43-year-old Jenn has a husband who's six years younger, and a co-worker who thinks she's 10 years older than she is. She's ready for a wardrobe shake-up and wants to look sexy again!

   Our Style Mission

Self-confessed cougar Jenn dresses older than she actually is; frumpy, to be exact. She’s a dog groomer and a dress-hater, but she wants to pick her wardrobe up a notch and get back into sexy. We took on her challenge with one afternoon and a $500 budget.

Our guest expert is Tish Monaghan, costume designer to stars like Al Pacino and the teen heart throbs of the Twilight series. She had these tips for dressing Jenn:

• To get somebody out of their comfort zone takes a little bit of psychological manhandling. A&K may have to get tough with Jenn.

• When you’re taking a woman in her 40′s who wants a more youthful look, a shrug may fight with the concept by covering up the neckline, which is usually a strong feature you want to highlight.

• If you’re in a beautiful dress with your legs exposed, you can’t wear flat shoes, no matter how uncomfortable you are in heels. It just doesn’t complete the look.

   Our Look Book

To get Jenn into a younger, sexier look, we wanted to put her in a body-skimming dress and add some colour, bling, and heels. Ba-da-bing! Easier said than done? (Remember, she hates dresses!)

 We originally wanted a dress with a lower-cut neckline to complement Jenn’s decolletage, but we ended up with something higher-cut, yet figure flattering. And in a gorgeous colour!

Outfit details

• Comrags “Elm” dress: $270 at Eugene Choo (Photo credit: George Pimentel)
• Miss Closet blue jacket: $89 at Barefoot Contessa
• Silver bead bracelet: $12 at Front & Company
• Steve Madden blue suede pumps: $120 at Town Shoes

Tish Monaghan’s opinion

• I think it looks great. I really do.

• It was a wise decision not to do anything up around her neckline. You’ve got a lovely print and the dress puts the focus on her shape. Her exposed arms and neck act like accessories. That’s all you need up there.

• The bracelet is simple and perfect.

• The jacket is a really good length for her. It skims past her hips, but it is also body slimming.

• The shoes are beautiful. They are classic, with the updated, round-toe style. 

• I think this kind of style covers a great age range. Just change up the accessories and it could work for a 20-year-old to a 50-year-old.

   Did our style picks make the “Do List” or “Don’t List”?

Jenn really loved the outfit we chose for her. When she first saw it she thought it was a “Marge Simpson” style dress, but when she tried it on she realized her first impression was completely wrong. She also surprised herself and loved the heels. Definitely out of her comfort zone! She felt the whole looked turned time back for her by 10 years.

Our style expert Tish Monaghan had nothing bad to say about our style choices. A first! While she admitted she was hoping to “dis” us, we “dis”-appointed her by hitting this one out of the park. Yay us!

   Tips we learned on this show:

• When putting together an age-appropriate look, be careful about getting caught up in fashion fads.

• Be careful when accessorizing high necklines. You don’t always need to add bling. Simple is often best.

   Other Show Segments

• Product Test: Grey Root Hair Colour Touch-Up Products
• Product Test: The Butt Bra
• Tricks of the Trade: An Insider’s Guide to Merchandising Basics

Please note: opinions expressed about fashion and beauty in this article are just that: our opinions. Feeling beautiful on the inside is what matters most, but we like to do what we can on the outside too.