JENNIFER Lopez’s stab at toning down her style around her teenage kids reveals a hidden mid-life struggle, a psychologist has said.
And she thinks that given her new family dynamic, the 53-year-old actress will stop sharing photos of herself dolled up in sexy underwear online.
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On Saturday, February 12, the Shotgun Wedding star was photographed spending time with her husband Ben Affleck and their teenage kids outside their home in Los Angeles.
As Ben set to work filming Seraphina and Max, both 14, navigating their skateboards, J-Lo was pictured on the sidelines wearing a bulky maxi dress and clunky, oversized cardigan.
The 53-year-old’s middle-aged clothes seemed a far cry from the sexy, hip streetwear that she usually wears during the day.
Her look also provided a stark contrast to the seductive lingerie snaps of herself that she’s famed for posting online.
As well as her more recent red carpet look at the Grammy’s where J-Lo had reportedly bickered with her husband.
In an exclusive interview, psychologist Jo Hemmings told The U.S. Sun: “J-Lo’s in a transitional phase and this is a mid-life crisis moment.
“She’s finding her way through her middle years and working out what look reflects both her current lifestyle and her family situation.
“While she started to adopt the coastal grandma look last year, the bulky patchwork dress and a giant mismatched cardigan during the skateboarding session look more hillbilly.
“This frumpy look doesn’t conflict or compete in any way though with the emerging style of her two teenage stepkids.
“J-Lo’s new grandma-type looks likely create a harmonious family dynamic.”
It was only last year when the “coastal grandma” style first originated from a viral TikTok trend.
At the time, TikTok user Lex (@lexnicoleta) coined the term, which alluded to coastal vibes inspired by Nancy Meyers movies.
Apparently, the summery style meant wearing plenty of soft pastel colors and cotton, with fans wearing long cashmere cardigans and maxi dresses.
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The fashion trend has been adopted by the likes of Meryl Streep, Jane Fonda, and Reese Witherspoon, with J-Lo also jumping on the bandwagon.
In May 2022, the pop star and fashion icon was spotted out wearing a chunky cable-knit cardigan and long white cotton dress for a mothers day outing.
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Then on her 53rd birthday in July, J-Lo opted for the same look as she enjoyed celebrating in Paris alongside her husband and their kids.
Through the years, the pop icon has set the bar high with her fashion-forward looks, often dominating the red carpet while setting her own style agenda.
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J-Lo’s most famous fashion-forward moment was the green Versace dress that she wore to the 2000 Grammys.
And she even went on to revive the iconic moment by wearing the dress again on the catwalk in Milan that same year during the Spring.
“J-Lo is approaching her mid-fifties and while she’s at an age when she’s still beautiful, she may feel that she wants a more age-appropriate look now.
“This is also her second time around with Ben Affleck, so she probably feels that she has ‘been there, done that’ and is ‘doing it all again.’
“She’s thinking that she needs a change of style from the first time around and from back in the early noughties.
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“The dowdy-looking grandma style has been creeping in.
“It’s a combination of J-Lo getting older, this being the second time around with Ben and the hip teenagers around her.
“I doubt we’ll see so many lingerie shots of J-Lo from now on in.
“She probably feels she’s almost over that phase of her life, but we will see her looking chicer in other circumstances.
“She’s in the process of finding her way and stylistically, through these difficult middle years now.
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“This is a time when she can either cling on to the look she always had or she can move towards a prematurely aging look.
“If she does this fully, there’s often no return, so what we’re seeing is it’s in stages.
“Most women also have a time in middle age when they question whether their style is outdated.
“They might wonder if their wardrobe no longer works or suits them or is simply no longer making them look or feel at their best.
“For celebs with a reputation and fanbase like J-Lo to preserve and with a pap rarely far away, this feeling is seriously amplified.
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“Covering up is tempting, but then it’s easy to get it wrong and to look and feel dowdy.
“This is especially so when the most memorable images that the public has of J-Lo are looking seriously hot in her younger years.
“It’ll be a struggle for J-Lo to get this completely right.
“Adopting a look that appears carefree, comfortable, and wholesome as well as right on trend could feel like a good move.
“Note though with her efforts at the coastal grandma trend, the cardigans are cashmere, and the floral dresses often have a hint of shape and cut.
“The bag, belt, shades, and shoes – nearly always in the muted tones of nature that coastal grandmas love so much – are invariably designer.
“But the hillbilly grandma style that J-Lo wore during the skateboarding session was just not quite on that same level.”
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