Love this. My immediate response is to say please do not dim your spark. Every stylist I have ever spoken to over a 35-year career covering fashion has begun and ended every conversation with the same advice: keep the focus on what you like about yourself. Great legs? Go for it. Great curves, cinch in that waist. Bella, you didn’t tell us what you like best. But it always improves your confidence to highlight your strong points.

Since this has been TIFF week in Toronto, I spoke with our resident social chronicler, Shinan Govani, about how top stars are negotiating bare fashions. Govani writes for Zoomer, Vanity Fair, Tatler, Hello! and Town & Country. Safe to say he has an eagle eye on the red carpet and ears peeled for dish. “You want to talk how much skin is too much skin?” he asks. “Look no further than the complete and utter triumph that was JLo in the silver dress. Instantly iconic, instantly dubbed her revenge dress.” Yes, in the aftermath of the announcement of her imminent divorce from Ben Affleck, Lopez, 55, chose a disco ball of a dress for the TIFF premiere of her film Unstoppable. It was (barely) held together with big black bows revealing completely open sides. The dress, by Tamara Ralph, had been “assured” – which is a newish red carpet term for on-site custom tailoring that makes even a dress this daring bulletproofed against wardrobe malfunctions – by Toronto’s own Jenna Gandy, a superb tailor who is on the speed dial of everyone from Taylor Swift to Prada to Shania Twain. It brought to mind Princess Diana’s revenge dress from the Serpentine Gallery Gala in 1994, which she wore the same night Charles admitted to adultery on national television. It also rivalled a jaw-dropping look from Lopez’s past, the plunge cut, jungle print Versace from 2000 that was the first dress to break the internet (it prompted Google to launch Google Images after the search engine crashed due to the number of people trying to look up the photo).

The Ralph dress was notable for what it didn’t reveal, despite offering a seductive slice of skin on both sides. “Classic peekaboo, done with class,” says Govani. So what can we learn from JLo? Get a great tailor, first, if you are showing skin, and have that piece formed to your body. JLo couldn’t wear shapewear, obviously, but don’t be afraid to take a page from the Kardashians and cut your shapewear to fit a special dress. But mostly, take a daring and sexy page from JLo, Bella! Lopez herself said when she was wavering about her gown selection, “I was like, f**k it!”

This being the year of sheer, we saw a LOT of see-through at TIFF. This trend can seem daunting, however a few celebs in the 50-plus zone gave masterclasses on how to walk the line. Sheer can be very elegant. We had Naomi Watts, 55, in a dotted-net black Dior gown, strung with bugle beads, with a simple triangle bra and some high-waisted black panties underneath. The key to this look is that the sheer fabric covered her arms, neck and legs completely, making the effect elegant. She revealed exactly what she wanted to: No skin, per se, but the idea of skin. She also had the perfect accessory for her red carpet appearance, Bill Murray, her co-star in The Friend.

Then we have Jamie Lee Curtis, 65, who had two sheer  appearances at the festival. First we saw her in slim black pants and a black lace see-through turtleneck. This is a similar approach to Watts: covering up to show off. The turtleneck balances out the visible bra nicely, so she looks alluring yet classic at the same time. In her second look, Curtis rocked a sheer red blouse with a matching red bra underneath (a really nice detail!) The shirt was voluminous, which is another bit of great advice: loose can be sexy, too. She paired the blouse with a reptile-print leather midi skirt, fishnet tights and black pumps. The tights are a great idea to finish the look; a reference back to the mood of the blouse. Curtis was there in support of The Last Showgirl, which also stars Pamela Anderson, so the fishnets were a sassy little nod to the film’s theme.

But perhaps the most creative show of skin at TIFF was by Canada’s own Sandra Oh, 53, who wore a black corset top and skirt by Gemy Maalouf. The corset was sheer – and had a unique ruffled portrait collar. The way it was cut showed an expansive triangle of skin, very skillfully: just off the shoulders, and plunging but buffered by that glorious ruffle. The clavicle is an under-represented erogenous zone in this era, and an elegant, John Singer Sargent-like place to focus on.

We can’t really cover a topic like showing skin with aplomb without mentioning the phenomenon that is Jean Smart in the hit show Hacks. Smart, 73, throws herself fully into the shoes of Deborah Vance, a comedic icon, dripping in fabulous cleavage baring fashion. Costume designer Kathleen Felix-Hager who dresses Vance told Amy O’Dell’s The Back Row newsletter that she wanted to make the wardrobe “portray how vibrant she is, how alive she is and how ambitious she still is. She is still sexual,” says Felix-Hager. “We discount women over 60, really. You are sort of lumped into this category of ‘senior’.”

We here at Zoomerist do not love that word. Neither does Smart’s costume designer. To that end, we can steal tips from Vance’s sparkles and sequins, her animal print habit, and all those bedazzled and bejewelled pajama styles. Her collars are always popped, notes Felix-Hager. But her real secret? Lace bodysuits. Wearing something sexy underneath a blazer is another great way to show that hint of skin.

Not everyone has JLo’s body confidence, of course. But peek-a-boo is a great tip. So is playing with sheer, and layering it or through adding texture, lace, netting, and velvet. Luxe details are sexy, and help make a little skin not look like too much. It’s a fine line, sure, and it can make you feel exposed. But start with unbuttoning one extra button, and work your way down. Or add a slit and work upwards!

Always asking questions,

—Leanne Delap