Articles on what older women shouldn't wear or do their hair

[JudyJB]

Have any of you been irritated as I have been by the articles posted (mostly on click bait) about what older women should look like and wear? There is tons of advice of the 10 worst hairstyles for older women, best dresses for older women, worst makeup for older women, etc.

First, it is none of anyone's business what we older women choose to wear or do our hair.

Second, one of the best parts of getting older is not caring so much about what other people think. For example, a lot of older women have been taught that they should keep their wrinkled and varicose-vein-covered legs covered with long pants. I wear shorts because it feels comfortable, and if some people don't like looking at my legs, they should stop looking!

Oh, and I am really irritated by online supposed-articles that post a photo of someone who used to be famous and then suggest that before you open the article to see how she/he looks now, you should sit down. Like I wish I would be around when the writer gets to be 70 or 80 or 90!

OK, end of rant.

[snowball]

sheila

[Bethers]

That's been a pet peeve of mine even before I started thinking I got that category.

[Shirlv]

Amen Sister, who are these supposed experts? Never cared what was in or out. Most hair styles now I would call a bad hair day. How about the latest paint color for your walls or furnishings for your home. I guess “They” would be horrified to see me in my baggy shirt, skinny pants and messy bun. THEY AIN’T THE BOSS OF ME

[BarbaraRose]

Or the commercials for anti-wrinkle cream and they use a 20 year old model. I have female clients who ask what the age appropriate hair style is. I tell them, whatever you want it to be.

[BarbaraRose]

Or the commercials for anti-wrinkle cream and they use a 20 year old model. I have female clients who ask what the age appropriate hair style is. I tell them, whatever you want it to be.

[Cudedog]

I can't find my bras anymore. Or any of my underwear, for that matter. Jean shorts and a tank top - with no underwear - do me just fine. Easy on, easy off. There is a bit of "front flop", but that's life It's not like I am going anywhere - or even seeing anyone.

I brush my hair every day. . . or so. I haven't put on a wipe of makeup since I walked out the door on the very day I retired.

I also don't read articles about how I should look. Who cares? Not me. No one is looking at me anyway, and I like that just fine.

I think these articles are aimed at old bags (I can say 'old bags' because I am one) that are looking for a "honey". For me? Been there, done that.

Anne

[dpf]

Do you mean wash and dry hair, t-shirts and capris or sweatshirts and blue jeans aren't chic? I'm in trouble!

[Acadianmom]

I do have "town clothes and shoes". Those are the ones without the holes. When I look at some of the things I wear at home I think at least I'm not wearing Harold's clothes. My mother started wearing my dad's old clothes. If something didn't fit she would just add a strip of material that usually didn't match. My sister and I would have to disappear some of her clothes. I don't know that my son would even notice what I was wearing.

Martha

[JudyJB]

I can remember wearing a girdle, yes a girdle, when i was in high school, along with a garter belt to hold up nylons. And I weighed about 110 pounds.

What was I thinking!!

[Shirlv]

Oh geeezzee, garter belt and stockings with seams up the back. Lol

[Cudedog]

I can remember wearing a girdle, yes a girdle, when i was in high school, along with a garter belt to hold up nylons. And I weighed about 110 pounds.

What was I thinking!!

Geez, I wore a girdle, too, when I was in high school. I was about 130 pounds in those days, but I am tall (so sez me ). Talk about a torture device - OMG - the girdle things that held up the $$nylons$$ chafed, and I would have welts on my thighs by the end of the day.

And heels. I wore heels in high school. Why? To make me seem taller, I guess, although I already towered over most of the guys - who never gave me a second look, anyway. Small wonder I have back problems today.

My mother was a hairdresser (Barbie, you can stop reading right here ). I have mentioned before that she was always doing stuff with my hair, which I hated, but I had no say in the matter (which is why I wear my hair long - I never cut, curl or perm it. I mostly braid it, then put the braid as a bun on top of my head, but that is about it).

One summer when school was out, my mother (who always bleached her own hair blonde - she was naturally dark-headed, I honestly don't know what her natural hair color was because I never saw it) decided that I should be a blonde, too. So she bleached my hair blonde.

When I turned up at school with bleached-blond hair and dark roots that fall, the rumor quickly went around my high school that I was a whore (young teenaged girls didn't bleach their hair so much in those days). Some of the kids called me a whore to my face, but I just laughed at them.

To the extent that I had to take a paper around to all of my teachers to sign indicating the days that I was in attendance in their classes. I guess to be sure I wasn't going off during school hours somewhere to turn tricks. Of course, none of the attendance records for one class matched the attendance records of another class (I know for a fact that several of the teachers never even bothered to take attendance on a daily basis), so, of course, it looked like I was ditching school. I wasn't. I was too scared of my parents to even think of such a thing.

Let me insert here that as a child and young woman I was basically a mouse. I am a bit better these days, but old habits do die hard.

I don't remember how, but eventually all of this just kind of blew over, especially since I was known to be an unassuming mouse by my teachers. One or two even went to bat for me. Once my hair grew out back to it's natural color, everyone just lost interest and went on to the next "thing of the day".

I guess it's no surprise that, to this day, I can't stand anyone messing with my hair.

Anne

[JudyJB]

And hair rollers??? I wore them to sleep in elementary school because my mother wanted me to have long curls, but one of my friends had to wear them because her hair was too curly?????

And my mother had a strong believe, from where I have no idea, that yanking on hair made it stronger and grow faster. Also, I had a full head of hair by the time I was a year old, so my mother put it up in braids or long curls, yanking my hair while she brushed it. THAT is why I now have very short hair.

Now, I admit that my mother had a full head of brown hair and almost no grey when she died at age 93.

[Shirlv]

I never wore a girdle because I was so skinny that my hip bones wore bare spots in my wool skirt. Edith and I still laugh over it. Is this healthy venting or have we all been alone too long.

[JudyJB]

Personally, I enjoyed most of being married, but I also enjoy being alone these days because it gives me more freedom to do what I want.

The thing is, I think, that as we get older, we have a more balanced idea of what is important in life and what isn't. And, the perfect hairdo and make-up that supposedly makes us look better are a lot less important than our families and our health and doing what we want to do.

On the other hand, I supposed we have finally realized that making ourselves into something we are not is a LOT harder than it was when we were younger!