15-50 Syndrome: Moms Turn Back The Clock With Their Daughters' Skimpy Clothes (VIDEO)

Ever heard of the "15-50 Syndrome"? Neither had we.

"Good Morning America" introduced us to the phrase, which describes women who look about 50 years old from the neck up, but dress as if they are 15.

These women, a new study from Temple University reports, are copying their daughters' fashion decisions in order to hang onto their youth. Celebs are setting the example, with everyone from Demi Moore and Rumer Willis to Madonna and Lourdes and even our dear Duchess of Cambridge and her mum Carole Middleton dressing more and more alike.

"GMA" corespondent Juju Chang picked out 55-year-old Karen Hammonds as a real-life example. A mother of three, Hammonds refuses to dress the part of a woman in her fifties (incidentally, when it comes to her hair styling, she also refuses to acknowledge it's no longer 1986).

"I get my style from them and that's why I dress like them," she explains, referring to her two daughters, age 22 and 26. They shop together at Walmart for skin-tight dresses and skinny jeans then wear the clothes out together when they hit the town.

But it's not a Cougar thing, Chang makes clear. Even though Hammonds' daughters male friends joke about having crushes on their divorced mother, Karen Hammonds only selects "age-appropriate men" for dating.

Age-appropriate clothing, on the other hand? Not so much. When all three walk into a room together, Karen says, people exclaim, "'Charlie's Angels just walked in!' And we just love it and ham it up."

Totally normal or complete denial? Watch the clip below and decide for yourself.

WATCH:

Comments

[Pamla Perez]

12:09 PM on 08/21/2011

I don't see the problam! what exactly does a woman of 50+ suppose to look like? I mean if she feel good wearing things like that, what the problem? live and let live! We will be gone soon enough.

[Abelardo Perez]

01:15 AM on 08/18/2011

the daughters will never find guys that will be okay with this.

[Pamla Perez]

12:19 PM on 08/21/2011

The guys don't have anything to do with what the mother does. As long as mom don’t try to hit on them, that shouldn't be any of their business!

[Abelardo Perez]

01:14 AM on 08/18/2011

this is unhealthy.

[Abelardo Perez]

01:13 AM on 08/18/2011

$10 dress...that's all the mom's worth.

[Pamla Perez]

12:21 PM on 08/21/2011

That's Unfair!

[Chef Dracula]

02:13 PM on 08/16/2011

Proud Walmart shoppers. That pretty much says it all.

[Amazonia26]

08:53 AM on 08/16/2011

I understand where this woman is coming from but you can't recapture your youth. Aging gracefully is in large part realizing that along the way you've developed inner beauty that can't be matched by any 20 year old. Embrace it. Good taste, good quality, knowing what flatters your figure and highlights your best features; this is what makes you attractive and that's a different kind of sexy.

[DaMojo]

10:17 AM on 08/16/2011

Our buy now pay later superficial, shallow society doesn't believe in inner beauty. Or in most cases, good taste. Shameful, but true.

[jo smith456]

05:14 AM on 08/16/2011

Awesome...

[TruBlsd]

07:54 PM on 08/15/2011

Ridiculous !!!!! I feel extremely sorry for all three....As a 47 year Mother of 2 grown daughters (25 and 23), I ooze nothing but Elegance & Class and trust me, we are thought and look like we could be "sisters", but I dress appropriate and so do my Beautiful, Educated, Classy, Elegant Daughters which is how I raised them. I was a Mother to them when they were young and now as they are adults we have grown to become friends. Some events we attend and do things together but all have our own set of friends too, which is how it should be !!

[HKB]

05:47 PM on 08/15/2011

I watch most be not all the video - but it appeared they all went out "on the town" together dressed in 'party dresses' - so okay she is in shape enough to wear a slim dress etc - but over all I guess the I was thinking how does she dress at work ? How does she dress when attending adult functions without the kids ? If she is actually dressing all the time as a twenty year old I feel sorry for her - especially since the kids dress kinda trashy too. Evening clothes is one topic but the rest of the time what gives with that - and dresssing fashionable at fifty doesn't mean wear purle polyester double knit pants suits with flowered rayon blouses -

The womens hair is a disaster - that would be the place I would start saying 'hey - try not to look one of the kids vintage 1986"

[GraceNotes]

05:47 PM on 08/15/2011

I would hardly compare Kate Windsor to the young ladies in that clip. Her mode of dress is somewhat conservative, given her position as a young royal and the fact that she appears at a lot of functions where the "what to wear" is so well-defined. The Duchess knows what works for her and always looks good. I do imagine her mother has begun to spend a bit more on clothes as she too appears on camera more than she did before her daughter's marriage.

[Ana Mancini]

03:38 PM on 08/15/2011

If they look good in it, why not wear it..

Some of the clothes on the mom did not look so good but nothing really bad either.

Ana Mancini

[lotusgirl]

10:05 AM on 08/15/2011

They seem happy, but I wonder if the mother has friends her own age. I love my 18 y.o. daughter, but I don't want to hang out with her (she wouldn't let me anyway). I have friends who are younger and older, but I couldn't deal with teen age conversation at 45. Something just seems off about it, but maybe it's me putting myself in that situation.

[BevTX84]

09:35 PM on 08/15/2011

Exactly, what could they possible have to say that would be interesting to hear? "oh check out that guy's butt???

[edn]

05:53 AM on 08/15/2011

15 or 50 - I think they were all dressing badly ;-) Really though, as a 49 year old woman who isn't ready for "old lady wear", it can be a challenge to balance what you can and what you should wear. Just because you "can" wear it, doesn't mean you "should" wear it. I tend to shop at J Crew, Banana Republic, Theory and some interesting boutiques that allow me to be professional and stylish (and sometimes sexy too). I don't want to be "Forever 21" in any way!!

[ljkcan]

05:56 PM on 08/14/2011

I could never raid my daughters closet she is shorter and much thinner then again she is 25 and I am 53 I would not mortify her by dressing like someone I am not. I prefer my individual style the only thing we could get the same are shoes (flats) and purses.

[Edo33]

02:12 PM on 08/14/2011

They seem like a happy, loving family. I don't think a woman has to be dowdy just because she has become older, and clothing, over all, has become very casual , in general. The mother in the video is an attractive woman, and likes to feel attractive. Nothing wrong with that.