Can you dress too young for your age?

[Elliebobhobnob]

Can you dress too young for your age, and if so how would you define dressing too young?

It could be a man or woman.

I'm interested to know how someone would describe a person dressing too young.

Wear whatever you want, whatever sparks joy etc. etc.

But yes, I do think you can dress too young. I saw a woman of about 70 wearing a pink velour Juicy Couture tracksuit the other day (the type Paris Hilton et al wore in 2002) and it looked...incongruous.

Theresa May loved (may still love) a strapless dress but I don't think they did her any favours.

I know a 70 year old man who wears skinny jeans and hoodies. Looks comedic.

I think once you get to a point where you have noticeable wrinkles, you do tend to look like mutton dressed as lamb if you go out wearing really short skirts, even if you do have nice legs, as the wrinkles tend to give you away. T-shirts with logos also tend to look a bit like you're dressing too young at that point too.

However, I'm a great believer in - if it makes you feel good, then wear it, however old you are, as if you feel good about yourself and the way you look, your confidence makes you look good to others regardless of your age.

No. Because the older you get the less fucks you give about what anyone else thinks.

I would say that you can most definitely dress in clothing which is far too young for your age. I recently saw a woman who looked to be in her late 50’s wearing a puff-sleeved gauzy frilly above the knee dress. She looked ridiculous. The dress was something a waif-like teenager would wear.

There’s so many stylish clothes out there… no need to dress in something which doesn’t suit you, whether that’s down to your age, your shape, your size or your personal style, it doesn’t matter - just wear something flattering.

I think what’s wrong is judging what anyone else is wearing, how does it tactually affect you? Why care? Leave people to wear whatever clothes they like, being judgy is so dull.

Generally, no. There's some styles of trainers/boots that I think are a bit too young for me (nearly 60), but I only reject them because there's enough to chose from that I like. There's dresses from 'Oh Polly' that I would say are probably left to the under 40's. I think that some styles of suit are more for men under 40. There's more refined ways to look good. But actual clothing, trainers, converse, minis etc, is ageless these days.
@ClytemnestraWasMisunderstood should we really consider sayings from the 1800's as a guide to modern life?

Styles-wise, I think people can wear anything they want. If you wear something branded that’s heavily trending amongst teens you may look a little silly though. Eg: hoodies fine at any age. White Fox hoodie if you’re not 14 a bit like you’re trying to dress up as a teenager.

I think more men dress younger than women, or perhaps women pull it off better.

I see 50 year old plus men in combats, baggy tops, Nike dunks and caps, they dress like a 20 year old and it looks ridiculous!

So you basically have no opinion because those two statements completely contradict each other.

Depends if you want to look good or not.

I think there are definitely clothes you can get away with when you're young and firm or even not that firm but just smooth (male or female) that don't have quite the same effect when you're a bit crepey and "less firm", which happens to us all. I mean I can wear Daisy Dukes and a crop top if I want but it wouldn't look as good as when I was 20 by quite a margin, and there are other things I could wear now that would look a lot better on my 50 year old bod. Basically I still think I look good, but not if I wear the same clothes I wore when I was 20.

I guess the male equivalent would be a guy in a tight vest. Unless you're an over 50's CrossFit champion, there are probably other choices where you'd look better.

No of course not. But now I am older, I am more confident in wearing what I like and works for me and which can put me at odds with fashion (which does tend to be associated with young people).

I have to admit I hate when men in their 40’s or older still try and look trendy or wear things like hoodies. It gives me the ick.

Yes.

I think you can alway follow trends and adapt them. For example, my young cousins are wearing super low rise baggy jeans with little lacy cami tops and I think that would look silly on me, but I would still wear a fitted shirt with boyfriend-fit jeans.

I have very contradictory feelings about this:
I believe everyone should wear whatever they like/feel comfortable in -
but I have a fear of ever looking like mutton dressed as lamb myself!

It's pretty subjective - I definitely do avoid some things as looking too young. Sometimes it's not that they are 'young' in themselves, but honestly if it's a look that's quite distinctive and is worn by a lot of teens, I'd avoid it (eg about 5 years ago, though I thought the 'denim shorts, tights and boots' look was cute, I didn't wear it as it was something 'owned' by teens and would look a bit jarring).

When looking for a dress for son's bar mitzvah I tried on a couple of dresses that were nice in themselves, and the shape was OK on me, but they just looked too 'girly' on me which risked them looking frumpy rather than cute.

I don't dress especially 'my age', I'll wear things like denim minis and clumpy boots, I wear a lot of patterns and colours but more in a way that's boho middle aged than 'young' I suppose.

What I'm saying I guess is you don't have to be dull and beige and 'tasteful' and cover yourself up at any age, but I think there will be some things that are likely to 'jar' a bit on you if very youthful. But at the same time if you want to wear them, screw what anyone else thinks and wear them in my opinion!

@MadnessIsMyMiddleName
"I think once you get to a point where you have noticeable wrinkles, you do tend to look like mutton dressed as lamb if you go out wearing really short skirts, even if you do have nice legs, as the wrinkles tend to give you away."
Give what away? That comes from the pov that we need to hide aging and not being young. Which is quite creepy. We don't just exist to please the male gaze. "Pretty isn't the rent that women owe to the world".

I dress young

Well, I dress with what clothes are available to me

So it makes me look younger I suppose

I'm in my early 60s, and a lot of the time I'm dressing like I did when I was a student. However, I was the sort of student who wore jeans, sweatshirts and big jumpers, together with clumpy boots and trainers. The sizes might have changed (dammit) but the overall look is fairly similar. I expect to be wearing jeans until I die, as my Mum did.

I think you can. I think anything with a character on it or revealing in the way that only slender, leggy teens can carry off is probably going to look odd as you age.

I bumped into my neighbours daughter the other dayzc she is a second year uni student. We had the same outfit on 😁

I agree with PPs it’s about what flatters you, if you are (like me) a bit pear shaped now, with boobs down by your waist, probably best to leave the cropped boob tubes alone

Ah, there's your issue - teenagers always think their parents are cringe, and if they look current at all, the kids accuse them of dressing too young, and trying too hard. Ignore!

No unless it's actually childrens clothes.
I know a very slim, short woman who dresses in the kids ranges from brands like Kite, Maxomorra. I once saw her at a toddler group and she was literally wearing the same outfit as my then two year old.

Well I wouldn’t wear a babygro or anything that looks like school uniform.

apart from that, anything goes.

When you turn round and see someone looking at you with a shocked face, you've dressed too young (because they think you're at least 20 years younger than you are until they see your face).