Addressing Changes: Wardrobe & Style Tips for Perimenopause and Menopause
“Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes,” sang David Bowie. Yep. Life is full of changes, and some are more significant than others. For many women, the arrival of perimenopause and menopause can be one of the most profound physical and emotional changes they'll experience. It can often feel overwhelming, alienating, and frustrating, as everything from body temperature to body shape starts to shift. In addition to that, pop-culture messaging can make it feel like life is over. Or that your value has decreased, for some inexplicable reason. We’re here to say f-that. It’s challenging, of course, but you have a whole BU community to help you! And, believe it or not, clothes can be a potent tool for navigating these changes, allowing you to feel connected to your body and the world around you.
Here are common questions we get from our personal style clients. Any of these sound familiar?
“How do I dress in a way that covers my belly? I hate the way I look and feel.”
“Every time I try on 'work' clothes, I look round and like a frumpy grandma. Where do I shop now?”
“Am I too old to pull this off? How do I dress for my age?”
“I feel hot all the time. Until I’m freezing. How can I manage hot flashes through clothes?”
Let’s answer these questions—and a few you may not even know how to ask—to help you approach getting dressed and feeling good during perimenopause and menopause. We’ll focus on specific, practical style strategies that support your body as it changes, rather than ignoring it or trying to hide it. Our goal is always empowerment. Whether you’re navigating bloating, hot flashes, or simply recalibrating your sense of style as you evolve, you’ll find actionable tools and real-life examples designed to help you feel supported, aligned, and fully yourself.
Fashion Throughout the Decades: The Importance of Clothing During Life Changes
Our clothes serve as a form of self-expression and can significantly affect how we feel. We’ve written countless articles about how clothes are a certain kindness to ourselves, or how enclothed cognition is absolutely a thing. Clothes help signal to the world where we stand in our lives, our values, and our personal attributes. When we acknowledge that our bodies are changing, it’s equally crucial to adapt our fashion choices to align with these transitions. Instead of amplifying the feeling of being out of touch or disconnected from your body, putting thought into your clothes can be a form of self-care and self-empowerment. We can’t control what’s happening to our bodies, but we can control how we dress them.
“So What Should I Wear During Menopause (and Perimenopause and Postmenopause)?” Your questions answered!
You know us, we’re never going to hand you a one-size-fits-all outfit formula. Style is personal, contextual, and deeply connected to how you want to feel. What we will give you is a set of tools. Think of this as your style companion through a season when your body (and sometimes your closet) may feel a little less predictable.
Here are some practical, supportive ways to use style as both a comfort strategy and a self-expression tool during this transition—so your wardrobe can work with you, not against you.
Tip 1: Don’t Underestimate the Importance of a Good Supportive Bra
It may sound trivial, but having a well-fitted, supportive bra can elevate your entire look. So many of our clients aren’t wearing the proper size, so as your body changes, we recommend getting refitted. This step is often forgotten but can significantly affect how your clothes look and how confident you feel. It’s vital and often overlooked during this phase of life.
Steps to Ensure a Good bra Fit:
Get Fitted Regularly: Bodies shift—sometimes subtly, sometimes not—so an annual professional fitting is one of the best gifts you can give your wardrobe. Call your local lingerie shop or connect with a trusted associate at a department store to make sure your size and support needs are up to date.
Explore Your Options: Different stages of life often call for different levels of support. Look into styles designed with features like moisture-wicking fabric, breathable linings, or added lift. We also suggest keeping bra band extenders on hand for days when you want more breathing room.
Try Different Silhouettes and Shapes: Don’t assume the style that worked five years ago—or even last year—is still the right one. Experiment with underwire vs. wireless, molded cups vs. unlined, and bralettes for low-impact days. Your comfort and needs may change, and your bra options should meet you where you are.
Prioritize Comfort as. Fit Metric: Comfort isn’t a “nice to have”; it’s foundational. The right bra supports better posture, helps clothing drape more smoothly, and makes getting dressed feel easier. If it digs, pinches, or distracts you, it’s not the right fit.
Tip 2: Use the Power of Color & Texture in Clothing to Your Advantage (They’re Doing More Work Than You Think)
Color and texture are two of the simplest, most effective tools you can use during perimenopause and menopause—especially on days when you want more brightness or polish without leaning on makeup. Color reflects light back onto your face, and texture shapes how that light behaves. Together, they can help you feel more refreshed, grounded, and visually supported, even when your internal thermostat and energy levels are all over the place.
Color: Your Built-In Light Reflector
Color near your face can brighten your complexion, even out tone, and make your eyes look more vibrant. You do not need to find a “perfect shade” or become a color-analysis expert. Most people already have an instinct for what they feel good in—you’re just giving that instinct a little structure.
Two easy ways to identify your best colors:
Hold a garment near your face in natural light and notice how your eyes and complexion respond. If your eyes brighten and your skin looks more even, that color is working for you.
Take selfies in different colors. Step away and come back later—your best shades will be obvious.
And remember: it’s the color closest to your face doing most of the work. Necklines, collars, sweaters, scarves, shells—these are the pieces that affect how light bounces. You can wear any color you love on pants, shoes, bags, and belts.
Texture: The Shaper of Light
Texture influences how your clothing interacts with light, which can subtly change how your skin appears. Matte textures like cotton, knits, or tweed scatter light and create a soft, diffused effect—great for days when you’re keeping makeup minimal or want a smoother overall look. Shiny textures like satin and high-sheen fabrics concentrate light and create sharper highlights. If you enjoy shine but don’t want it near your face, put it in accessories such as shoes, belts, or jewelry where it adds energy without emphasizing skin texture.
How to Use Color and Texture Strategically in Your Outfits
Use harmonious colors near your face (tops, scarves, collars) when you want to brighten your complexion or look more awake. This is where light reflects most directly onto your skin, so supportive shades will lift your eyes and even out your tone.
Choose matte textures near your face—like cotton, tweeds, corduroy, soft knits, etc.—on days you’re wearing minimal makeup or want a smoother overall appearance. Matte fabrics diffuse light, softening texture and creating a more balanced visual effect.
Place shinier fabrics or bright metallics away from the face when you want energy or personality without emphasizing fine lines or uneven skin texture. Shine acts like a spotlight, so use it intentionally.
Create a column of color by wearing a similar shade from top to bottom when you want visual length and an outfit formula that feels pulled together with minimal effort. Columns also make layering easier because everything blends harmoniously.
Keep a few scarves, shells, or simple bases in your most supportive colors to anchor outfits on days when you’re layering for temperature changes. These pieces act as reliable “light reflectors,” ensuring the layers you remove or add don’t disrupt the overall harmony of the look.
Color and texture aren't about being bold or dramatic. They’re strategic tools that help your clothes enhance your features, support your mood, and work with your natural features instead of competing with them.
Learn more:
BU Style & BU Beauty insights in AP story: Pamela Anderson Leads the Way for Women Who Choose to Go Makeup Free
Tip 3: Dress for Your Right-Now Body Using the ABCs of Dressing (Instead of Outdated Body Typing ‘Rules’)
One of the biggest challenges during perimenopause and menopause is feeling like your body has suddenly changed without checking with you first. Waistlines shift, curves redistribute, bloating can show up unpredictably, and clothes you’ve worn for years might suddenly feel unfamiliar. Traditionally, magazines and “style experts” would tell you to solve this by figuring out your “body type” (apple, pear, hourglass, rectangle, inverted triangle) and dressing it in a particular way they have deemed correct. We’re here to say that entire system is outdated. It oversimplifies real bodies, ignores your personal preferences, and often leaves women feeling like they’re falling short of an arbitrary “ideal shape.” And during perimenopause and menopause, when your proportions may change monthly (or daily!), body typing becomes even less helpful. Your body is not a fruit, a shape, or a static category. It’s a living, evolving, multi-dimensional system. Instead of trying to shove you into a predefined box, we use something far more flexible, human, and effective: the ABCs of Dressing: Accentuate, Balance, Camouflage. This approach adapts to your real body in real time. Some days you may want to show off your waist, and some days you want to camouflage your mid-section. The ABCs are built for that level of honesty and fluctuation.
A = Accentuate
Highlight the features that still feel like “you”—the parts you love, the parts you feel connected to, the parts that make you light up. Love your waist? Go with belts, high-waists, fit-and-flare silhouettes. Love your legs? Explore shorter skirts and dresses, slim trousers, tailored shorts, or interesting shoes that draw the eye down. Love your neck or collarbone? Try V-necks or open collars. Accentuating isn’t about showing skin; it’s about choosing where you want the eye to land.
B = Balance
Balance is about proportion and harmony, not “fixing” anything. When your body feels unfamiliar, balance helps re-establish a sense of visual alignment. Feeling fuller through the midsection? Try softer, drapier tops balanced with structured pants or a tailored layer. Want grounding? Feeling bottom-heavy, add a top with a strong shoulder to balance out your hips.
C = Camouflage
Let’s reclaim this word. Camouflage isn’t about hiding, shame, or denial. It’s simply choosing where you don’t want the focus today. Lightweight layers like vests, cardigans, or blazers can soften areas without adding bulk. Darker tones can help certain areas visually recede when that feels supportive, and matte textures or subtle patterns can gently diffuse attention. You don’t owe anyone full-body confidence every day. What you can do is meet your body with acceptance and use clothing strategically to support how you want to feel and show up that day.
Why the ABCs Work Better Than Body Typing
Body typing assumes your shape is fixed and that your style should be built around correcting it. But during perimenopause and menopause, consistency is usually the first thing to go. Your body might feel different week to week or morning to night. The ABCs adapt to whatever your body is doing today, without asking you to conform to a chart. They also honor something body typing never accounts for: your personality, your aesthetic, your lifestyle, and your preferences. You’re not dressing a geometric diagram. You’re dressing a human being with taste, mood, and identity.
Pieces That Make the ABCs Easier during Perimenopause and Menopause
Pants with structure and give: flat-front with elastic back, subtle drawstrings, structured jersey blends, and denim with stretch. Tops that breathe and drape: linen, cotton, gauze, wrap shapes, tie-fronts. Dresses that allow fluctuation: A-lines, wraps, shifts, anything that floats away from the body comfortably. Strategic layers: vests, lightweight blazers, cardigans, breathable toppers. These silhouettes can be layered to flex with your right-now body instead of resisting it.
The Point Isn’t Perfection; It’s Alignment
Your body is shifting. Your proportions are reshaping. Your relationship to your clothing is evolving. The ABCs aren’t about controlling your body; they’re about supporting it. Accentuate what you love. Balance to have fun with shapes. Camouflage what feels tender today. This is not about retreating from your style. This is about recalibrating toward it with generosity, curiosity, and clarity rather than restriction.
As you assess your wardrobe, take the time to think about what you want to accentuate about your body. What areas are you proud of? Pinpointing these features can help you choose clothing that makes you feel confident and radiant, and help you focus on body-acceptance by highlighting and reinforcing what you love about yourself!
Learn more:
Read our resource article, “Dressing for Your ‘Body Type’: Introducing the ABCs of Dressing”
Tip 4: Choose Fabrics That Support Your Temperature, Comfort, and Movement
Perimenopause and menopause often bring fluctuating temperatures, skin sensitivity, and shifts in how certain fabrics feel on the body. Instead of forcing your way through clothes that feel restrictive, clingy, or sweaty, choose fabrics that work with you.
Cotton and linen are breathable and great for everyday wear. Merino wool regulates temperature beautifully and is ideal for those who run hot and then cold (and then hot again). Stretch blends with recovery give you comfort without losing their shape by midday. Silk and silk blends add polish without weight, and moisture-wicking layers help you stay comfortable on days when your internal thermostat feels out of sync.
Fabrics are a strategy, not an afterthought. The right materials can ease irritation, regulate temperature, and make every other style choice feel more comfortable and confident.
Tip 5: Personal Stylists’ Guide to Layering Intentionally (Your Thermostat Is Changing; Your Style Doesn’t Have To)
Layering becomes essential during perimenopause and menopause—not just for style, but for sanity. Hot flashes, cold offices, public transit, sun, shade . . . temperature swings happen fast.
Start with a breathable base layer that feels good on its own. You want to be able to remove layers without feeling exposed or uncomfortable. Add lightweight toppers like vests, open cardigans, oversized shirts, or relaxed blazers that you can slip on and off easily.
Ask yourself: “Do I still like the outfit with the top layer on? With it off? Half on?” Accessories (like a scarf, belt, or necklace) can act as the visual “throughline” that keeps all versions of the outfit looking intentional.
When layering is strategic, it becomes one of your most powerful style tools—functional, flattering, and flexible.
Helpful Steps:
Plan for Temperature Variations: When dressing, consider where you’ll be during the day and how the temperature might change, customizing layers accordingly. Make sure you’ll be comfortable wearing just the bottom layer. For example, if you prefer not to have your arms showing, make sure your bottom layer covers your arms, so you feel good if you need to take off the top layers.
Be Strategic with Your Choices: Ensure each layer harmonizes with your outfit while maintaining comfort. Make sure they mix and match in a way that you are still happy with your outfit. Ask yourself: Do I like this outfit with only the bottom and top layer? Will an accessory help pull it all together no matter which layer I’m wearing?
Tip 6: “Age-Appropriate” Style Is a Myth: Shop What Supports Your Life & Personal Style Now
One of the biggest myths we hear from women in perimenopause and menopause is the idea that certain trends, cuts, or styles are suddenly off-limits because of age. That’s outdated thinking. Your age is not a style boundary, and it shouldn’t dictate what you can or can’t wear. What matters far more is how something supports your aesthetic, your body, and your lifestyle right now. You don’t have to shop at certain stores or avoid others. You don’t have to limit yourself to “classic only” or write off trends entirely. What actually creates great style is how you mix and match your pieces: pairing something contemporary with something timeless, something structured with something soft, something bold with something neutral. That balance is what makes an outfit feel intentional and personal. Trends are simply tools. If a trend works for your proportions, your comfort, or your personality, try it. If it doesn’t, skip it.
You’re not opting in or out because of age; you’re choosing based on strategy. The same goes for silhouettes. You can wear oversized pieces, fitted pieces, short hemlines, relaxed trousers, bold patterns, or minimalist shapes. There’s no universal “age-appropriate” category. The question isn’t, “Is this too young?” The question is, “Does this feel like me, and does it support the way I want to show up?” When you release the pressure to dress for your age and instead dress for your life, you open up more possibilities, not fewer.
What matters most is how pieces come together, how they make you feel, and how they help you communicate who you are now.
Reminder:
Don’t Limit Yourself: Remember that clothes are for all individuals. Just because a brand targets younger audiences doesn’t mean you can’t wear it too! Mixing and matching and adding a youthful “twist” to your wardrobe can be a great way to signal: “I’m curious!” “I’m fun!” “I’m relevant!”
Tip 7: Revisit Your Strategic Shopping List (SSL) With Your Right-Now Needs in Mind
Even with great pieces in your wardrobe, you may still find yourself standing in your closet thinking, “Why does getting dressed feel harder than it used to?” That’s often a sign that your Strategic Shopping List needs an update. As your body, lifestyle, and comfort needs shift during perimenopause and menopause, your SSL should evolve with you. Think of it as a living document, not a list of things you “should” buy, but a tool to help you notice what supports you and what doesn’t. When you get dressed, bring intentionality to how you want to show up.
Ask yourself:
Do I have the pieces I need to support myself both stylistically and physically?
Do my clothes give me flexibility on days when my body feels different?
Do I have layers I can trust for temperature swings?
For example, maybe your pants technically fit, but they feel snug on bloated days. That’s a clue: add a new SSL line item like “structured in front, elastic in back” or “soft waistband for fluctuating days.” When you find the right on, you can replace the old pair with this new, more versatile option. This isn’t a shopping list to complete; it’s a clarity tool. The SSL helps you identify gaps, refine your outfits, and make purchases that actually solve the problems you’re feeling—not add to them. If you’re part of BU Style Circle, you already have access to our SSL tool, which walks you through this exact process with prompts and category guidance. If you’re not in Circle, consider joining us: you’ll gain ongoing support, examples, and our full wardrobe planning system. When your clothes meet your needs, getting dressed becomes easier, more expressive, and more aligned with who you are right now.
Helpful Steps:
Prioritize Quality Over Quantity: Aim to invest in fewer high-quality pieces rather than a multitude of lower-quality items. As always, we go for Buy Better, Buy Less, Wear Longer. You want your purchases to really make you feel good.
The BU Way: Personal Style That Supports You Through Every Change
Perimenopause and menopause aren’t a style setback; they’re a style recalibration. Your body is shifting, your temperature is unpredictable, and your relationship to your clothes is evolving. None of that means you’ve lost your style. It simply means your wardrobe needs to meet you where you are now—not where you were five or ten years ago. Using tools like a supportive bra, intentional color and texture, the ABCs of Dressing, thoughtful fabrics, strategic layering, and pieces you choose because they work for you—not because of age rules—you create a closet that adapts instead of resists. This stage of life isn’t about following restrictions or dressing to look younger; it’s about dressing to feel more aligned, supported, and expressed. Your clothes can help you reconnect with your body, not fight against it. They can help you communicate who you are today and who you’re becoming. Style in this chapter is less about perfection and more about clarity, ease, and self-honoring.
You deserve to feel good in your clothes, not despite this transition, but through it.