What Mysteriously happens between 49 and 50!

[TollgateDebs]

Another article today (this time from The Mail online) about how to dress at 50. Can someone please explain to me what mysteriously happens after leaving your 49th year? Do you suddenly have to dump your style and wear boring, stretchy, oddly patterned clothing?

[pinkfrocks]

Nothing happens. Nada.
It's a Daily Mail mysogynist view - where you either have a bikini body (only under 30) or you are an old hag ( ie 40+) who needs 'rescuing' by putting you in weird and wonderful clothes usually modelled by Jane Asher or Sandra Howard- both of whom are lovely, but who earn some dosh by working for the Mail.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

I'm 50 next year too!

I have bought jeans for the first time in ages.
I dye my hair and highlight it (well, my DD does it for me)

I won't have more money when I'm 50 due to the aforementioned DD but I aim to be fitter.

Ooh yes, menopause

Eyes up the crimpolene ............

[Celerie]

We grow hooves, our hair turns into wire wool and nobody wants to fuck us apparently.

[BringMeTea]

Here here redfleece. Odious twat he is.

[burnishedsilver]

Dammit. I forgot about menopause.

[Floisme]

Yes indeed, my fifties have been the most full on decade of my life what with teenagers, aged parents, dodging bullets at work and the menopause. The marketing people have absolutely no idea.

[ShotgunNotDoingThePans]

I think the 'over 50s' as a concept is nonsensical in other areas as well. Try looking for an exercise class or dvd that does more than 'sit in your chair and circle your ankles.' Even my 72 year old mum finds over 50s classes too easy. Same I suppose applies to the Saga - type holidays. I might be wrong, but the image I have of sedately pottering around 'sights' led by a guide and travelling by coach is about as far from my idea of a good holiday as it could be.

[LovelyFriend]

Your children start moving out and start to have more time for yourself and you start to have money again!
Hardy ha ha - DD1 will be 10 when I'm 50, DD2 will be 6

[TollgateDebs]

I started the thread thinking it can't just be me that has an issue with the 'Over 50' fashion tag and it obviously isn't! I have a real problem with societal groupings generally and I can see the marketing aspect to this, but not the lack of imagination that goes with it.

[redfleeceuphills]

I would not trust anything in a paper edited by this minger.

(rumour has it he bans his wife, professor kathy dacre from being publicly photographed as he doesn't like the way she looks.

so there you have it. Dress like the Mail tells you and you end up married to a piece of scum who obsesses over stolen photos of sixteen year olds in bikinis whilst being ashamed of his wife and mother of his children)

i was at a festival last week, tonnes of over fifty year olds, looking great, expressing themselves in whatever way -from hippy to "eccentric Englishwoman" to slick posh types. i loved ALL their looks!

[GeorginaWorsley]

I am 48 and I like to embrace a 'pared back elegance '
I used to wear floral and frills .
Now I stick to plain, my wardrobe is navy, grey,black, white,slate and Wedgwood blues.
But boring probably but I hate the cruise ship floral look on me now, I find that ageing
I used to shop in Phase Eight, Boden ,white Stuff etc but whilst I do buy a bit of very plain stuff from. Boden, I tend to gravitate more to Cos, White Company, Whistles, bit of Mango and Zara (although quality suspect ).
The Mail article seems to think every woman of 50 wants to look like Hyacinth or something of Loose Women.

[poppym12]

have i just looked at images from an old doris day film?

[loveareadingthanks]

Mind, even my Mum wouldn't be seen dead in most of that. Especially the stay-pressed slacks things and the 'comfy culottes'.

[loveareadingthanks]

Hideous. For me.

But my 80+ Mum would look lovely in some of them.

It's a marketing angle, that's all. you appeal to people's aspirations instead of their reality. So when you market clothes for 50+ you are actually marketing to much older people who want to look and feel 'youthful' in comparison. If you marketed at 80+ everyone would think 'Ok, I'm 83, but I don't want to dress in old lady clothes thank you, ooh, 50+ and nice and sensible. I'll be dressing like nice smartly attired middle aged ladies, that sounds good.'

It's the same as Just Seventeen mag/comic. It was read by 11-13 ish year olds aspiring to be all teenage and grown up, not by actual 17-18 year olds.

[quirkychick]

*we're really expensive but looked appalling

[quirkychick]

Yikes! I don't think I will be wearing anything like that in 5+ yrs (when I'm 50).

You absolutely need to wear what suits you, not what suits your age. The first step to being frumpy. Some of those clothes looked really expensive - certainly appallingly "styled".

[Cloudhowe63]

Also 52. Wouldn't be seen dead in those. Maybe in another 20 years......but hopefully not!

[Behooven]

I'm 51, not particularly fashionable but definitely age appropriate, black ankle grazers, green silk vest top and leather jacket today (pissing with rain here). I wouldn't even glance at those clothes in a shop. They remind me of M&S classic collection. The styles look for much older women with big silver haired shampoo and set bouffants.

[SwedishEdith]

That 2nd link actually looks like her though - the original one definitely isn't her.

[charmund]

I'm 51 and am being inundated with emails from "50 plus" - most of their clothes would look great on my mum who is 84!!

[motherinferior]

She was 78 and looking dauntingly good on it last year.

[motherinferior]

I'm not 53, I'm 52. Clearly my brain is going even if my dress sense isn't

[SwedishEdith]

Was just trying to google her age - knew it was nowhere near 50 - but it's pretty hard to find. Is that actually her?

[motherinferior]

Can I just point out that Marcelle D'Argy Smith is very, very, 50 plus - she is in fact nearly 80.

I'm 53. I have a 14-year-old and a 12-year-old. Today I am wearing jeans cut off at the knee and a white linen top.