Proper For Older Women?

This thread is inspired by Kangaruex4Ewe. In another thread where she was speaking of age appropriate dressing and hair.

She was mentioning how most older woman all had short hair. It is true, they are like clones of each other walking around out there. LOL
Like you hit this unfortunate age where you are too old for your long hair or something. I have had long hair most of my life and my Mother and Sister once I got into my late forties would harp on me about having long hair and I should cut it, blah, blah, blah. My sister is 11 years older than me and never colors her hair. Once we were out at a restaurant she frequents and the waitress said, "Oh is this your daughter?" She kept her cool and was pleasant, but was like...WTF? I laughed and said well I have long hair and color the greys and don't look my age. I told her she could look a lot younger with longer colored hair but it didn't matter to me as long as she was happy.

Clothing can be a more complicated issue. I mean some older women can get away with almost anything, but on others it just doesn't look right. I have seen many older women with a varied style of classic, fun and fashionable clothing and look amazing. I mean what are we supposed to do wear frumpy and boring clothing because we hit a certain age? Bah, let's be fun, unique, fashionable and embrace it! Add some unique jewelry pieces and accessories.

I think confidence is key. If a women feels confident with short undyed hair - she will be beautiful. If she feels confident coloring her hair and growing it long - she will be beautiful.

a reply to: Night Star

I agree Night Star! I think as long as a woman feels herself, feels appropriate and sees the way she feels inside reflected in the mirror, let the world be her stage! Well that, and I always have taken the advice of Coco Chanel when walking out the door - remove that last accessory you added. Less is more. Hey, I can't afford Chanel, but I can listen to sage advice!

a reply to: Night Star

Early thirties here... and I sure hope I'm not expected to give up my long hair anytime soon! It's my one 'feature' that I really really like.

The way I see it, we do what makes us happy. If we're living for other people's approval too much, then we're probably not that happy. On the same token though, I get it about wanting to be 'proper'.

I was usually a pierced and multicolored hair, rock tees, ripped jeans wearing kind of person, up until parenthood. Then I realized that we reflect our children, and I settled into a more 'mature' look. I'm only just now realizing that I can dress appropriately for my role and age, but still have fun with it!

I'm keeping my long hair!

a reply to: Night Star

Not every culture cuts their hair at an older age. I have known women in their 90's with hair past their waist. I know I for one don't plan on cutting a thing.

I do keep my hair trimmed and fashionable, so its not waist length, although my husband would like that, but it goes to the middle of my back and still looks very good, so I am very happy.

As far as being fashionable in general... I do dress with fashions in mind. I don't of course dress like a teenager or anything, but I enjoy the classic classy styles - with a bit of flair for the times we live.

At 45 I do have a little grey, but it seems to blend in with my natural colors (since my hair is a bit multi-colored anyway) and I don't at all color it, but nor do I need to either.

Nenothtu worries constantly that people will think I'm his daughter, but I don't think I look that young! hahahaha

a reply to: Night Star

It is true, they are like clones of each other walking around out there.

This is the crux. Right here. If everyone else wants to live their life as just another one of the herd, with groupthink mentality. Good for them. But I'll look and dress the way I want, thank you very much. I'm a man in my mid-50's, and I have long hair.

Understandably, for women living in a society of double standards, it's a bit tougher to stick to your guns, but I'm glad to hear you have.

My wife is 55 years old, allmost all gray. She dose'nt color her hair any longer as I don't want her too. It's long, it's mostly gray and I LOVE IT. She will never cut it off, trims no cut. She is a confident woman who knows who she is and where she's headed. That's why I love her so damn much..........the real deal without all those trimmimgs and trappings of youth. Remember women, wine & cheese are'nt the only things that get finer with age.

LOL my husband is always asking, "why is it that the older a woman gets, the shorter her hair gets?"

My mom says it is just easier to take care of, so does my grandmother. Both have short hair of course.
While I am going to be the rebel. I'm in my mid 40's, and have decided I'm growing it out, it's already mid back.
How hard is it to braid, or throw in a pony tail? Easy peasy. (which is a requirement with grandbabies, LOL)

As far as clothing goes, I'm not changing my style for anyone. No matter my age. I would never wear a bikini to walmart, (yes, I saw a lady, must have been late 60's early 70's do that!), but I will at home, in my garden, or my own pool. I wear what is comfy to me, and that is all that matters.

Hey, bibs and pigtails never go out of style, right?

People always question me as to why I do not color my graying hair, I reply "Why should I?". I have to question them to find out what exactly is their problem with an older woman keeping hippyish long gray hair - their answers or lack thereof reside in the realm of the sheeple. However, I do ensure I nourish and moisturize my hair for a healthy sheen.

As for clothes, I am a blue jean baby and will be for life.

Hi Night Star. I'm going to chime in based on my own experience. I'm 60 and for most of my life I wore my hair long. When I started going through menopause my hair started thinning and my long hair just didn't do it anymore even when I had locks they weren't as thick as they use to be. Some women are blessed with thick gorgeous hair their entire life but I sure wasn't one of them, so I cut it short, very short with lots of layers. The layers make my thin hair look fuller. This could be why so many older women wear short hair.

I don't color it I love the silver that is growing in though I don't have much of it yet. But when it turns completely silver I think it's going to be a beautiful shade and I will wear it proudly.

As it's been said here it comes down to confidence and having that can add too a woman's look in a very positive way. Even with my hair turning silver and very short people rarely guess I'm the age that I am.

I dress like a slob and will continue to do so. My hair is short because I don't care to waste time on it. I'm in and out of the shower/bathroom in 15 minutes.

More time for me. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

a reply to: Night Star

I have long hair as well though it's getting more and more shot through with white and am in my mid 40's. The only comment I ever hear on the subject of my hair is how beautiful it is and how I should "never" cut it. When it comes to hair, it's what looks good on a woman--not some arbitrary rule. After my grandmother beat cancer, she was rocking a super cute white pixie cut for a bit and she looked fantastic despite it being a "young punk" look more frequently seen on 20 year old. The shorter hair thing comes from the idea that longer hair somehow "weighs down" the face and that, as we age, our hair tends to become more fragile. I don't know about the former as I think that would depend on the face, not the age, but if the latter is going on, well, then now one knows why grannies typically have short do's that they wash and get set once a week, lol.

As for clothes, I'm a little more reserved. I loved the Gothic Lolita look that I saw and wished I was 20 years younger to carry it off. I think that I'd look like an idiot at my age trying to pull that one off. LOL However, if it's flattering and can be rocked, then who cares about age. I remember seeing a picture of Helen Mirren rocking a string bikini a couple years ago and being astounded at how good she looked--at her age! It's when it doesn't look good that the world deserves sparing. I once had a leathery 70 year old neighbor with a penchant for neon colored spandex dresses and it was eye scarring. Truly.

a reply to: chiefsmom

I still do pigtails. I figure I do them well as every time I sport them, some stranger invariably tells me to wear my hair that way all the time. LOL

High five, fellow pigtail rocker!!

a reply to: Night Star

An awful lot of the cultural conventions that prevail in our modern society are utterly backward in my opinion. Hair grows longer over time, and then begins to grey. There is no reason to remove it, colour it, or even style it, unless one happens to fancy to do so. But cultural conventions insist idiotic things, like fellows must have shorter hair, and ladies longer hair, and when one is of a certain age NO MATTER THEIR GENDER there are choices which are apparently a no no!

My attitude to these things, is as follows. I do not care how old you are, or what reproductive organs are contained by your underwear, the fact remains that ones hair, ones choice in clothing, remains purely and solely ones own business. Frankly speaking, all the things that look "bad", and I mean genuinely bad on a woman in her sixties or seventies, make people look bad when they are in their twenties and thirties too, especially where clothing is concerned...

For example...

Skirts which do not extend low enough to cover the entirety of the buttocks. I hate to say it ladies, but no matter whether one is sixty eight, eighteen, or twenty eight, that is a bad look, and says all the worst things about ones self worth. No one needs to see any percentage of arse, just because the person who designed the garment could not be bothered to cut the thing in a more dignified fashion.

Then there is the habit of faaaaaar too much make up. Unless one is off to see Gorgoroth headline a black metal gig, one does not need to put on an inch of grease paint every time one leaves the house. It's bad for the skin, its bad for ones self confidence (cannot leave the house without the mask, cannot leave the house without the mask), and almost invariably looks like an accident with a paint gun. It's just graffiti on the Mona Lisa, and the sooner the world wakes up to that fact, the better for everyone's confidence and emotional well being.

And hair... Look, I have seen some ladies who are approaching old age, who were sporting Mohawks, also one of those strange hair styles which involves being half shaved, half spiked...... Those look bad, but they do not look bad because the skull they were attached to was of advancing years, but because those styles next to ALWAYS look TERRIBLE on ladies, and they only rarely work very well on gentlemen!

Fake lashes, fake nails, glitter powder, hair extensions (unless very well done, and not in the trendy style, but in the rough and ready urban warrior kind of a way) heels of more than two inches, all of these things are BAD but they look just as awful on younger devotees as older ones.

Some people say "Shut up! If I have to do this to make me feel good about myself, then that's what I am going to do!".

I am all for people feeling confident in themselves, but only if they ARE comfortable with themselves, the way they really are, not just while hidden behind layers of pointless facade! Here is an example...

I am a gentleman. I have tiny little arms when compared to the girth of my torso. I also happen to favour sleeveless shirts, because I hate being hot, and a lack of sleeves helps air move more easily through the garment in my experience. If I was a moron, I might say to myself "Yes, that's all very well, but you know it does not look right on you. Go and put on a full sleeved shirt, and wear it in the baking sun to hide your pathetic arms! Or better yet, go to the gym and get buff!".

However I am not a moron. I do NOT care what others think of my appearance, I only care that I am physically comfortable in what I am wearing. I also have a bit of a gut, but if the temperature gets above thirty, you can bet that I will be somewhere in the shade, with no shirt on, letting my gut hang out, and not giving a God damn, because I will also be cool.

Focusing on how one appears to others, is the most puerile waste of intellect I have ever come across. The only important thing, whether you are twenty one or one hundred and one, is whether you are comfortable in what you wear, the way you wear your hair, and being comfortable about it means NOT GIVING A GOD DAMN ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK!

originally posted by: Restricted
I dress like a slob and will continue to do so. My hair is short because I don't care to waste time on it. I'm in and out of the shower/bathroom in 15 minutes.

More time for me. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

THIS is probably the most common reason. Less time and energy needed with short hair. And what do you mean by "older"?

I'm 55, and my hair is nearly to my waist. It's a combination of copper/honey/gold (in that order quantitatively) with a few silver strands, and shines like mad in the sun. It has a lovely natural wave, too... I love it.

Yep, braids, pony-tails, pigtails, all super easy.
I stopped wearing makeup a few years ago - it was unnerving a bit at first, but now I don't mind it at all - used to be "MUST" have mascara and brow pencil before leaving house - but now? Meh. I'm fine the way I am.

I wear what is comfortable (jeans or jammie-pants, tees or tanks, hoodies, sneakers or boots - or shorts/tanks or sundresses and flip-flops) - I avoid bras like the plague (I'm just a 34-B anyway). Yet when a family occasion or an evening out comes along, I'll do more of the 'casual' rather than the 'slob-at-home' look.

LOL!! Last year in Sept my niece got married, a big fancy traditional white-people church wedding - and I bought some heels to go with my dress (one that I'd bought years earlier at a thrift store - long with an uneven hem) - I managed to wobble in on them for the wedding ceremony (and I didn't tip over once!) - but afterward I ripped them off and put on flip-flops before we even started the car for the reception...

Hair was caught up in a messy clipped bun. Mascara and brow pencil. That was it. Oh - and some long fingerless gloves with sequins and lace. Just because I liked them.

My mom used to chastise me about my hair when I hit about 30-- quoting the "long hair is for youngsters" thing. Again, meh. I was blessed with hair that doesn't seem to be "going grey" at all - and I'm post-menopausal.

Just not that into fashion anymore, but I LOVE coming up with unusual combos, accessories, shoes, hats.



Ah, vanity, thy name is woman. All you mature women out there - here's to us!!
No blue-haired, nurse-shoe leisure suits for us, eh??
NOPE!
We were the original "hippies" and that is how we will remain. Amirite?

a reply to: Night Star

Great thread Night Star. Yup...I'm one of those old ladies who still sport my long hair. I'll never be one of he Q-tip crowd. By Q-tip I refer to those who get the short white poodle cut once a week. I use a temporary rinse for highlights depending on my mood.

Even it some find long hair on a 63 year old woman inappropriate, I really don't care at this point in my life. I still like the classic little black dress for going out to special events, and carry off it with confidence and style. For more casual, long dresses and sun dresses depending on the weather. For the most part at home with a herd of goats to take care of, one will find me in jeans and overalls.

Back during my corporate work days I was all about appropriate fashion and style, on the conservative side. Now, it's what I feel like for any given day, that is the deciding factor on what I throw on.

TruBrit...loved your analysis of fashion for women. You are a wise man...

What I look like now...and will probably look like when I die...with more wrinkles...



I'm old...but still young at heart.

Des

a reply to: Restricted

And that is great, if that is what you like.
I have long hair, and am in and out of the shower and bathroom in 15. I don't blow dry, 9 times out of 10 I just throw it up and go.

But that's just the tomboy that I will never grow out of. If I have to attend a wedding or something like that, yeah, I'll take the extra 15 to do something, but not for everyday, work or shopping.

@WhiteAlice: I even got the other ladies at work to do a "Pigtail" day, several times this summer!

I used to take time to look good, but I did not age well. There's no point in putting lipstick on a pig.

a reply to: Destinyone

I, for one, think you and your "inappropriate hair" look gorgeous and I bet you look smashing in that little black dress. Don't change what works is what I say.



a reply to: chiefsmom

Ha ha, excellent! Next up, the Older Woman Inappropriate Pigtail Parade!