Mutton

[NigellasGuest]

Following recent posts I've noticed on the S&B board, I would really love to know what is mutton dressed as lamb? As in, can anyone actually define it or post a picture of someone who is mutton dressed as lamb? To my mind it doesn't actually exist, and is just another way of saying "badly dressed". People seem to use it as in, I need an outfit but I don't want to look like MDAL but what do they REALLY mean by this? if a dress doesnt look right on you then to my mind it's because it's too short or too long for your proportions or you have the wrong shoes with it, or another reason like that. This mutton thing is just lazy talk I think.

I'm getting on in years - in my 50s - and if I get dressed and don't like what I see, I don't think I look like MDAL. I just think I'm badly dressed.

"having a middle aged crisis"?

Any woman over 35 still wearing mini skirts or very short shorts. Fashion is mostly aimed at the under 25’s imo, so what looks good on a young, slim, body isn’t going to look so good on an over weight 50 year old.
It’s common sense surely?
The older you get the less flesh you show.
An example would be Rose from keeping up appearances, or any other MDAL stereotype from comedy.

I’m sorry but - I feel really sad for you.

@Oragamiwarrior if the legs are good and the weather warm they should be bared at any age. I just happen to like the short skirt / opaque tights look AT ANY AGE

35?!!! 😱 I’m 35 now. Didn’t realise I only had 3 months left of wearing mini skirts. That said, I only wear mini skirts with opaque tights nowadays and wouldn’t wear a revealing top and a mini skirt whereas I would have done when I was 20.

Yes I think people do say midlife crisis to refer to men doing this same thing.

I think the difference between a younger and older flabby woman wearing the shorts and crop top is the intention to look younger. They may both may look equally badly fitted/wrong shape, but the younger woman isn't wearing those clothes trying to look 20 years younger.

Agree that it has disturbing meat-related connotations and the other phrase is better, but I don't think it's always used in an ageist way. If anything it's the woman trying to dress 20 years younger who thinks being 50 is a bad thing and wants to try and pass herself off as younger, younger somehow being better! I don't think being 50 is a bad thing at all, it's our societal conditioning telling women to try and always look younger, sexier for the male gaze, dye their hair, etc.

Brigitte Macron is 65 and looks fantastic in short skirts/dresses.

Agree Xiao - dressing to compete with young women for male attention smacks of an ageism of it’s own kind. It could be said that it is a refusal to acknowledge the positivity of mature sexuality and therefore ‘ageist’.

I disagree re Bridget- she looks 16/64 in a lot of her sartorial choices.

By contrast Melania’s style is great.

Fuck the male gaze
I dress up to meet female friends for lunch

16/64 - no. From the back you see a slim, toned, stylishly dressed woman. She turns round and you see a slim, toned, stylishly dressed woman smiling with confidence and vitality. You might not expect a 65 year old woman to look like that but that's your prejudice at work.

Male version: Mutton dressed as Ram???

It might need more thought. Just getting the ball rolling.

And to add, it’s not just about middle-aged spread/weight. After a certain age your skin changes- it’s spottier, hairier, saggier, veinier, flakier, wrinklier. Sorry, but unless you are an extremely rare specimen, those hot pants don’t look the same on a size 8 20yo as a size 8 50yo (feel free to translate to male sizes also). Young skin looks different. It looks better. Just like a 20yo can marvel at an actual baby’s bum, their bum seems fairly spectacular compared to what I see in my mirror at 46. Doesn’t mean I’m not sexy, but it’s in a different way. If I try and carry off 20yo clothes with 46yo skin, I look a bit silly and like I’m not comfortable, literally, in my own skin.

I’m happy to have 46 years of wisdom, experience, talent, style and plenty of other benefits up my sleeve. To hanker for youth (and hot pants) too seems greedy...!

It’s a reference to meat, not to animals.

I’m always up for a discussion on style for aging bodies but ‘mutton’ is non negotiable for me so bye.

Do you remember that Renault Clio ad starring Nicole and papa? She wore a shortisish, thin strapped sundress which became a look, very ingenue. It trickled down to the High Street so that middle aged women were buying it. Because it became famous for being worn by a young slim girl, it did not translate to being worn by a middle aged woman. Why a simple sundress can look wrong defies logic but it did. That is mutton dressed as lamb to me.

The obvious examples are the aforementioned Liz McD character. And in RL anyghing that Katie Price wears.

Men often dress too young these days. Can’t think of an equivalent term but they definitely do.

In sporting terms you have MAMILs. These are muttony men squeezing themselves into heavily logoed lycra bombing around on racer bikes trying to be Bradley Wiggins. Paul Weller, who BW is a great fan of, is very male muttony. Liam Gallagher is heading that way too.

Instead of trying to think of an alternative term for men, why not think about why this term is still used (by women) to describe women? It is a terrible term to use and if you can’t see how awfully ageist, sexist and downright derogatory it is then shame on you.
Wearing clothes that aren’t right for your build/shape/colouring/occasion is a thing that can happen but there’s absolutely no need to label women as “mutton”.

I can't believe what I'm reading on this thread. So agreement that MDAL is an agesit descriptor. Yet happily declaring that 'older' (probably just older than the poster) should not dress in fashionable clothes, or clothes that attract attention in such a way as to be seen to be in competition with younger women.
Not a bigger pile of misogyny and ageist shite have a I read within the confines of one fucking thread! I take my hat off to you as a 40 something, short skirt wearing, toned and slim fashion lover.

Depressing thread

God women can be so vile to each other. And themselves.

Agree depressing thread

Oh dear. I'm 41 & wore a short black River Island dress today WITHOUT tights.

But I go to the gym regularly so my legs look better than when I was younger & didn't bother.

Saw lots of women of all ages in short shorts too & they look fine.

@Botanicbaby
build/shape/colouring/occasion is a thing that can happen but there’s absolutely no need to label women as “mutton”
I agree 100% - my point exactly!
Agree there are some depressing posts on this thread, that I wasnt really expecting. Why did no one comment about the stunning women on the link I posted?
@tierraJ I bet you looked great. I'm over 10 years older than you and I like my legs - here they are on a beach. I'm not hiding those away just because they're 54. Show less fleshbjust because I'm older, forget it!

Mutton is an older woman dressing badly in the way that teenagers dress badly and not being able to get away with it because she's not a teenager.

@cressida have to disagree. Just because you are slim enough to wear hideous clothes doesn't mean you should. She has a great figure, she could look so nice but she wastes it by trying to look younger by making wuastiknable sartorial choices.

When teenagers dress badly IMO they are dressing badly, they're Not "getting away with it" just because they're young. Same when older - if you're dressed badly you're dressed badly, end of. Many of these "mutton" examples are not IMO trying to look younger - rather, they are aiming to show off their assets, which aren't up to being shown off. Which is also possibly a sexist attitude because who decides what is up to being shown off? But I'm not claiming not to be sexist- I'm just querying the term MDAL. I show plenty of flesh - my legs, my back, even- gasp - cleavage. (Not all at once but that's a style choice not an age one). However indobt show off my middle because it's wobbly. That's nothing to do with my age though. I could work hard on that section and then happily show it in a long evening dress with a bit of cut-away. My age has not hit to do with it, neither does trying to look younger. I am proud of my age, happy to tell it to anyone, and want to look my age but in good shape.

That should say, my age has nothing to do with it.