Magazine gives tips on dressing with grace and style at any age

NEW YORK (AP) -- Most of what is in our closets, garments and accessories that followed one outdated trend or another, is disposable. But there are certain pieces -- the classics -- that look lovely and stylish every year. These treasures also look equally appropriate on a woman who is 17 or one who is 70.
Vogue magazine's August issue is its "age issue," offering guidance for dressing gracefully over the decades. Women such as Diane von Furstenberg and Lee Radziwill have successfully blended style with their biological clocks, the magazine's editors say, and so have Chanel suits, pearl necklaces and crocodile bags.
Vogue's advice to the "mademoiselle" who wears Chanel is to show a little skin: Wear the classic tweed jacket without a blouse or pair it with a micro-miniskirt.
A "madame" can keep the Chanel look youthful in spirit by choosing a knee-length skirt that gets gradually sheerer as it gets closer to the hemline.
A young woman in pearls should "go playful," the editors suggest, wearing strands long enough "to jump rope with," while an older woman can pile on several shorter necklaces with thicker beads.
A faux crocodile bag will do for an ingenue, probably in a small, feminine style. Once the real thing comes along, particularly a sophisticated and professional version such as the Hermes Kelly bag in a playful color like lipstick red, a woman shouldn't leave home without it, according to Vogue.