Mutton dressed as lamb

[whatisforteamum]

I overheard my colleagues talking about this the other day.
Saying how a certain hair colour was mutton dressed as lamb.
I have a small amount of this and I love it and do it for myself thank you.
Apart from really high heels on mature ladies or mini skirts I think anything goes tbh.
What do you think looks like mutton dressed as lamb?

It's only women that seem to be judged (harshly) for their clothes choices

Frumpy
Mutton dressed as lamb
And (worst)
Slutty
Clothes suggesting she's "asking for it"

Literally none of these seem to apply to men 🙄

I guess I'm a bit judgemental about shoes people can't walk in.
Each to their own though.

These two sentences don't match up😅😅

I'm a fat middle aged woman who is definitely not a lamb and I shall wear what I want on my saggy old, lovely old body. It's worked damned hard for me (still does). To hell with anyone who thinks I'm mutton dressed as bloody lamb. They can get in the bastard sea.

It could be a follow on from the thread
Questions about cows 🐄🐑

This.

I was told I was mutton dressed as lamb by a "friend" for wearing pink jeans.
I was 26!

Nothing is mutton dressed as lamb. Some styles are not to my taste but not because of age.

But of course the same rules don't apply to the likes of 80-somethings Rod Stewart & Mick Jagger prancing on stage in skinny jeans!

I’ve been wearing high heels for 55 years. Not only can I walk in them, I can run, jump, dance, skip, squat, and play hopscotch. I’m beyond heartbroken that you don’t approve of me. Honestly, sitting here throwing my heels into the charity shop bag as we speak 🙄

Overview

The phrase "mutton dressed as lamb" is first documented in print in 1811, specifically in a journal of social gossip compiled by Mrs. Frances Calvert. It was initially used to describe older women who dressed in a style more appropriate for younger women, often with the implication of trying to deceive others about their age.

Yes I guess I'm a bit judgemental about shoes people can't walk in.

You didn’t mention in your original post that it was high heels “people can’t walk in” you just said high heels. So you’re changing your tune now. You also mentioned mini skirts on older ladies. So it’s not just “shows people can’t walk in” that you’re judgemental about. And the fact that you even started this thread to see what suggestions other people have, that may constitute as mutton dressed as lamb, suggests in fact you are indeed, very judgemental.

A phrase that should be consigned to history. As for dressing inappropriately or not recognising what is stylish for you, to target older women is unfair.

I think that anyone who dyes their hair one block colour, especially if the colour does not tone with their natural colouring, is not doing themselves any favours. Even worse if they seem to have a permanent 2cm regrowth line.
Perhaps they do not realise that they are not doing themselves any favours for the sake of self-expression?

I'm 57, still wear winged eyeliner and red lipstick and anyone who has any negative comments about it can jog the fuck on.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5380049-sheep-people-why-would-a-lamb-keep-doing-this

Not sure comparing women to meat is acceptable in 2025 🙄🙄

Thank you! I don’t know where my mind was but I assumed it was going to be something off the wall and funny. It was quite cute though and I hope the lamb has stopped bleating by now.

For sure. Ignorant of Mrs. Calvert to start it in the first place.

You’re only in your fifties, but you have such outdated views.

Those views are likely to age you far more than a hair colour or a short skirt.

I’m 51 and I love my pink jeans!! Will be wearing them till they fall apart!

I'm a 61 year old woman. Of course any woman can wear whatever she wants but it won't stop other people thinking that some outfits or styles look better on young women and silly on older ones.

I see lots of young women walking around with very tight fitting short crop tops and shorts with their buttocks hanging out. I think they look pretty silly with part of their bum showing but as they're young they can get away with it, but if someone my age wore such an outfit to my local shop I would be very surprised and I'm sure the phrase" mutton dressed as lamb" would go through my head, as well as thinking she was an attention-seeker and probably had self -esteem issues.

I occasionally go to bingo and a few months ago saw a woman who must have been in her late 70s wearing a very tight, short dress totally covered in silver sequins. She looked absolutely awful and her face and hair were very incongruous with such an outfit, no make up and a nondescript short haircut. She got a lot of looks as she walked down, obviously because bingo isn't a place where people dress like that anyway, but she was wearing a dress totally inappropriate for her age. Presumably she felt great in it and in the end that's the most important thing, but I wonder what the people she was with thought.

I have a neighbour who is my age and wears great clothes but dyes her hair pillar box red with a blonde stripe. Looks bloody awful at her age. Again presumably she loves it but it makes you look twice, and not in a good way.

You can look cool and stylish at any age, my 88 year old mother loves clothes and looks great, but she wouldn't wear some of the clothes that her 25 year old granddaughter wears. There is such a thing as age appropriate clothing which is what the phrase" mutton dressed as lamb" means.

What a horrible thread encouraging people to be judgemental. Anything goes for everyone people can look and dress how they please. If people have a problem with it, it's their issue.

Pure misogyny. We don't have a phrase like this for men do we? I wonder why... 🤔

Because the range of men's clothing and hairstyles is so much more limited for one. Trousers and shirt, shorts and t shirt/ some kind of short sleeve shirt, suit, that's about it. There is less chance of them getting it wrong. Men don't wear heels, make up or generally dye their hair as they get older. They certainly get laughed at if they start dying their hair eg someone like Tom Jones or Paul McCartney.

That’s not what you said though, you said ‘heels on mature ladies’, but clearly your assumption is that somehow everyone 50+ is so decrepit they start staggering about looking ridiculous and deserving of judgement.

My grandmother was one of the most put together and elegantly dressed women I ever knew. She had an extensive collection of beautiful high heels she wore until her death at 89 and always looked amazing.

My dad’s partner is in her 80s and rocks about in Airforce Ones and cool jeans. She looks great.

All women of every age should wear their hair, clothes and shoes in whatever way they please and however they feel happiest. And we as women should be each other’s cheerleaders and defenders.

You really need to check your views and assumptions, mate. You’re coming across as badly as the judgy twats you work with, who’ve clearly made you feel self-conscious about your own choices. The way to handle that is to tell them to get to fuck, not start threads trying to shit on and laugh at other women.