Aibu to suggest alcohol is out of fashion in middle class circles?

[Coffeeandacupcake]

Just an observation, out for dinner with friends last Saturday night. We got taxis in, we always had a booze fest but now my friends have either cut out alcohol completely or stuck to one glass of wine or gin & tonic! Is alcohol going out of fashion in over 40, middle class circles or is it just my friends?

I've noticed this. I know tons of people who no longer drink. They were drinking during lockdown - I think this change has been since then. As you get older you tend to find alcohol affects you a bit differently, but I think there's more to it than that. It's certainly really acceptable to not drink when you're middle-aged - not sure whether that used to be the case.

I think you are right, I still enjoy a few drinks & felt uncomfortable ordering a third class of wine!

Just want to say I do notice the effects in my 40s in particular my sleep but I do enjoy a couple of drinks per week!

I think as you age the way your body processes alcohol changes. My tolerance is fine but my sleep and hangovers are terrible that it’s just not worth it for me any more and so have to drink like a grown up now.
However, we all still like to have a drink rather it not be fashion thing

Not in my circles, still drink like fish. Not good really at our age.

Suggest away. Cheers 🍷

Cheers 🍹😁

Sounds like age rather than class

What's a "middle class circle"?

A social group of middle class people, how have you not heard of a social circle before?

Working class 😁 don't drink anymore?

I can’t take alcohol in the way I used to be able to. I’m also too busy to lose a day feeling rough; I just don’t have free time like I used to.

I’m rather fond of being slimmer too!

I think these days we tend to stop at 2 glasses of wine or cocktails and often have meet ups when one or more of us says I’m not drinking today. In my case it’s because I feel the effects more and it affects the quality of my sleep but not sure what’s behind the overall trend. I don’t think any of us drink like we used to.

I LOVE drinking but I'm horribly hungover after 2 large gins (menopause) l literally feel sick and exhausted all the next day

If I had one wish it would be to drink like I was 18

Not out of fashion exactly, but I'd rather have one decent glass of wine than four averages ones.

I'm the same, I don't really feel the need to get a bit squiffy anymore, or lose any inhibitions! 😅

I like to plan to get home at a decent time and not rely on the transport system - I can use the city central work parking space I pay for 24/7 so I tend to drive in for catch ups etc and get home safely and at a decent time to sleep.

I also can't deal with the disturbed sleep, groggy mornings or hangovers. As I get older I like to make full use of the peaceful mornings to myself!

I think 40s is the point where people either cut back/down on alcohol significantly OR just commit to being an old soak for life. You can no longer kid yourself that it's just a case of youthful excess.

We just had a work event, organized by a few of the much older partners at my firm. There was a tower of champagne glasses and about 100 bottles. Like 5 bottles were had and bosses were a bit confused. 10 years ago it would have turned into a massive piss up.

Reality is 1) it's not socially acceptable to make an idiot of yourself at a work function, 2) we work longer hours than they did at our age, 3) the young men in our team have childcare duties as much as the women do, so we were all just biding our time to go put our kids to bed and log in to work and 4) everyone is much more concerned with fitness.

And yes, in my circle of friends (mostly early 30s) we don't drink like we did pre-covid.

"Old Soak" 😂😂😂 I haven't heard that term in years!

I'd love to be an old soak but in your 40s the weight just piles on with all those extra empty calories so I am cutting right back now which is sad, because a large glass of wine (crisp, cold white on a hot day, deep oaky red in the winter) is one of my favourite things.

It sounds pretentious to me. Lots of people drink less than they used to.

the fitness thing is a big issue- a lot of middle aged middle class men I know who’ve given up drinking/only having one or two glasses, it’s linked to fitness.

Deffo this

I'm 43 and stopped drinking entirely last year but before then I'd cut down massively pre covid.

Once I got to 35 or so my hangovers started to get shockingly bad. Like out for the count all weekend bad and it just didn't seem worth it any more

I sleep better, I look better, I'm fitter. It's noticeable now who the drinkers in my friendship group are, they are starting to show it physically tbh.

Well, I’m a lawyer for an insurance company, living in an affluent middle class London suburb, currently WFH in my garden whilst my pet ducks mill around, on my second glass of wine because it’s a slow day. I’ll probably finish the bottle at some point. It might be out of fashion, but I’m having a wonderful time being unfashionable!

I think it isn't going out of fashion, you are just getting older and don't tolerate it as well as you used to.