What instantly ages?

[MadameNaice]

Whether that be clothing or cosmetics, I'm interested to hear your opinions. I have a few of my own thoughts on this, though I could be way off the mark.

Am in need of a boost and think I might be unwittingly ageing myself before my time.

Thanks.

@Tenyearsgone

You will all look your age, no matter what you wear or how many times you dye your hair and that's fine.

Just don't kid yourselves that you all look younger than the grey haired,mum boot wearing 'oldies' You really don't.

I don’t agree. I think you can look much older than your years if you have ooor grooming, are too heavy or too thin, ill fitting clothes etc, and also younger than your years with the right grooming, a healthy weight, good fitting clothes, some light make up.

Have you never seen ten years younger? Often the candidates look much older than their age initially. It’s not about what they do to make them look younger, as it can be invasive, but before hand, with poor grooming, teeth, clothes, they look much older than their years.

So yes, in many instances you can look much younger than the “ grey haired mum boot wearing oldie”. Becayse that person looks older than their years. And that’s what the op is asking. What ages you. Not what makes you look younger.

Personally I think a lot of young women look like shit. Ugly, shapeless puffa jackets, leggings or skinny jeans, massive, clompy trainers, way too much make up, huge false eyelashes, fake boobs, lip fillers and cheap synthetic clothing. All very unstylish IMO!

Too much foundation.

These to me are mum boots.

www.cottontraders.com/footwear/women/boots/flexisole-buckle-ankle-boots/AQ12913.html

"too much foundation"
That's a younger woman/girls' fashion, surely? My yr9-13 students mostly wear heavy contouring, think foundation, huge black eyelashes.
I've never worn foundation in my life and I am 61. Teenage girls I teach - very heavy.

@Wannabewriter

How the fuck can drinking gin age you?!

Exactly!! Gin is actually proven to be good for skin

One quite funny thing I have noticed is that people who look a bit older earlier, say they just go grey and never dye it, leave their hair shorter, adopt the fleece and trousers look, and I know lots of lovely middle-aged women who did that, then then look the same for 30 years! They look the same at 75 with a few more wrinkles as they did in previous years. They don't suddenly 'get old' looking, because they kind of just went with it earlier. There is an irony to all this...

Horrible ageist and misogynistic thread.

Ageing is a fact of life, it happens to everyone fortunate enough to live that long and should be celebrated rather than avoided.

This thread might as well be subtitled as 'looks you judge other women for'

Waterfall cardigans

I’m often amazed at how young some women are yet they look so old and I’m referring to women in their early 20s with heavy contoured makeup, false eyelashes and slug brows. In photos this can look good but in real life not so.

Posture and how we move gives the game away. So exclaiming ‘oof' when sitting down, making other strangulated noises when bending, general groaning on movement, slumped shoulders, grimacing on any kind of exertion. Flexibility and ease of movement is youthful.

So yes, in many instances you can look much younger than the “ grey haired mum boot wearing oldie”. Becayse that person looks older than their years. And that’s what the op is asking. What ages you. Not what makes you look younger.

You might look 'better' dressed or more groomed, but you will still look your age.

Too much make up - less is defo more as you age. Shapeless jeans - yuck. Always carrying a boring black handbag regardless of what you are wearing. A ‘sensible’ anorak for the school gates, lol - my sister has one and looks so much older than her real age in it. Sweatshirts with appliquéd animals on the front (with apologies to my mum!)

TBH, I don’t want to look young. I actually like the age I am now - I’m way more confident than I was in my 20s

Me too. I mean, I wouldn’t complain if people thought I was, say, five years younger than I am, but I’m never going to look 30 again and I don’t mind one bit. I look better now thanks to knowing what suits me (and what never will) and the confidence that getting older brings.

My mum at 75 looks great. She’s (finally!) embraced her grey/white hair and it looks beautiful. She wears a lot of patterned Seasalt etc, things that might be ageing on a 50 yo but are youthful on her.

I agree with pp that it’s much easier (and more stylish) to look really good at the age you are than to try to look younger.

Surely it’s your date of birth that ages you?

Cauliflower hair WTF is this? Like, a perm cut into a bob?

Kids in their late teens or twenties and your in your 30s/ 40s This is just spiteful snotty bitching.

Sleep deprivation is horribly aging. Two non-sleeping DC destroyed my face for a few years; when I've been able to sleep and rest I look less skull-like.

[quote kateluvscats]These to me are mum boots.

www.cottontraders.com/footwear/women/boots/flexisole-buckle-ankle-boots/AQ12913.html[/quote]
Those are boots my 75 year old mum wears.

Nah mum boots are round toed block heeled ankle boots worn with bootcut jeans and a hoodie.

A hoodie or a coat with a hood worn with any kind of heel is aging IMO.

Agree about the loads of make up though. There's a gorgeous girl at work who looks late 30's but is actually about 25 under there. I love make up but there's a method. But it's her face/look she makes her own choices ❤️

I went on holiday a few years ago, and the hotel was full of British and Swedish holidaymakers in their sixties or older. The British (men and women) wore pastel colours - pale grey, beige, pale blue for the men, and beige, pale pink and pale blue for the women. Shoes were beige or grey. The British women had either grey hair, old lady light brown hair (matt and all one shade) or old lady blonde hair, all permed or short and wavy. In contrast, the Swedish women had grey or blonde hair, but cut well - short and spiky, a sharp bob or long and all one length. They wore brightly coloured linen shift dresses or tops, sometimes with a large pattern, linen trousers - white, navy, red or a bright pink or turquoise and clogs. Most of the women wore big necklaces and earrings. The men wore linen shirts, jeans and deck shoes or trainers. They didn’t look like they had given up on life. That was the difference.

I kind of like the current trends of the teens/young adults. They're very comfy, except for the crop tops. But loose fitting jeans, ankle length skirts, oversized cardigans, comfy mum-style shoes.... they all sound great.

@MrsSchadenfreude

I went on holiday a few years ago, and the hotel was full of British and Swedish holidaymakers in their sixties or older. The British (men and women) wore pastel colours - pale grey, beige, pale blue for the men, and beige, pale pink and pale blue for the women. Shoes were beige or grey. The British women had either grey hair, old lady light brown hair (matt and all one shade) or old lady blonde hair, all permed or short and wavy. In contrast, the Swedish women had grey or blonde hair, but cut well - short and spiky, a sharp bob or long and all one length. They wore brightly coloured linen shift dresses or tops, sometimes with a large pattern, linen trousers - white, navy, red or a bright pink or turquoise and clogs. Most of the women wore big necklaces and earrings. The men wore linen shirts, jeans and deck shoes or trainers. They didn’t look like they had given up on life. That was the difference.

This. Zest for life and not looking defeated (even if you feel it.) Evolving style and not being dictated to about style and fashion (ironically!) Head up, shoulders back, tits forward and stride into the next chapter.

I’m 43 with a asymmetric bob, which for the last 2 years has been bright (and I mean bright) purple. Not a day goes by when a stranger doesn’t tell me how fabulous it is. It’s glossy and swishy and it gives me a lot of confidence. It also makes my hazel eyes look more green which seems to suit my almost-wrinkle-free complexion.

I have designer specs.

(I’ve had massive boobs since I was about 12. Well over a G cup for the last 15 years. How the fuck can they be aging?!)

I WFH around half the time and have discovered festival trousers. Really comfy (due to the huge elastic aged waists. (And loved by teenagers...... 🤔). Like PJ bottoms you can wear out. With boots, should you so desire.

But actually, I don’t really give a shit whether I look my age or not. Having lost a sibling as a young child I value every rotation around the sun because not everyone gets that chance. I lost school friends and friends in their 30s - all far too young. So what few wrinkles I have I cherish. I don’t fuss too much with skincare or makeup. Rarely wear any jewellery. And I dress for me, and the things I choose to do. And everyone else can just fuck off.

I think the whole dressed for the gym but with a full face of make up, including highlighter, contouring, false eyelashes, the works looks utterly ridiculous. Yes, these women look young, but no 'better' than a woman in a fleece, a waterproof jacket and comfortable boots going for a walk in the park.

If you wore it the first time round you're too old to wear it the second time round.

If you wear clothes from the past twenty years you're old fashioned and passé.

If you wear current trends, you're a fashion victims or mutton dressed as lamb.

If you wear comfortable clothes, you're frumpy.

If you have long hair, straight hair, pixie cut, bob, highlights, fringe, curtains, you're wrong.

Big bags, small bags, crossbody bags, bold colours, pastel colours, pops of colour, you're old.

What the bloody hell am I supposed to wear?

And I dress for me, and the things I choose to do. And everyone else can just fuck off.

Now that's the sort of zest for life I like.