidence matters more than age.

“I wear ripped jeans all the time,” says Tanya Pushkine, a 55-year-old consultant who lives on the Upper West Side.

“I know what looks good on me and what doesn’t, and I’ve never felt any pressure to change the way I dress because of my age.”

And if that means borrowing clothes occasionally from her daughter’s closet? So be it.

“Sometimes I wear her clothes. And sometimes she wears mine. I don’t believe in rules.”

On-trend nail art

GlamSquad

Think you can’t pull off one of those negative-space manis? Think again.

“It’s not about your age anymore — it’s about what makes you feel good,” says GlamSquad’s Sionit, noting that many of the company’s 40-plus-year-old customers are still interested in nail art.

The key to keeping the look tasteful at any age, according to Sionit? Keep your nails short and go for clean designs. (Think geometrics and color blocking.)

“It’s an easy way to look on-trend — and such a low investment.”

Do you, and dye your hair pink or blue

Diana Nielsen, 44, loves her pink highlights.Diana Nielsen

The first time 44-year-old hairdresser Diana Nielsen decided to get pink highlights, she did it to support a friend who had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer.

“I don’t feel any different than I did when I was 24, so my age wasn’t even a consideration,” she says.

Her 10-year-old son, however, wasn’t so sure. “He said, ‘Mom, you don’t look like all the other moms.’”

But the 44-year-old salon owner from Little Silver, NJ, held her ground.

“I explained to him that it’s part of my flair and something I like to do and that eventually, he will be proud that his mom doesn’t look exactly like all the other moms.”

Gray hair that’s fierce, not frumpy

Model Cordelia Dietrich, 50, first started going gray when she was 15.

The line of demarcation was so dramatic that she had to color it every week.

“I found myself planning events around when I could get my hair colored,” says the Upper West Sider, who works for IconicFocus.

When she got pregnant at 43, she wanted to avoid chemicals so she finally stopped dyeing it — and she’s never looked back.

In fact, she now believes the softer color is more flattering against aging skin. “I get way more compliments now.” And as for her modeling career? “It wasn’t until I had gray hair that I really started getting work.”

Body-baring bikinis

Sue Wager has no interest in trading out bikinis for one-pieces.Sue Wager

If you were scrolling through Instagram over Memorial Day weekend, you may have seen 46-year-old Bethenny Frankel dancing in a purple bikini atop a sun lounger, blissfully oblivious to the underboob caught on-camera.

She, like Jada Pinkett Smith, Jennifer Aniston and countless other celebrities over 40, still happily sports a two-piece anytime she can.

And why shouldn’t she? Her body is more sculpted than most women in their 20s.

And it’s not just celebrities who are proudly flaunting their assets: Sue Wager, a 51-year-old financial analyst who lives on the Upper East Side, says she has no plans of switching to a one-piece anytime soon.

“I am proud of how I look in a bikini and see no need to wear a one-piece just because of some arbitrary number.”