Over the past several years, C++ has become a more popular language to use in embedded systems than C. Don’t get me wrong, C will continue to be a dominate language for years to come, but C++ offers developers modern tools to leverage when designing more reusable, scalable, and portable code. Teams aren’t just abandoning C, but instead, when starting new product development are instead adopting C++. The language has been evolving with the times and offers many improvements over C. In this post, let’s examine five simple C++ tricks that C programmers will immediately appreciate.

Trick #1 – Conditional Compilation Using Constexpr

The bane of many embedded code bases written in C is the large numbers of #if / #elif / #else preprocessor directives. The preprocessor directives are often used to conditionally compile code in and out of the image. For example, if we have three different versions of hardware, we’ll often create a macro that is used and then checked based on the build configuration to determine pin assignments and so forth. The problem with conditional compilations using the preprocessor is that the code gets messy and sometimes quite difficult to follow.

Related: 5 Tips for Choosing an Embedded Programming Language

Starting in C++ 17, the language introduced the ability for developers to conditionally compile code using constexpr. Developers can leverage this compiler feature to optimize code based on templates and even to remove preprocessor directives that are using #ifdef blocks. For example, if we had a code base that had three different hardware configurations, we might find that our code to initialize GPIO looks something like this:

void Gpio_Init()

Related: Utilizing CI/CD Processes for Embedded Systems

{

#ifdef __HARDWARE_REV1__

            // Initialize pin set #1

#elif __HARDWARE_REV2__

            // Initialize pin set #2

#elif __HARDWARE_REV_3__

            // Initilialize pin set #3

#endif  

}  

The code above is configurable, but it’s quite nasty to look at. Yes, a modern IDE will shade some of the options, but it’s just not a very elegant solution and leads to some messy code. In C++, we can leverage the constexpr compile time optimization and write code like the following:

constexpr Hardware_t HardwareRev = Hardware::Rev1

void Gpio_Init()

{

    if constexpr (HardwareRev == Hardware::Rev1)

    {

        // Initialize pin set #1

    }

    else if constexpr (HardwareRev == Hardware::Rev2)

    {

        // Initialize pin set #2

    }

    else if constexpr(HardwareRev == Hardware::Rev3)

    {

        // Initialize pin set #3

    }

}

When we compile the above code for Rev2, only the code for “Initialize pin set #2” makes it into our executable. If we compile for Rev1, only the code for “Initialize pin set #1” makes it into the executable, and so forth.

Trick #2 – Ranged for Loops

A fundamental flow control mechanism in C and C++ is the for loop. The C for loop has been stuck in the dark ages by not having a simplified range-based option. For example, languages like Python allow a programmer to iterate over a range using syntax like:

for x in range (1, 5)

    print(x)

In C, we need to write (depending on the C standard used of course):

for(int x = 1; x <= 5; x++)

{

    printf(“%d \r\n”, x);

}

Starting in C++ 11, an additional version of the for loop was added that makes working with ranged values easier. For example, if one wanted to write the above code examples in C++, we could now write it as:

int MyNums[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};

for(int i : MyNums)

{

    std::cout << I << std::endl;

}

At first, to a C developer this may seem awkward; However, given how often we want to work over a range in an enum or object, the syntax is cleaner and easier to read.

Trick #3 – Use Auto

For C developers, auto is a language keyword that was deprecated a long time ago. Developers used to use auto to specify a variable that was limited to the current scope. Auto is a storage class specifier like static, only it specifies that the storage is local and the variable should be automatically destroyed once our of scope, unlike static which allows the variable to persist.

In C++, auto can be a very useful keyword that tells the compiler to automatically assign the datatype for the developer. For example, in Trick #2, we had the following for loop code:

int MyNums[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};

for(int i : MyNums)

{

    std::cout << I << std::endl;

}

MyNums is already defined as an int, so I can let the compiler decide on the type that should be used for i as follows:

for(auto i : MyNums)

{

    std::cout << I << std::endl;

}

At first, this may appear sloppy. As the developer, shouldn’t I control what my variable types are? The answer is yes, but we should allow the compiler to manage types where it could save us time or where we don’t care to manually specify. Do we care if i for example is uint8_t, uint16_t, uint32_t and so forth? Probably not. We just want something that can iterate over the range of one to five and the compiler is more than capable of deciding. Auto can also help when we change a data type. We can change it in one place without having to worry about changing anything downstream that uses or interacts with it.  

Trick #4 – The Spaceship Operator

It can sometimes be annoying when you need to write a conditional statement that checks whether a value is less than, greater than, or equal to another value. Just recently, C++20 add a three-way comparison operator that can simplify readability and the code. This operator <=>, is often called the “spaceship” operator because it looks like a spaceship.

Using the spaceship operator is simple. For example, if we have two variables and we want a three-way comparison, we might write code like the following:

int Var1 = Value1;

int Var2 = Value2;

auto Result = Var1 <=> Var2;

If Var1 < Var2, then Result will less than 0. If Var1 > Var2, Result will be greater than 0. If Var 1 is equal to Var2, then Result will be 0.

Trick #5 – Getting the Size of a String

Strings in C are nothing more than a char array with ‘\0’ as the last array entry. Many bugs have resulted in applications from how C deals with strings. It’s not uncommon to forget the string terminator in a string, incorrectly size the array, or use string functions that can result in buffer overruns, and so forth.

In C++, strings can be managed much more safely. I’m not going to go into all the cool details in this post, that is up to the reader, but I do want to just point out how simple things can be in C++. For example, if a developer needs to get the length of a string, they can simply use the length() method associated with the string. A simple code example might be where we allow the user to input a string and then verify its length prior to use:

string Input;

getline(cin, Input);

if(Input.length() < 50)

{

    std::out << “Processing String …” << std::endl;

}

else

{

    std::out << “String to long! Try again” << std::endl;

}

It’s a simple example, but I highly encourage the reader to investigate the string libraries that are provided in C++. You’ll be surprised how safe, and easy it is to use strings!

Conclusions

C++ is gaining traction in many embedded applications, especially ones that are developed from the ground up and don’t rely on large amounts of legacy code. At first glance, C++ may seem intimidating to C programmers; However, C programmers will find that C++ is a natural extension of C into a more modern programming language. Design patterns and techniques that would be nearly impossible in C are easy in C++. In this post, we’ve explored a few simple C++ tricks that I think will interest C developers. We’ve barely begun to scratch the surface, but if you are a C programmer, I think you’ll find that C++ has a lot to offer to embedded applications.

Jacob Beningo is an embedded software consultant who works with clients in more than a dozen countries to dramatically transform their businesses by improving product quality, cost, and time to market. He has published too many blogs to count embedded software architecture, processes, and development techniques, is a sought-after speaker and technical trainer, and holds three degrees, including a Master of Engineering from the University of Michigan. You can contact Jacob at [email protected] and sign-up for his monthly Embedded Bytes Newsletter.

Despite our illusions of independence and control, it’s possible to manipulate people using a variety of psychological tricks—heck, that’s what the entire advertising and marketing industry is built on. So it stands to reason that a little light mind control could make things go your way a bit more often. When you dig into supposed psychological tricks, however, you often get mired in a lot of pseudo-science and dubious claims. But while it’s true that you’re not going to be controlling minds and hypnotizing people into doing your bidding any time soon, there are psychological tricks that do really work—and that are backed by scientific evidence.

If you’re looking to gain a little bit of an edge in your everyday life, here are some mind tricks that actually do work.

Create a debt

If you want to make someone do something for you and meet resistance, one trick you can employ is to create a debt by doing something for them first. This hinges on what’s known as the Norm of Reciprocity—basically, the pressure people feel to return a favor. An easy example of this is when someone cleans your windshield when you’re stopped at a light, and then asks for a tip. You didn’t ask them to clean your windshield, but once it’s done, you feel pressure to reciprocate.

You can create this debt in a wide variety of ways. Servers in restaurants jot personal notes on your bill to create a debt of goodwill, encouraging larger tips. Companies offer free trials of products and services because they know that once you use the product, you’ll feel a debt and be more reluctant to cancel or return the item. So next time you need someone to do something for you and you sense their reluctance, do something for them and you’ll increase your chances of success.

Mirroring

Yes, something used by Andy Bernard on The Office is a legit psychological trick with science backing it up. Personality mirroring, or The Chameleon Effect, is when we unconsciously mimic the people around us—their postures, attitudes, and other behaviors. We all have a tendency to do this because of what’s known as the “perception-behavior link,” wherein observing a behavior increases the likelihood that we’ll repeat it.

You can use this to your advantage by consciously mirroring people you’re trying to influence, matching their mannerisms and other behaviors. This increases trust and will make you seem more authoritative and trustworthy, because you’ll literally remind people of themselves.

Over-ask

Are you trying to get someone to do something? Try the Door in The Face (DITF) technique. You use this trick by first asking your target for something much harder or more outrageous than what you really want—something they’ll doubtlessly refuse. Then, back down and ask them for your original desire. The chances that they agree are now much higher because of DITF, which pivots off the Norm of Reciprocity discussed above (the name of this technique is taken from the concept of people slamming the door in a pushy salesperson’s face). When you downgrade what you’re asking, it’s perceived subconsciously as a concession—which creates a debt. People will have a strong urge to erase that debt by agreeing to your “lesser” request.

Repeat yourself

If you’re trying to convince someone of something, one of the most powerful psychological tricks you can employ is what’s known as repetition bias. Basically, the perceived legitimacy and truth of any statement increases the more frequently it is repeated—in other words, the more you repeat even blatantly untrue or incorrect information, the more likely people will start to believe you. This results in what’s known as the “illusory truth effect,” and the last few years have shown just how powerful it can be even when dealing with huge populations that have access to factual information. So the next time you need to convince someone of something, just repeat it doggedly—you’ll eventually wear them down.

Imply scarcity

The scarcity principle is one of the most common examples of blatant psychological trickery we encounter on a daily basis. Any time you see an advertisement that promises something is limited—in time or quantity—it’s using the scarcity effect against you. It’s easy to see why this works: We tend to place more value on something when we think it’s rare. When you’re told that an opportunity only exists for a short time or in a limited supply, your fear of missing out (FOMO) hits hard, and you almost instinctually want to avoid it.

While this is most useful with marketing products, you can also employ this trick in other ways. You can trick people into spending time with you by implying that you can’t fit them into your busy schedule, for example.

Speak with confidence

Being thoughtful about your vocabulary choices when speaking can have a huge impact on how you’re perceived, and how often people do what you want. We often unconsciously “hedge” when we talk, using phrases like “I think” or “I’m not 100% sure, but...” This gives your audience wiggle-room to doubt what you’re saying and to perceive you as less than reliable.

On the other hand, using confident phrases like “I know” or “I believe” will make your arguments seem more authoritative even if nothing else changes in what you’re saying. In other words, your statements might be as dubious as before, but because you’re stating them so confidently, people will have a stronger tendency to believe you.

Use names

If you get the sense that someone’s attention is wandering from you, or if you want to ensure that they’re focused on you no matter what else is going on around you, try using their name. Science tells us that hearing our name pivots off the “Cocktail Party Effect,” which describes the way we instinctively filter out all other stimuli when we hear something interesting—and our own names trigger this effect in spades.

That’s why salespeople are usually trained to repeat your name often as they deliver their pitch to you, and you can use this simple technique to ensure that people are paying attention and feel engaged with you as you speak. Your audience may not even realize why they remember their conversation with you so well, or why they failed to notice other people in the room while you were speaking.

Be present

If you’re trying to establish a bond of trust with someone, you can use something called “affinity” to trick people into trusting you. Affinity is a sense of familiarity people have when they’re used to seeing you all the time—the more “present” you are in their lives, the more likely they are to feel close to you and to trust you.

For example, an experiment was conducted in which four women posed as students in a class. The women did not interact with any of the other students at all—they merely showed up. The impostors attended different numbers of classes, and at the end of the term, the other students were shown photos and asked their opinions. The women who had attended the most classes—who had been most “present”—triggered higher levels of affinity, even though they hadn’t spoken to anyone.

Dish the compliments

One of the trickiest mind tricks involves something called spontaneous trait transference. In a nutshell, this means that people tend to view you with the adjectives you use on other people.

So, if you want someone to see you as smart, start calling other people smart. If you want to be seen as confident—or even attractive—describe others using those terms. Over time, everyone will start to view you through the lens of those comments. Keep in mind that this works in reverse, too—if you spend your days crankily insulting other people, those around you may start to view you in a very negative way.

Touch

Want to influence people? Try some subliminal touching. Subliminal touching is simply making casual interpersonal contact while interacting with someone. Touching their arm or shoulder briefly has been shown to make people instantly feel warmer toward you. While you often hear this advice in the context of dating and romance, it’s a powerful mind trick any time you’re trying to be perceived in a positive light. For example, a study conducted by the University of Mississippi and Rhodes College found that waitresses in a restaurant who lightly touched their customers received significantly larger tips.

There’s no true mind control, but you can use these real, real mind tricks to deliver yourself some advantages. Just remember that other people are probably using these same tricks on you.

When tinkering with your Raspberry Pi projects, there will often be times when having a monitor connected to your board is inconvenient and unnecessary. You might be turning your Raspberry Pi into a weather station or making a smart human-following robot. Neither project would need a display to fully function, and having one would only make things too bulky to be portable.

However, without a monitor, how do you control your board? This is where the handy SSH feature comes into play. The Secure Shell (SSH) protocol lets you access the Raspberry Pi command line from a remote PC as long as both devices are connected to the same network (via Raspberry Pi). Here's how you can enable this tool from the command line:

1. Open the terminal window.
2. Type sudo raspi-config.
3. Go to Interfacing Options.
4. Select SSH.
5. Hit Yes.
6. Choose OK.
7. Select Finish.

If you haven't installed the Raspberry Pi OS on your microSD card yet, you can also enable SSH using the Raspberry Pi Imager's advanced options (via Raspberry Pi). Simply click the gear icon on the app before writing the image.

Between the campaign, Turf Wars, Salmon Run, and competitive modes, there’s no shortage of things to do in Splatoon 3. This latest entry is packed with content to keep you engaged, no matter how you like to play this third-person shooter, but it doesn’t just limit itself to that genre. Despite being a unique game in its respective field, focusing on teamwork and covering the ground with ink over purely eliminating other players, Splatoon 3 went the extra mile to create a fully featured side-game based on their iconic Turf War mode.

Called Tableturf Battles, this card game follows a similar ruleset to Turf Wars, only played in a 1-v-1 format on a grid. At first, this might seem like an easily ignorable distraction, but can actually be a very fun and tactical way to spice up your time in Splatoon 3. Plus, you can earn even more special rewards to bring back into the core game. If you’re not familiar with card-based games like this or are having trouble developing a good deck or strategy, here are some key tips and tricks to help you dominate in Tableturf.

See more

How to play Tableturf Battles

Before you can even access Tableturf Battles, you need to play enough of the core game modes to at least hit rank four. Once you’re at level four or higher, you can participate in these battles by going to the Tableturf Battle Dojo behind the Grizzco building. Talk to the staff there to receive your first deck of 15 cards and a brief tutorial on how the game works.

The basics of the game are simple to understand but allow for plenty of complexity and strategy as you progress higher in the ranks. Here’s how the game functions:

A single match is 12 rounds long, with you and your opponent each starting with a hand of four cards. These cards have shapes that indicate what squares on the grid you will cover in ink. You both choose a card and where you want to place it at the same time. Note that you can rotate these cards like Tetris pieces to better cover the area. These cards also have a number value on the lower left. This comes into play when you and your opponent play cards that have ink spaces that overlap. If your card is higher, any contested ink square will be yours, and vice versa. If the cards are equal, neither player will claim that area.

You will also notice that almost all cards contain something called Special Spaces. When placed, you will want to surround these spaces in your own color to collect a Special Point (SP). Building up SP allows you to use a Special Attack that can let you play a card directly on top of an area your opponent has already inked, taking it for yourself. The only restriction is that this Special Attack card has to be connected to a Special Space.

After all 12 turns are up, whichever player has the most area of the grid covered in their color ink wins. Depending on how well you do, expect to earn anywhere between around 40 to 150 points per match.

You will only be able to play against NPCs, there’s no PvP mode for this game, and you start out with just one opponent: Baby Jelly. Each opponent has three difficulty ranks to overcome that unlock by beating their current highest rank three times. As you rank up yourself, you will unlock more familiar NPCs from the game to challenge.

Build and upgrade your deck

As stated, you are given your first deck of 15 cards, which you are forced to use in your initial battles. However, there are a total of 162 different cards in Splatoon 3 to get. You will earn new cards via Card Packs by increasing your Tableturf rank and Catalog Level, spending Card-Bits, finding them in the campaign, or getting them out of the Shell-Out Machine. Each pack adds five more cards to your collection, but you can never have any duplicates. Any duplicates you would get are turned into Card-Bits. Your deck can also never have more than 15 cards in it, leading to an absurd amount of possible deck configurations. To make things more convenient, you can save up to 16 different deck configurations to swap between.

Once you’ve gotten more cards, you can customize your deck by opening the menu and going to the Status screen. Here, choose Tableturf Battle, and you will see all your cards and be able to build custom decks. While every Card Pack you get has random cards, you can purchase specific individual cards with your Card-Bits. Each card is priced depending on how rare it is, with Common level costing five bits, Rare costing 15, and Fresh at 40.

Upgrading your cards, despite how it sounds, actually isn’t important to winning. Upgrades are purely cosmetic and won’t make your deck any stronger. To do this, you will need those Card-Bits mentioned before. Using the Card-Bit Exchange, you can upgrade any card twice. The first changes the card’s background color, while the second makes the image holographic. Common, Rare, and Fresh rank cards each cost 10, 20, and 30 bits to upgrade respectively.

Try and construct decks with configurations that fit well (literally) together. You want to cover as much area as possible, just like in Turf War, so having cards that link together with as few possible blank spots will save you from leaving points on the table or wasting cards to clean up spots you missed.

Because the grids will change depending on who you’re battling, you will need to adjust your deck to best suit the shape of the map. It’s never a bad thing to try out a match, lose, and learn what cards you would want to best suit the map.

Focus on the center

Unlike in Turf Wars, you should immediately press the offensive by attacking the center of the map with a high-level card right away, rather than covering your starting area. By conquering the middle ground early, you will have a much easier time covering your own territory later, since you will basically be locking your opponent back to their side of the map. If you manage to cut them off early, there’s not much they’ll be able to do in retaliation.

The best way to do this is to deliver your deck a good number of cards that have nice long edges to effectively wall off space. These are best used early anyway, since later in the game there won’t be many good locations left to fully take advantage of their long coverage.

Pivot to the sides

Once you’ve fought over the center, you will probably have to cover your flanks right afterward, since maps almost always are too wide to fully block off in a single move or two. This will all vary depending on the layout of your current board, as well as which side your opponent seems to be angling for, but aim to completely block them off from getting a foothold on your side as fast as possible. Even if you just match their card on a flank and make neutral spaces, that’s still better than them creating an opening on your side.

Tableturf rewards

So, aside from the pure fun of a new way to play Splatoon 3, what are the benefits of playing Tableturf Battles? Well, rewards, of course! There are 50 levels to rank up through, with each one offering something, such as a new opponent, Card Packs, Badges, Banners, Emotes, boards, and Stickers. Each rank will take more XP to hit, but win or lose, you will earn XP. Here’s how much XP you get for how you do and what level opponent you play against:

• Lose a match – 40 XP
• Win against a level 1 opponent – 100 XP
• Win against a level 2 opponent – 115 XP
• Win against a level 3 opponent – 130 XP
• Win against a player character around Splastville – potentially 150 XP

As far as rewards go, here’s a full breakdown of what you get at each rank, starting at two, along with how much XP you need to hit that rank.

XP		Level	Reward
100		2	Rival: Cool Jelly
250		3	Pack of cards
400		4	Rival: Aggro Jelly
550		5	Stage: Thunder Point
700		6	Title: Fun – Tableturf Battler
850		7	Rival: Sheldon
1000		8	Stage: X Marks the Garden
1150		9	Pack of cards
1300		10	Banner
1500		11	Rival: Gnarly Eddy
1750		12	Locker sticker
2050		13	Rival: Jel La Fleur
2400		14	Stage: Square Squared
2810		15	Rival: Mr. Coco
3270		16	Pack of cards
3790		17	Rival: Harmony
4370		18	Stage: Lakefront Property
5000		19	Rival: Judd
5690		20	Card sleeve
6440		21	Rival: Li’l Judd
7250		22	Stage: Double Gemini
8120		23	Pack of cards
9060		24	Rival: Murch
10060		25	Banner (TableTurf Tiles)
11130		26	Rival: Shiver
12260		27	Stage: River Drift
13460		28	Locker decoration (Tri-Stringer Card)
14730		29	Rival: Frye
16070		30	Emote (Card Shark), and badge
17480		31	Rival: Big Man
18960		32	Locker sticker
20510		33	Pack of cards
22140		34	Rival: Staff
23840		35	Stage: Box Seats
25620		36	Locker sticker
27480		37	Locker decoration (Trizooka Card)
29420		38	Rival: Cuttlefish
31440		39	Locker sticker
33540		40	Card sleeve and badge
35720		41	Rival: Agent 1 (Callie)
37990		42	Locker sticker
40340		43	Locker decoration (Smallfry Card)
42780		44	Rival: Agent 2 (Marie)
45310		45	Locker sticker
47930		46	Banner
50640		47	Rival: Clone Jelly
53450		48	Locker sticker
56350		49	Card sleeve
59683		50	Title: The Strongest – Card Gamer and badge

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© iStock/porechenskaya 01-embrace-outfit-tricks-look-younger

Embrace patterns

No matter what the pattern, that visual interest will look playful and fun, says Dina Scherer, wardrobe stylist and owner of Modnitsa Styling. But picking the right ones will have an even bigger impact. The straight lines in stripes, zigzags, and geometric patterns can look conservative and strict, so pick ones with softer edges instead. “If you’re wearing patterns to increase your youthfulness, I recommend more curved ones that are on the brighter or more colorful side, versus two-toned,” she says. Avoid these style mistakes that make you look older.

© iStock/neyya 02-go-outfit-tricks-look-younger

Go fly-free

You might start carrying weight in different areas as you get older. If you have more around your muffin-top area, pants and jeans that fasten with a zipper or button can squeeze in, creating that uncomfortable spillage. Ditch the fly and find a pair of flattering pants that you can pull right on, says Lauren Rothman, fashion stylist and author of Style Bible: What to Wear to Work. And she’s not talking about those elastic-waist mom jeans you might have in mind. Think skinny ankle pants, cropped styles, and culottes instead. “A pull-on pant can be very flattering and is not as dated as it once was,” she says. “At this point, it’s so stylish that they come in all silhouettes.” Check out these other fashion tricks to look 10 pounds thinner.

© iStock/sensay 03-brighten-outfit-tricks-look-younger

Brighten up your color palette

“Darker shades tend to read more conservative and deliver off the message of more of an authority, polished feel,” says Scherer, “which is not bad but can age you because it takes away from your approachability feel.” On the other hand, lighter, brighter shades make you seem more open and fun, which in turn make you look younger, she says. Wearing bright-colored accessories like scarves, necklaces, and broaches near your face is a particularly good way to highlight your features and make you look fresh-faced, Scherer says. Find out what else your outfit color says about you.

© iStock/peopleimages 04-dont-outfit-tricks-look-younger

Don’t stick with crew necks

If you spent your younger years in higher necklines, your chest will be untouched from the sun—meaning you won’t have the damage that sunbathers might.  Choose tops that reveal your décolleté to display a spot that shows little aging. “If you’re lucky enough to be one of those women without sun damage, you won’t have wrinkles there,” Rothman says. “When you do choose to show that off, you’re going to win the war on aging.”

© iStock/iprogressman 05-dont-outfit-tricks-look-younger

Or go for more coverage

While a bare décolleté can be flattering, covering up more won't make you look matronly. Styling a turtleneck right draws the eye up, meaning you’ll bring less attention to any extra weight around your midsection. If you think of your body like an exclamation point, you want to keep the attention to the top and bottom, Rothman says. “You want to hit either the point on the exclamation point with a great pair of shoes or cropped pants, and/or concentrating on that top part of the exclamation mark,” she says. “Anything around the neck is important.” If turtlenecks feel stifling, try a shawl collar, which looks like a waterfall of fabric around your neck and chest, she suggests.

© iStock/iprogressman 06-replace-outfit-tricks-look-younger

Replace your black clothes

Black is popular because it’s so versatile, but its starkness can make you seem older. For your new go-to versatile pieces, choose browns and grays, which will make you seem younger and more approachable, says Scherer. “Browns and grays can replace it in a way that’s very slimming and very neutral,” she says. “There’s not that intensity that ages you and makes you a bit more strict.”

© iStock/svetikd 07-slave-outfit-tricks-look-younger

Don’t be slave to trends

Jumping on board with every fashion fad could make you look out of touch. “If you’re trying to follow the latest trends then you’re automatically going to be thrown into the ‘trying too hard’ group,” says Jack Prenter, founder of style website knownman.com. “It’s important that you try and dress younger, not like your children or grandchildren.” Establish a signature style that won't get dated, and fill your wardrobe with timeless pieces instead.

© iStock/oleh_photographer 08-prepare-outfit-tricks-look-younger

Prepare to show some skin

Just because you don’t have the body you had in your 20s doesn’t mean you have to spend the rest of your life avoiding skirts and dresses that show your legs. “Sometimes women are aware of veins and the way their legs have perhaps aged or feel self-conscious that they are not tan enough,” Rothman says. Her advice: Quit worrying—after all, you’re not the only one out there with pale calves. Prep your legs with leg makeup, which helps cover imperfections, or just slick on some lotion to add smoothness, she suggests.

© iStock/neustockimages 09-try-outfit-tricks-look-younger

Try a slight crop

Even if you’re too self-conscious to show your whole calf, don’t hide your ankles. “As we age, we’re so consumed with how many parts of our body we feel like we have to cover up, but a few don’t need to be covered,” Rothman says. “Elongating the leg a bit with that cropped pant is very flattering and sexy, and it's a part of your body that doesn’t tend to show age.” Plus, the shorter hemline gives you the chance to show off gorgeous shoes, whether you like booties, flats, or pointed-toe loafers, she says. Make sure you have these other fall fashion staples in your closet.

© iStock/nks_imagery 10-find-outfit-tricks-look-younger

Find the right balance between slouchy and polished

Structured two-piece sets and other tailored pieces look polished, but that sophisticated look can also come across as more aging, says Scherer. Go for pieces that fall off the shoulder a bit or have a longer, asymmetrical silhouette to shave years off your look. “If it’s a little oversized, it can read as a little more casual and doesn’t hug the body the same way, so it has that message of a more youthful feel,” she says. Just don’t cross the line too far—baggy jeans and sweatpants will swallow up your whole body. Find oversized pieces with clean lines, avoiding embellishments or details, to look younger while staying age-appropriate. Don't miss these secrets of women who always look put together.

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Bare your shoulders

Don’t be afraid to show off your arms with a sleeveless or cap-sleeved top. “Unless you need it for warmth, you don’t need the shawl,” Rothman says. Keep it age appropriate by picking tank tops that aren’t too tight, and make sure you have a well-fitting bra that doesn’t create bulge. Use these tricks for arms worthy of showing off—no exercise required.

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Simplify your accessories

Be picky when deciding which to show off every day. Instead of piling on bracelets and necklaces, remove a few pieces before heading out the door. “Whilst older generations are huge fans of jewelry and watches, the youth of today are generally very minimalist,” Prenter says. You can keep wearing all your favorite pieces, just with a more youthful twist.

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Add a bit of height

Getting older, you might shift from a “pain is beauty” mindset to wanting more comfort from your clothes. No need to teeter along in stilettos—especially if your balance isn’t what it used to be—but don’t banish all your heels just yet. “It’s still age-appropriate to wear heels,” Rothman says. “The perfect level of style is when there’s some comfort in there.” Swap out your five-inch pumps for kitten heels, platform shoes, or wedges so you can wear heels without the pain.

The post 13 Outfit Tricks to Look Instantly Younger appeared first on Reader's Digest.

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