The one wardrobe staple that ALWAYS makes you look older (as Meghan discovered), reveals fashion expert Shane Watson

Of all the things we look at in clothing these days, age classification is the most important.

Do you look good for your age, or older? That is the big question, to which the answer must be a resounding yes, and if not, you should think again.

But it’s designer and I got it on sale! But it’s such a pretty print! But I look tiny in it! None of this matters if you’re looking a little sloppy, trying a little hard, or just plain tired (black can do that).

It’s hard to say what clothes will make you look ten years older, and what clothes will make you look years off. Unfortunately, it’s a constantly shifting benchmark and you have to keep looking in the mirror every season.

Jennifer Lopez, 55, gets a style lift in smart ballet flats. Flats, with a few notable exceptions, are keeping clothes looking modern in 2024

That said, there’s a list of things that don’t fall into the “high risk”/”just say no” category, and at the top of that list are high-heeled pumps.

Take Meghan for example: if I had to say one thing about the outfits she wore during her and Harry’s recent visit to Colombia, it would be that she looked older than her 43 years purely because of what she was wearing on her feet.

In the warm climate, she wore a printed midi skirt and a sleeveless white top (absolutely perfect) with magenta suede pumps with a very high heel (£595 Manolo Blahnik BB 105 pumps, the full four inches).

High-court shoes are a celebrity-in-public staple, the generic adult occasion shoe. Senators’ wives don them for campaign events. Royalty wear them for weddings and funerals. And, unless the occasion is very formal and the appropriate outfit is a tailored dress with matching coat and hat, no matter how old you are, high-heeled pumps are outdated.

With a few notable exceptions, flats are the reason clothes look modern in 2024.

Flats keep suits from looking Eighties Working Girl. They make long dresses more casual and wearable; they keep short dresses from veering into bunny hostess territory; and they inject a sporty, youthful energy into everything from long jermuda shorts to baggy trousers.

And because flat shoes are all the rage right now, shoes at the other end of the spectrum, the classic pumps, look old and wrong.

If Coco Chanel’s mantra was, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take off one thing,” then the modern woman’s mantra should be, “Look in the mirror and ask yourself: Are my shoes flat enough or are they a feminine ambassador for my outfit?”

No offense to female ambassadors, but looking younger means injecting lightness and novelty where you can, and keeping your shoes sharp is one of the easiest and most effective ways to lower your Good For Your Age rating. You might be thinking, ‘That’s all well and good. But I’m petite, I need height. Flats are for the leggy and the slender-ankled; for women who would look good in an LBD and flip-flops.’

Well, you might be surprised. A ballerina might not be the easiest to wear with skirts and dresses, but the more solid styles, cut low on the toe, look chic under wide-leg trousers: try & Other Stories crinkled leather ballerinas (£115, stories.com), Arket’s Square Snake Pumps (£149, arket.com) or the sleek black slingback pumps from H&M (£19, 2.hm.com).

Actress Katie Holmes, 45, looks casual in white strappy flats in New York

Sturdier flat shoes such as moccasin loafers (£90, shop.mango.com) look good under any pair of trousers and the strap buckle, the supple Gucci-style loafer is still a chic addition to loose-fitting, high-waisted jeans (£110, boden.co.uk). Just add a fitted shirt and/or blazer. Plus, flats don’t have to be so flat. Flat is more of a mood (relaxed, not too smart), so if you’re worried about your height, you can now choose from slides with a moulded sole or cross-slides (£91, fitflop.com), chunky leather sandals — I like the Mint Velvet ones and wish I’d come across them earlier in the summer (£109, mintvelvet.com) — or sneakers with a flat sole.

The ones Lady Starmer wears with her navy wide-leg trousers to keep the line flattering are from Russell & Bromley (£195, russellandbromley.co.uk).

There’s an alternative to the totally obsolete flat shoe that’s big news for fall: the ultra-low kitten heel, which has been seen on the Prada runway in every color, paired with pencil skirts and pleated midi skirts. It’s not flat, but it’s much, much flatter, and that’s the direction we’re headed.