Ageless Style: 30s

You might recognize Shannon Heth from her frequent appearances in the party pages, but whether she’s attending events or managing her roster of restaurant, fashion and design clientele, the 31-year-old Vancouver-based publicist always looks stylish.

Five years ago, Heth’s closet consisted primarily of vintage pieces—“partly out of price-point necessity,” she admits, “but partly because I liked having something I knew I wouldn’t see anyone else wearing. Nowadays, I’m finding it harder to feel age-appropriate in an all-vintage look. Plus, you hope you’re in a position in your 30s where you can afford to mix in a little designer.”

Heth’s job—she represents clients like Vancouver’s Chambar and Café Medina restaurants and architecture-and-design firm MGB—allows her to experiment. “The biggest thing I think about when I get dressed is that I want to look like someone who’s interesting,” she says. “I consider myself lucky that I never have to wear a suit.” Instead, her power pieces include high-waisted pencil skirts, an orange knit dress by Ports 1961, and a pair of brown, 4½-inch platform ankle boots by Gucci. “When I put on the booties, I feel like I can walk into any meeting and completely dominate.”

For play, Heth prefers dresses, and entertains herself with prints. “I find it hard not to wear a little bit of colour, and I’ve always loved polka dots—I once had an entire year when they were pretty much the only print I wore!” Given her affinity for colours and patterns, Heth’s wardrobe is anything but boring. “I think a lot of women my age start turning to basics. They suddenly think their clothes can’t be fun anymore,” she says. “It’s tough, because you’re at this strange place where it’s easy to look like you’re dressing too young or too old, but I wish women in their 30s would take more style risks. You don’t have to wear black to be taken seriously.”

Getting older does have its perks, though. “I feel much more comfortable now with clothing that makes me feel sexy—a sexy that comes from having some wit and sophistication.”

For more style and beauty at every age, check out fashionmagazine.com.