Keeping it Together: We should all dress like Martha Stewart

What does it mean to dress for one's "own age"? For Martha Stewart, it means dressing the same as she did when she was a teenager.

Hi! My name's Charlie, and I'm a wellness reporter for Paste BN. This week, I dug into Stewart's comments about not letting society's views of how women should dress hold back her style − and, according to fashion and gender experts, we can all learn from her attitude.

While on the red carpet for the Fashion Group International Night of Stars gala last week, the businesswoman and television personality, 82, was asked by Page Six about the idea that people of a certain age should stick to dressing in a particular way.

“Dressing for whose age?” Stewart replied, when asked about the topic. “I don’t think about age. I think people are more and more and more (fabulous) than they’ve ever been in their senior years, and I applaud every one of them.”

The star said her approach to fashion hasn't changed all that much throughout her life.

“I’ve dressed the same since I was 17,” she said. “If you look at my pictures on my Instagram, I look pretty much the same.”

Style coach Megan LaRussa told me Stewart's comments push back against a narrative that women should conceal themselves more as they get older. According to LaRussa, the more women empower themselves, the more they empower others.

"Own it because there are always going to be naysayers. I'm sure Martha Stewart experiences that on a daily basis," she says. "As long as you're confident in the decisions you've made and what feels best on you, then you're less likely to feel put down by others and affected by others. And you can just own your own look, which is such a gift."

You can find more from this story, as well as other great reads from our team, below.