I recently read a magazine article entitled, "You're not too old to wear that!" It showed pictures of women wearing outfits that could be considered way too young for them, but because they looked so fantastic, they defied the "expiration ages" to dress that way. Mid thirties to late forties was once thought of as the cutoff point for wearing mini skirts, leather pants, bikinis, stilettos, and knee-high boots, but now that a woman at 50 can be thought of as a sexy "cougar," she can get away with wearing a skirt as short as she wants to, and it's considered acceptable and even age appropriate
Maybe that's because we live in a time where age is no longer a fixed number. How often do we hear "50 is the new 40, 60 is the new 50," and before we know it, 70 will be the new 50 because someone decided you can now take 20 years off your age instead of ten.
I subscribe to the saying "You're as young as you feel," but does that mean we should dress in a way that best reflects our inner youth, and if so, who should tell us we shouldn't, or that our age can keep us from wearing certain things we still want to?
As a certified Life Coach, I encourage people to be true to who they are, and to live their lives as their authentic self. If wearing pencil tight jeans or a bikini still expresses or reflects who you are, and you feel good doing it, then why not continue to wear them for as long as you possibly can? At 73, Jane Fonda still has the body of a young woman, and if she's dressing like the workout goddess she worked so damn hard to be 40 years ago, and inspired millions of other women to get into the best shape of their lives by doing her specialized "No pain, no gain" workout, then all the power to her! She was recently on Jay Leno wearing a mini skirt and not knee-high boots, but thigh-high boots and looked incredible. Go Jane!
On the flip side, I made a decision not long ago to stop wearing jeans that were cut too low because I realized that when I was sitting at a sushi bar one night that, were it not for the sweater I was wearing, my crack would be showing to those dining behind me, which I don't think they would have bargained on as being part of the menu! Nobody told me I was too old to wear those jeans -- I decided that for myself, based on what I felt I was comfortable with.
If you can be honest with yourself when you're getting dressed, and look in the mirror and ask yourself if what you're wearing expresses who you are right now, no matter what age you are, and it doesn't make you feel foolish or insecure, then trust your decision and be comfortable with it. You don't have to make excuses for wearing jeans that look like your daughter's. If you genuinely feel good in them, then go for it.
The other day I was driving in my car and I had a desire to put on Coldplay and blast it, but I got this thought that maybe I was too old to do that. Then I asked myself, "Am I too old to listen to Coldplay or too old to listen to it loudly?" My inner youth spoke up and said to me "Neither. You're still that girl inside. Don't ever lose sight of her." I blasted away.
And GrumpyGirl, wherever you are, I DID read your response and loved it; don't know why HP didn't print it. Hope you see this!