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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Denim jackets and white trainers

115 replies

outoftouch123 · 30/05/2025 23:15

Just went to a comedy show tonight. I have been living under a rock and haven't really been out for a loooonng time, I obviously haven't been paying attention when I have been out previously.

I was so surprised to see several woman in their 70's 80's ( very generic comedian) wearing demin jackets, wide leg trousers and white trainers. This is a look I would have associated with a much younger age bracket. I thought they all looked great and very trendy. As a woman in my early 40's and in a mid life crisis when it comes to fashion as I've grown too old to wear what I have always worn ( short pleated skirts) , I would have comfortably worn a denim jacket and wide leg trousers, Now I feel all it's going to do is age me.

AIBU to even care about this in my forties or should I be paying more attention if I don't want to look like I'm dressing like my mother.

OP posts:
henlake7 · 31/05/2025 16:30

krustykittens · 31/05/2025 15:54

It can be done. I have muscle for the first time in my life because I finally joined a gym and do a lot of weight training. It's that, rather than cardio, that benefits older women. I loathe the gym but I like the results.

Thanks to extreme weight loss I have the fabulous combination of very toned arm muscles with loads of loose saggy skin as well!
I choose to ignore it. Somebody with no saggy bits, lumps, bumps, cellulite or wobble is basically like a unicorn...you rarely see them in the wild!😄

I will avoid the chunky white trainers though...just because I dont like chunky trainers. Wearing white Converse today though, thats my version!

ThePoshUns · 31/05/2025 16:12

cardibach · 31/05/2025 16:07

Why? Because you don’t like them? Or because your mum does?

mainl because I don’t like them but also I try not to dress the same as my mum. She is very stylish in fairness. I probably should copy her.

Dangermoo · 31/05/2025 16:11

krustykittens · 31/05/2025 15:54

It can be done. I have muscle for the first time in my life because I finally joined a gym and do a lot of weight training. It's that, rather than cardio, that benefits older women. I loathe the gym but I like the results.

Well done you 👏 x lovely when the work outs pay off. I've been following an Aussie woman on You Tube "Fabulous at 50" since July. Have combined her workouts with calorie counting. My stomach is toning but its the bloody arms. Can see a difference because I'm starting to get the slight stretched skin. I think it's the weights I also need to go on to now.

cardibach · 31/05/2025 16:07

ThePoshUns · 31/05/2025 16:06

My mum is 78 and wears those really chunky white trainers. I avoid them!

Why? Because you don’t like them? Or because your mum does?

cardibach · 31/05/2025 16:07

denim is such a classic any age can wear it
Any age can wear anything.

ThePoshUns · 31/05/2025 16:06

My mum is 78 and wears those really chunky white trainers. I avoid them!

mondaytosunday · 31/05/2025 16:04

Heard of Disney Keaton? She has perfected the wide trousers and (smart) trainers look. She’s more likely to wear an oversized blazer than a denim jacket but denim is such a classic any age can wear it.

Sidebeforeself · 31/05/2025 15:59

legoplaybook · 31/05/2025 15:56

It's M&S fashion, which appeals to women aged 40-80. If it looks good does the age matter?

I think it appeal to a younger demographic now.

ClaudeShowers · 31/05/2025 15:58

I think the old style ageism re women and what they wear is finally crumbling.

Sidebeforeself · 31/05/2025 15:58

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 30/05/2025 23:44

Oh do fuck off with all the ageism.

This! There is too much crap on here about what people of xyz age should or shouldn’t be wearing.

krustykittens · 31/05/2025 15:56

Shitmonger · 31/05/2025 01:35

Can I ask what it is about your knees that bothers you? I hear women around your age say this a lot but I can’t say I’ve ever noticed anything different about their knees.

They are not bothering me, YET. But I do wonder if I starting to see a bit of sag and I am very vain about my legs, they are my best feature!

legoplaybook · 31/05/2025 15:56

It's M&S fashion, which appeals to women aged 40-80. If it looks good does the age matter?

krustykittens · 31/05/2025 15:54

Dangermoo · 31/05/2025 12:46

I'm keeping a nervous eye on the emergence of bingo wings. I'm still desperately trying to keep those at bay. How difficult is it to tone your arms as a woman?

It can be done. I have muscle for the first time in my life because I finally joined a gym and do a lot of weight training. It's that, rather than cardio, that benefits older women. I loathe the gym but I like the results.

henlake7 · 31/05/2025 15:53

Never understood the hatred of denim jackets and white trainers.
They are just 2 items that seem to go with pretty much everything and not everybody can afford multiple trainers and jackets for every outfit.
It just makes sense to have something so versatile in your wardrobe.
If somebody else thinks its ageing or unfashionable?
well.....f**k 'em! thats a 'them' problem not a 'me' problem!

luckylavender · 31/05/2025 15:45

This is such a judgey condescending thread. Wear what you like!

CleverButScatty · 31/05/2025 15:43

You are being unreasonable letting that rag tell you what you can and can't wear!

Anyotherdude · 31/05/2025 15:18

I think it might be the Sandra Redknapp effect - she always looks amazing!

wwyd2021medicine · 31/05/2025 15:14

Also, why is it relevant that is a very generic comedian for women in their 70's and 80's?

Thank the lord they were not seeing anyone edgy! They may not have been able to cope or possibly turned away at the door 🙄🙄🙄

cardibach · 31/05/2025 15:03

Gemmawemma9 · 30/05/2025 23:50

How is it ageism?
A PP posted that she wouldn’t do double denim…this is becoming popular among older teens/early 20s, I wouldn’t wear it because in my mid 30s I don’t think I’d pull it off. It works both ways!
Some people are so bloody over sensitive 🙄

She literally said it was a look she liked but won’t wear it because (the horror) older women are wearing it now. It very much reads like the old folks should get back in their crimplene and not dare to enjoy wearing nice clothes and, worse, going out in them where younger people are.

WhatATimeToBeAlive · 31/05/2025 14:58

Thingamebobwotsit · 31/05/2025 09:11

Sorry but this is misogynistic clap trap. And a hideous article. People's bodies age. So what? Wear the short skirt if it makes you feel good.

Funny how they never say it about men....

I'm nearly 59 and still wearing thigh length shorts. Sod everyone else, I don't care what they think.

ExtraOnions · 31/05/2025 14:52

Wear what you want, when you want, don’t worry what anyone else is wearing or, anyone else is thinking…

Kellywiththelegs · 31/05/2025 14:46

That article is 16 years old, hopefully there would be a lot of pushback if that was in the mail in 2025, though thinking about it they probably still do it in a more subtle sneaky way by posting the pictures and saying how wonderful they look and let the comments do their dirty work for them.

MoominMai · 31/05/2025 14:31

ThatsNotMyTeen · 30/05/2025 23:53

I was wearing that combo tonight, I’m 52 😆

I don’t think it’d be ageing but instead shows older women now still like to style themselves in a more fashionable way than our granny’s generation.

I’ve not long turned 52 also 🙂.

I agree that older women now don’t tend to dress as conservatively as before. Don’t forget that in the mid 90s when mobile phones were popular and magazines started to popularise individuality and not being boxed in to certain fashions based on age, the pensioners of today were 40-50 year old women consuming all this and have grown up IT savvy from adulthood so would have remained aware of fashion trends from social media etc and the fashion conscious of them will have since their middle age likely been keeping up with trends. That’s why no point in saying you wouldn’t wear something just because you saw a pensioner wear it lol. Just do you.

mummyto9angels · 31/05/2025 14:29

butteredhorseradish · 31/05/2025 13:59

I really shouldn't have clicked on that. What a disgusting article. I'm not going to quote any of it but it's vile.
All of those women look beautiful. I wouldn't have even noticed Elle Macpherson's knees if it hadn't been for the article pointing it out.

Nobody has to cover their knees if they don't want to. So what if knees don't look perfect any more? If you're in your 40s and later your knees have achieved so much and we should be proud of them.
And anyone who doesn't like it can fuck off.

Absolutely! Couldn't agree more. 👏

Muggytoday · 31/05/2025 14:16

I wear a version of it but not the denim jacket which I don’t think I’ve worn for thirty years!