She was 42?! I’m 44

[AmIoldbutdontrealiseit]

Shirley Valentine. Sat watching it on Channel 5, obviously seen it before but when very young so it didn’t have quite the same impact.
Cannot believe she was 42, I’ve just turned 44 and whilst I don’t feel young, I’m surely not frumpy and middle aged, pretty as she was, if you know what I mean?
The anorak wearing, egg and chip making and very mumsy, almost grandma feel?
I realise it was set in the 80’s but is it that we look/act younger now, or that we’re really middle aged and frumpy but don’t realise it 😬
In comparison, I have a 3 year old Dd, a career, live abroad, have longer hair, wear converse, parka and Gucci bag (just example today’s outfit) use Instagram, have many interests. My life is mainly centred around Dd so isn’t wild as in before, clubbing, festivals, travelling etc…but..is this what my age is really like inside?

Hope that made sense 🤣

My Mum looked 'old' at 40. However, she doesn't look any different now she's 70 and now looks very young!

I'm in my mid-sixties & had let my blonde grow out to be replaced by natural silver. My kids dislike it & want me to dye it blonde!

A previous post made me think of old ladies currently in residential homes.. short permed hair, elasticated waistbands.. will we all be there with jeans & long hair? :-)

Also no, I know no-one who's had botox - and, my dd is 38 with long blonde hair & gets asked for ID regularly..

Not read the whole thing but I remember this exact thread.

The last generation were much older than we are.
My mum always said when you get to 30 you cut your hair short as women over 30 were too old for long hair - and women over 40 should cover their arms etc.
now we have the ‘celebrity 40/50+’ like J lo, Nicole Kidman, Jenifer Anniston, Madonna etc who look better than they did at 20!

Women look younger for longer these days.

@Bunchymcbunchface I find that strange and I am in my late fifties.
I have always had my hair short. Long hair when I was young was either quite feminine women or very traditional women like my devout catholic SIL. Trendy women had short haircuts.

And Madonna really does not look better than she did when she was 20.

Oh same here, watched about 5 mins of it and thought she looks so pretty, slim and young! Yet when it came out u thought old, frumpy! Just the dress sense I guess. At 50 I have a young child, work and no way could I do this. Fantasy lol x

I remember old ladies walking down the high street with peens and purple rinses, pantyhose 3x shades too dark for their skin and baggy. I used to feel sorry for them. They were old. I am now old and get it but times and fashion have changed. Thank goodness. Now we don’t discard women I think as much as we used to. It’s getting better for our sex. Yes, that last statement might upset some people but it’s true

@MrsDrRoss Can I ask how old you are?

@RoyalFamilyFan

And Madonna really does not look better than she did when she was 20.

Of course she doesn't. Nobody does, male or female.

I agree that women are keeping their looks for longer these days, but all of the women mentioned above, while still very attractive, looked better when they were younger.

Madonna at 20 and then now.

Famous women once they have made money have stylists and so their style often improves. But everyone's would at any age if you had stylists and money for expensive clothes and haircuts.

I think older people these days act and look much younger than they did years ago. I can remember my grandma,who died aged 68 in 1972,seeming really old. In photos I've seen of her when she was in her early to mid 60s,she looks at least 20 years older. I know people who are in their early 70s and older who seem at least 20 years younger.

@RoyalFamilyFan nearly 50

I watched it the other night too and thought the same thing. I baulked when she looked in the mirror and said 'you're only 42'. I'm 42!!!! I love her character even more now though seen through the eyes of a 'middle-aged woman' with a dick of a husband

[quote RoyalFamilyFan]@Bunchymcbunchface I find that strange and I am in my late fifties.
I have always had my hair short. Long hair when I was young was either quite feminine women or very traditional women like my devout catholic SIL. Trendy women had short haircuts.[/quote]
My mum is strange….

I'm nearly 60 and after reading quite a lot of this thread, what comes across to me is the fear of age, mainly the physical appearance of age, in so many posts. It is very, very apparent.

Well, the world has the youth= beauty equation. It always has and it probably always will, while it is tied to fertility. I can only suggest that the alternative, "live fast, die young, leave a good looking corpse" has its own drawbacks, mainly being dead.

I don't think about looking young anymore. It is pointless, because I am not young. I want to look like the best version of me that I can, the one I am happy with, with my own style and doing that makes me happy. This is an advantage we have over most women in previous generations, not being so pigeonholed, and we should make the most of it.

Not to burst anyones bubble but retail staff are read the riot act in relation to checking ID, most are so scared of making a mistake they tend to go way over the top, cameras are constantly watching them, plus they will have mystery customers coming through, they are liable for the sack if they inadvertently sell alchohol , tobacco, etc to anyone under age, and the store can lose its licence to sell these products, it is literally rammed down their throat daily, . So its very easy for them when they are single handedly trying to man 8 busy self service checkouts by themselves to ask someone older, l have done it myself , many times.

Feel as young as you wish.

The reality though is that 90% of people over 40 look as you see Shirley, to anyone under 30....

That’s pretty much what my husband said when he walked in, I was watching it and Joe said he was in his 40s. Bloody hell do I look like that was what he said!

It has changed a lot. I am 71, have highlighted blond long Bob, dress in timeless type fashion. I looked after my skin religiously and it has paid off. I wish I was thinner but there you go. I don't think I am alone in my age group. Times have changed. Started in the 90s.

Most 40 plus ladies dressed like that back then believe it or not.
I recall seeing this film in the cinema when it first came out. I was in my mid 20s then, being horrified at the thought of wearing frumpy clothes by the time I reached my 40s. I'm now a couple of years off being 60 and I wear similar clothes to what I wore back in the 80s and 90s but a bit more casual.

@fetchacloth

Most 40 plus ladies dressed like that back then believe it or not. I recall seeing this film in the cinema when it first came out. I was in my mid 20s then, being horrified at the thought of wearing frumpy clothes by the time I reached my 40s. I'm now a couple of years off being 60 and I wear similar clothes to what I wore back in the 80s and 90s but a bit more casual.

The thing is, dressing like you did in your 20s pretty much guarantees that you will dress 'old' in the eyes of today's youth.

I'm exactly the same though - in my 40s, still wear the clothes of my youth.

@MadMadaMim

Feel as young as you wish.

The reality though is that 90% of people over 40 look as you see Shirley, to anyone under 30....

Depressing but true!

When I first saw Shirley Valentine I was in my 20s and Shirley was a mumsy older woman. I watched it the other night and when they said this mumsy older woman was 42 I nearly choked on my wine. I'm in my late 50s but she still looks old to me.