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.

I think it’s harder, when you’re older, to look good in some styles. And fashion in general tends to be aimed at the young. Fashions that show a lot of skin, for instance, tend to look better on people with smoother skin.

So when you’re younger current fashions are more likely to look good and if they don’t people just think you can’t dress well/cant dress for your size/etc. When you’re older and you wear current fashions badly people think you’re dressing too young for age. But there are plenty of older women who wear current fashions well and look good.

Another dinosaur here

@DancingLions

why were you “horrified” though?
that’s the bit I don’t get

Yes exactly.

She felt good in it. That trumps whatever the poster thought about it. Their view is irrelevant.

See, this thigh high boot and short skirt and v neck top thing - this is not a 'young' outfit in my mind. You don't see teens or 20 somethings wandering about in thigh high boots and mini skirts

They're all in baggy bottoms with cropped tops (again) round here. It's all about the midrift.

The thigh boot thing and mini skirt thing - when was that actually in fashion?

I’ve never worn cheap clothes. Nothing I own is fast fashion.
It’s harder to get nice stuff now, it’s much more expensive.
So, I think I’ve always looked nice. I see young ones now in the flesh-coloured leggings & think how well we looked in our jeans. But, my outfits were “young” not sophisticated in any way.

Anyway, I digress. That wasn’t your question! I once saw a woman, from the back, who had an amazing figure. Great legs, she was wearing a micro mini, a sort of surf-chick style. It wasn’t until she turned around, I could see she was my age (mid 40s then). I think they call it Sixteen Sixty-Five? It didn’t add up…

It was as if she was still wearing her clothes from the Noughties. Like Britney does. I remember reading that Trinny sold off her designer wardrobe, as you do need to upgrade your look. I think early to mid 40s is a real time of change as you might have been still girlish enough in your late 30s…

You can’t speak for everyone, other people think differently to you.

Teens and 20’s people I know wear ultra mini uggs, platform adidas, doc martens and black flared trousers. I wear these too and I’m 57 🤷🏼‍♂️

This! ^

I have to admit, I cringe so hard when I see a woman middle aged or older with hair dyed blue, or pink. It just looks so incredibly naff - and a bit sad, and is quite ageing. (IMO.)

A woman I know who is 54 has (had) dark blonde/light brown hair, and she looked 4-5 years younger than her age... Then she dyed it pink. Aged her 10 years. I don't 'get' why women do this when they get to around their mid to late 40s/their 50s. Never had coloured hair before, and just decide to do it pink or blue. Desperate attempt to recapture a youth they never had or something...? Trying to look 'edgy' and 'cool....?' Midlife crisis???

I don't know. And yes I know it's got fuck-all to do with me, and women can jolly well do what they want, but it's an open message forum, and I'm entitled to my view. And my view is that it looks ludicrous. And I agree with @cantthinkofausername26 that it's a bit 'try-hard.'

Yes I know you don't care what I think. You don't need to tell me.

You can wear what you like but it depends how seriously you want to be taken.

That's it exactly.
I think revealing clothing is best left to those with a body to show off.

I don't think it's so much a casual clothing thing more an issue with skirts you can't sit down in, very low cut tops.

That said I fancied a pair of kickers, thinking i had a pair years ago and they were dead comfy. But looking at them with fresh eyes they all looked like school shoes, not really office wear.

Definitely a certain look and not one that younger people would aspire to it has to be said ...

Absolutely!

I think over the years it’s definitely become less obvious with the styles of clothing, more casual clothes can definitely be worn across generations but there are definitely lines not to be crossed.

I look at women who try and compete with their teenage or young adult daughters and it makes me cringe. It’s the same with men but again not as obvious as with women.

I might be old fashioned or even a snob but I think there comes a point that no matter how slim and young you look you need to think about what you wear especially if you have children. You can still look young, fun, show off your figure in a more dignified mature way.

Perhaps they’ve had a corporate job for years. Got made redundant (because ageism is still alive and well in the workplace and you’ve got that alllll ahead of you (unless your generation changes things) and finally thought fuck it. I am free finally from all the conventions.

Or perhaps she had cancer and lost all her hair before and thinks life is too short to not have a bit of fun.

or perhaps she just always fancied it and finally doesn’t care if people like you judge her any more.

I know of someone in her mid-late 40s who always has very young outfits on (as in 14 year old teenager young, not 20s young) such as crop tops and short skater skirts and hair in bunches which I do think is very odd.

And Levi’s

I assume she liked the dress. Why do we ‘have’ to wear something flattering rather than just wearing clothes we like?

I wear what I like. I couldn't care less if strangers passing me in the street don't take me seriously. And anyone I engage with, well they take me seriously the minute I open my mouth.

Wow so much judgement on here. I’m 54 old professional woman on a high income with a DH and young adult kids, work out and watch my diet and health, have a keen interest in fashion but apparently if I wear combats and a sweatshirt I look ridiculous. I’ll book myself into a retirement home now shall I?

^100%

Do people really care that much want other people wear? "Oh no, that woman isn't wearing what I stereotypically associate with what I assume to be her age group". Who gives a fuck, so long as your bits aren't hanging out I don't give a shit!

I don't 'get' why women do this when they get to around their mid to late 40s/their 50s. Never had coloured hair before, and just decide to do it pink or blue

How do you know theyve never had coloured hair before? I was a punk back in the 80s. I had my hair all sorts of colours. Then I somewhat grew out of it and went with dying my hair bog standard brown. Did that for years.

I grew it out to grey in lockdown. Got fed up of dying it. The brown didn't really suit my skin anymore and was fed up with grey roots showing within a week or two. So I bit the bullet and went full on grey. It's actually more white than grey. I can't dye it brown anymore after all the effort I put in to get rid of it and it wouldn't look good if I did. I did go blondish for a bit. But I got bored and have used a semi permanent light pink on it at times. Just for some variety. I'm 55, I could live for another 30 years! Sometimes I fancy a change. I wouldn't go full on neon but it's just fancying something different.

Mate some people just like colours it’s not that deep

I was going to post a similar thread the other day. Basically, I’ve always dressed “young”. Think
leggings, sport socks, false eyelashes. Walked past a group of young twenty-somethings dressed identically but looked a million times better and it felt like a lightbulb moment. I’m currently swapping clothes on Vinted because I no longer feel comfortable in my clothes. I’m trying to dress a lot softer if that makes sense.

Fuck off with your ageist shit. Everyone should be free to wear what they want. Who died and made you Fashion Führer?

Anything trendy/popular with young people would be classified as ‘too young’ IMO. Not that it’s a bad thing, but because certain clothes are mostly worn by certain people, I would naturally make that connection.

It goes both ways though, I’m 23 so young ish and had my son at 20. Living in South West London most of the mums here are 30+, many in my area are 35-40 with the same age child as me. I remember actively trying to buy clothes to look older when I first had my son, because I wanted to fit in with them. Then I go to uni and feel like I’m not fashionable compared to my uni friends😭😂. I will say though the clothes I’ve bought trying to look older are muchhh better quality than the PLT stuff I used to wear.