10 Celebrities With Unique Personal Style
From L.A. glam to boho chic and more looks in-between
by Lois Joy Johnson, AARP, January 30, 2020
En español | By age 50, every woman has a fashion formula that makes her feel chic, comfortable and confidant. When we finally find a “look” to love, we stick with it and buy specific items on repeat that become our signature — like striped boatneck tees and leopard shoes. But the real secret to personal style — for experienced shoppers and clothes wearers like us — is to never let it look out of date. These 10 celebrities have a distinctive style all their own. Take a look and get inspired.
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1. Sharon Stone: L.A. Glam
Stone, 61, gives sophisticated blazers and pantsuits a sporty edge with track pants and sneakers, and then adds a touch of Old Hollywood with red lipstick, a sleek blonde bob, sunglasses and a polished leather bag. Everything she wears has unexpected details: Her bags are bright blue or red, black leggings are cropped capris worn with an oversized hoodie, the track pants are long and flowing, and the blazer is nipped at the waist for shape. What makes this style work is the opposites-attract theory.
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2. Sarah Jessica Parker: Colorful eclectic
Parker, 54, sparks everyday jeans and dresses with glitter, color and details. Her superlong locks — a blend of brown and blonde — hint at a preference for extremes, but it's the “storybook” midi dresses, voluminous skirts, bright Mary Janes with big sparkly buckles (she even wears them with purple socks!) and tailored plaid topcoats in contrasting colors that tell her style tale. Even basic overalls get a stardust touch with scrunched boots and a feminine blouse. What makes this style work is a gutsy attitude and a sense of creativity when getting dressed.
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3. Tracee Ellis Ross: Tailored terrific
Ross kicks her style off with an amazing cloud of textured hair that's sometimes knotted, worn in a bun, twisted or cornrowed. Then she goes to town dressing down oversized structured jackets and pantsuits with sneakers, message tees and hoodies, and dressing up shorts with heels. Ross, 47, personalizes bossy pinstripe jackets and coatdresses by knotting a belt or pushing up the sleeves, and even makes couture-chic tailored jumpsuits and funnel neck vests look everyday normal. What makes this style work is treating serious clothes in a casual way and vice versa.
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4. Jennifer Aniston: Minimalist black
Aniston stays faithful to a black color theme as the base for her clean, modern wardrobe of pared-down dresses and jeans (with occasional flings with white). Her all-neutral uniform is crafted to stay on trend, with every item carefully edited for cut and details (especially necklines) and the ability to highlight her very toned and trim shape. There are no baggy, oversize pieces in this wardrobe, but on the occasion when Aniston, 50, wears a full midi skirt or wide-leg pants note that these are paired with a body-hugging top to keep definition. What makes this style work is staying within a color theme, so mixing old and new pieces is a snap.
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5. Julianne Moore: Boho elegant
Moore, 59, likes a dash of comfort with her style: Long skirts, midi dresses and wide-leg pants are her current recipe for looking good and feeling fashionable. She wears slouchy sweaters with pleated skirts, pleated dresses with slouchy leather boots and even adds a roomy cocoon-shape raincoat with her leggings. Moore's accessories are equally relaxed — like sneakers, hybrid sneaker booties or wedges she can walk in and hands-free crossbody bags or a backpack. What makes this look work is that she chooses soft, beautifully detailed pieces that move and drape well.
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6. Cindy Crawford: Polished pants
Crawford lives in jeans and pants, but her strategy for owning this look elevates them from the ordinary. She pulls the style together with blouses and button-downs — instead of tees, often toning them to the bottom half for a twist on dress casual. A leather biker jacket or velvet blazer add a rock-and-roll vibe, while ankle boots or strappy heeled sandals keep the look consistently cool. Note how Crawford, 53, prefers mid-rise jeans and pants to high-waisted (details count), and adds a belt or sash at the hip to keep a shapely silhouette. What makes this look work is the repetition of timeless pieces in updated fits and fabric for a fail-safe formula that's easy to wear anywhere from Paris to Des Moines.
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7. Brooke Shields: Sheath dress success
Shields has a thing for simple sheath dresses, and has made this classic her signature. Nothing tricky or complicated about a style that gets you out the door in seconds and requires nothing more than a change of shoes to pivot from day to night. What makes this dress style (or any other dress style, for that matter) work as your signature look is zeroing in on the necklines, sleeves and hemline that suit your body and the colors that get compliments: Shields, 54, usually favors sleeveless styles with high or V necklines and white, black or jewel-tone colors.
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8. Christie Brinkley: Subtly sexy
Brinkley, 65, doesn't just wear her clothes. She styles them to her advantage — much like fashion editors do. Her clothing choices may not appear to have much in common at first glance, but take a look at the way they fit and the way Brinkley wears them. She selects slim full-length pants or flares, short dresses and even short-shorts to show off her long legs. Sweaters, shirts and tailored jackets all have a V neckline to elongate her neck, flatter a full bust and provide a discreet glimpse of cleavage — hey, she is Christie Brinkley! What makes this style work is choosing clothes that work for your body instead of trying to make your body work in everything and anything.
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9. Meg Ryan: Downtown edgy
Ryan, 58, prefers minimalist separates with a utilitarian vibe. It's a low-key, high-fashion aesthetic that relies on indie labels and unstructured pants, jackets and skirts punctuated by Birkenstocks, sneakers, combat boots, messenger bags and captain's caps. There's a loose, relaxed look to everything from Ryan's signature layered locks — now longer with a wavy texture — to the cropped pants and dark floral midi dress. What makes this style work is choosing sleek, understated pieces in muted shades of black and charcoal that seamlessly work together and never look overworked or too “fashiony."
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10. Kris Jenner: Suits simplified
Jenner makes a sharp structured jacket and pants her shapely solution for work and networking. It's an Instagram-worthy uniform that's seasonless and provides plenty of opportunity to mix in leather, prints and belts. Jenner, 64, keeps the look interesting by varying the jacket from single- to double-breasted, trendy to trench-coat inspired. What makes this style work is the willingness to keep integrating new pieces as fashion goes through its cycle or change. Jenner even tried an asymmetric skirt recently with a belted military-style jacket, tights and knee boots — proving style is an ever-evolving formula, not a cookie-cutter template.