How Marissa Lepps is redefining dressing your age

There's an unspoken rule that once you hit your thirties, you're supposed to start ‘dressing your age.’ Hemlines drop, we break up with colour, and somewhere between career milestones and mortgage rates, we’re quietly told to stop ‘trying too hard.’ Perhaps that's why so many women, particularly those in the millennial bracket, swap personality for practicality, subconsciously (or consciously) hiding behind muted tones and modest silhouettes. Think of it like a safety net of dressing of sorts: one that shields rather than celebrates.

The mutton-dressed-as-lamb myth still looms large, warning women that self-expression has an expiry date—that visibility and vibrancy belong only to the young. But style doesn't come with a best-before date, as proven by age-defying style icons like Grace Ghanem and Catherine Dupon, who continue to choose confidence over conformity, and prove that individuality only deepens with time, if you'll let it.

A little closer to home—just across the ditch—Melbourne-based content creator Marissa Lepps is proving it too. With her individual approach to dressing and enviable eye for fashion that leaves you asking, ‘Why didn't I think of that?’, Marissa's looks alone warrant a fast follow. But what really captivates her combined 400K-strong audience isn't just her unique sense of style—it's that she's 41 and entirely unapologetic about it.

She's not afraid to show skin, experiment with inventive layering and shatter societal stereotypes around age-appropriate dressing. Marissa doesn't dress like the 41-year-olds we were led to believe would dress, an ideal that also shaped her view of what the world should look like growing up. ‘When I was younger, I imagined my 40s would come with a white picket fence, kids, dogs, maybe even chickens—wasn't that the millennial dream?’ she says. ‘I thought by now, life would be all about settling down and ticking boxes. But reality turned out so differently, and I love it! I don't have any of those things, and honestly, I've never felt more myself.’

There's something refreshing about Marissa's clarity—and it's not just about clothes. Growing up, I remember watching my mum approach her wardrobe with a sense of restraint, weighed down by what others might think. Marissa's approach feels like the antithesis of that: she dresses for herself, not the gaze.

Perhaps Marissa's one of the lucky ones. Hitting 40 brought with it a wake-up call—a realisation that life on autopilot wasn't cutting it. She decided to put herself and her passions in the driver's seat, fuelled by a confidence that's evolved. ‘I used to be the girl who wanted to fit in and wear whatever my friends, favourite pop stars, and models in Teen Vogue were wearing. I'd push through the 'off' feeling to blend in.’ Over the years, her style has naturally shifted, but the most significant transformation has come from her mindset. Instead of shunning trends or worrying about what others are wearing, she's learned to take inspiration selectively—to adapt what she loves in a way that feels like her, and her alone. Note, her quiet yet powerful rebellion champions me, not you.

So why do so many women, especially millennials, still struggle to have that exact lightbulb moment, and instead give in to the pressure to tone it down as they move through these pivotal years? ‘Because we live in a society that loves putting women into boxes,’ says Marissa. ‘By this age, we're expected to be mothers—and mothers are expected to dress a certain way.’

Earlier this year, Saturday Night Live went viral with a skit that poked fun at what millennial style has supposedly become—oversized, sensible, and entirely beige. The joke landed because it's painfully familiar: the generation that once celebrated self-expression now clings to comfort and caution, fearful of being labelled "try-hard." But that SNL script is precisely what needs rewriting. In truth, your thirties, forties, and beyond should be your most stylish decades. You know yourself better. You know your body better. You have access to independent brands. The tools are all there—it's just about daring to use them.

Take Marissa. When she began sharing her looks online, she figured someone might tell this ‘oldie’ to get off TikTok. Instead, she found a whole corner of the internet cheering her on—a reminder that when you dress for yourself, not the crowd, the right people always applaud.