to ask what age you looked and felt your best?

[strawberrypip]

thinking about this after a conversation I had with my mum. she said it's now, at 47 because she was so insecure in her 20s and 30s and had 3 young kids, whereas now she is confident and gets sleep lol!

I am already starting to feel age insecurity creeping in and I'm only 27! so what age did you feel/look your best?

Early-mid 40s. I probably looked better when much younger but I was tired and hassled and didn’t have time for clothes or haircuts.

27 was my best weight and confidence.

18 - 21. I am not a very attractive person at all, facially, but at that age I had a good figure and a youthful complexion which made up a bit for my general ugliness, and my hair was nice and thick and not yet grey. It was the early 90s, and early 90s fashion suited me, too.

I probably looked my best at 21 and 25. But my confidence didn't match how I looked.

I looked good and felt good at 30. I wish I could go back to those days so much. I'm 40 now. The last decade hasn't been kind to me. Should add I've had two kids, got made redundant twice and lost a sibling last year!

20/21 I was confident enough, happy with my body and my life was good.

Well, looks, I do t know. But I’m in my 60s and have never felt bettet

Between 30 and 45. I'd found my own style, knew how to do my hair and makeup to suit me best, and finally found the confidence to not give a rat's arse what other people thought of me.
I'm 51 now and while I look younger than that (I was 'blessed' with greasy skin that has aged very well) I feel after losing my parents within the last two years and some ridiculous family dramas that my confidence isn't what it was.

Early 20's - I had a lot of confidence and the disposable income to buy clothes that made me feel great, I didn't yet view my body as my enemy because no chronic pain, signs of PCOS or disordered eating, and I wasn't exhausted all the time. I also didn't care if anyone didn't like how I looked, so I looked how I wanted to look.

@Rowenasemolina ah love that!

Probably looked my best at 19, but felt and looked good at 30- exercising, a very toned size 12 without any of the stress and self doubt of my late teens.

Still waiting...

I've never felt good about myself.

Had teenage insecurity then had DS1 who was huge and gave me stretch marks everywhere and my boobs went like empty socks at 20.

Had more kids. Hated my body even more. Hit 30 and gained 6 stone over the next 5 years.

Never, ever, ever stood in front of a mirror and felt good or sexy.

I don't think I ever will and I cry about that a lot.

I'm 28, currently feel I look my best now due to weightloss. Wish I knew about nutrition and bothered with exercise before now, but it's better late than never.

30-40

Late 20s early 30s.

@MedusasBadHairDay

Early 20's - I had a lot of confidence and the disposable income to buy clothes that made me feel great, I didn't yet view my body as my enemy because no chronic pain, signs of PCOS or disordered eating, and I wasn't exhausted all the time. I also didn't care if anyone didn't like how I looked, so I looked how I wanted to look.

Actually, another thing I didn't factor in. I had an incredibly supportive friendship group - that made a big difference. Later on I moved to a new town where I was more isolated, so it was easier for the loneliness to manifest as body insecurity. Especially as I needed to make new friends, so other people's opinions of me did matter.

I looked my best at about age 26 but I didn’t have the confidence I do now at 41 so I feel better in myself now.

It's interesting to read the other replies, how many are focused on when people were slimmest. While my early twenties I was fairly slim, I was definitely not at my slimmest. And I'm aware that the second time in my life where I felt confident in myself (slightly lesser than the first time due to chronic pain, signs of PCOS intruding) I was definitely fat (size 20 and short) but at the time surrounded by people who made me feel better about myself. My favourite photos of myself are from those 2 periods.

I don't think there is always a clear connection between feeling your best and looking your best- that's a very personal thing.

I've never felt more confident than I do now in my late 50s, but obviously I look like a woman in late middle age. My 20s was also a good time. Looking back, I was clearly a pretty woman but I didn't pay a lot of attention to that at the time. My confidence was more about having good friends, doing good work, learning more about how the world worked. Basically, I was so busy looking outward, at other people and at the world, that I didn't spend a lot of time looking inward at me.

I agree about the weight thing. I was the slimmest when I was 23 but I was really unhappy then, had an anxiety disorder that made me panic I would choke every time I ate something that wasnt mashed or liquid. really scary time actually. I've had a baby since then which is why I think this insecurity is starting to creep in as I def have a mum tum and look frazzled a lot of the time!

23/24 I was an absolute sort back then

I've always felt there's plenty of room for improvement. Yet look back at old photos and realise I didn't look bad at all. So yeah. I've passed my prime several times over and never appreciated it.

26. I was working outdoors and really active and looking back at photis I looked great!

23 - 34. Don’t miss the awkwardness of dealing with men in general there was often an undertone - plus street harassment, Men would often get aggressive if I wasn’t interested. Much simpler being mid 40s !

53. In March that will become 54.