Is it time I stopped dressing like a grungy teenager?!

[PastaBakeCarrotCake]

I am definitely a jeans-and-tshirt person and can't see that changing. I don't own any heels and don't plan on buying any! I live in jeans.

If I'm going out somewhere nice then I wear nice boots, I've got some lovely coats and jackets and some smart tops that I like. A couple of skirts for the summer, with ballet pumps or sandals. I go a bit more "hippy" style in warmer weather and have some nice sun dresses etc.

But on a day-to-day basis I live in band t-shirts, converse/vans trainers with a more slouchy pair of jeans. I have done since I was a teen, and it's just "me". When I bought my latest pair of Vans (black & white checkerboard ones) my DH thought it was very funny because his cousin's 15 year old son has some almost the same. It's got me thinking. Am I starting to look a bit silly?? I know, I know, if I like it then I shouldn't care what anyone else thinks. But I have to admit to feeling a bit self conscious now! What do you think??' I'm 33 and have two young DC, and I definitely don't dress like their friends' more glamorous and trendy mums 🙈

I'm almost 50 and dress just like this. I can't imagine wearing anything else
Wear what you like

Op I wear the same, live in my chuck Taylor's, jeans, leggings, Adidas socks and tshirts because I'm comfortable** dressed like that. I'm the same age as you, get id still so fuck it, I'll pretend I'm a teenager if I'm that cringe 😆

I don't want a blazer in denim, or suede, or leather. I don't want a blazer at all. Some of us are happy wearing what we like, and we don't actually care what anyone else thinks - what about that can you not grasp? You care about how you look, which is fine, but why do you feel this need to convert those who don't?

I didn’t say blazers in any of those fabrics, I said jackets. I have already said I do grasp that some people don’t care what they look like, not sure why you don’t understand that I am giving the OP my opinion about what I think looks good. I don’t feel the need to convert anyone to anything and again I’ve already said that, but the OP asked for opinions and I gave mine, expressing that is not a personal insult to you or anyone else. The OP seems to care to a degree what she looks like otherwise she wouldn’t have posed the question 🤷‍♀️

I'll be 42 in a few weeks and band t-shirts and jeans are my weekend go-to. I'm very proud of my band t-shirts ; I've spent 25 years going to indie gigs buying them.

If you feel like you want to jazz things up a bit, go to a good denim store and try different cuts and rises. That might provide you with a style update (if that's what you're after). What long sleeves do you wear when it's cold? There might be scope for new ideas there too if you want to keep your core uniform as it is.

So no, definitely not too old!

@Eyerollcentral It's not that people "don't care what they look like". They just don't want to look like you, with your blazers and funky blouses. I will go to my grave never wearing a funky blouse.

I did a style analysis a few years back. As well as getting my shape and season analysed, it focussed on your ‘personality’. I came out as boho.

It made me realise you are who you are. Some people gravitate towards the classic, groomed look, others more towards retro. On mn, you often get certain brands listed to ‘improve’ your look, and others are scorned. However, I hate the favoured styles and prefer the frowned upon brands.

Wear what you want to wear, and not what you perceive you should wear!

Think it sounds age appropriate anyway. If you were a teen you would be wearing a crop top with a North face jacket and baggy combats with straight hair and a cross face. You would also sporadically stick your tongue out of the side of your mouth.

Your clothes are now what the middle aged wear. Your Dh is the out of date one. Wear what you like but it’s nice to mix it up a little

That’s so true. When I was younger, there was definitely a ‘middle age’ fashion (for want if a better word) - think Mrs Brown boys. Now, the blue rinse hairstyle is sported by the teens, and the ‘middle age’ cohort are looking younger and dressier and more fashionable than they ever did before.

A good friend of mine has just brought a band tshirt of a folk group she likes. She’s early 50s. There’s no hope for her, is there @Eyerollcentral .

But the "middle aged cohort" still looks middle aged, it's just our band t shirts/ seasalt yellow raincoats/ mint velvet side stripe wide leg trousers/ all saints biker jacket over a dress....they are the NEW signifiers of middle age! That's why the late Queen's generation had their cauliflower perms and court shoes, they were the youthful looks back in their own day! Although I agree there has been a distinct teenage look since the 60s. This video is an interesting watch

Todays Teens wouldn’t be seen dead in the clothes you think are teenage!

Teens these days were clothes I would never wear myself.
My daughter wears for example a cream cropped top, baggy joggers or bell leg leggins.
I can’t see it being absolutely appealing, all her friends wear similar style, all dull colours. I’m more like Beth from Correy.

I'm 48 and still dress like my teenage tomboy years. Jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, dungarees and trainers or Converse.
I had a wobble in my 30s too but I'm now beyond giving a rat's arse what other people think.

Can you remember who this was with please? I'd love more ideas of places to shop for my style, but have avoided stylist lest they try and make me look "groomed". I am not a poodle!!

I'm twenty years older than you and still dress like that 😂

Ha ha ha ha ha oh dear. Yeah fair point on the funky blouses, an unfortunate turn of phrase. So many people on here stuck in teenage mindsets about their appearance. I am going out on a limb here and 90% of you will look terrible in what you say you are wearing.

If she teams it with a pair of vans or slouchy jeans or both, no. And well it’s a folk band so there probably wasn’t much hope for her in the first place

If you are slim and attractive in your 50s you can wear what you like and will look great. If you aren't (I'm not particularly) then you can wear what you like and just not care if women wearing funky blouses and blazers judge you.

Totally, if you don’t care what you look like, you won’t care what you look like 🤷‍♀️

[[https://thetechfashionista.com/types-of-fashion-styles/ thetechfashionista.com/types-of-fashion-styles/
A list of different styles of dressing.

Well tbh I'd probably assume someone younger than 70 wearing a funky blouse and a blazer was a bit frumpy, but there we go.

You can care what you look like and still wear a band tshirt.

I've got 8 years on you and that's exactly how I dress, even for work. If you're happy then whey change?

I do think it looks teenagery but some men and women always dress the same as when they were 16 and if that is who they are let them be. I don't think being slim and attractive gives you a pass on looking scruffy or dressing grungy because of age which there is no escape from if you're alive. I think there is a way of looking grungey or goth or doing casual in a classier age appropriate way where your style matures with you. I definitely changed my wardrobe when I turned 30. It's good to update your haircut and make up, that heavy black eyeliner in my teens and twenties just doesn't work anymore, it's not unfeminist or ageist to say so it's just my and many women's reality with aging, hair, skin and figure (even if you're slim) are just not the same to a young person. I don't understand the obsession to cling on, letting go and embracing new stage of life tells me you're confident more than 'dressing whatever you like' because you accept and own your age and acknowledge the change of life seasons. It's actually more ageist to fight growing older and cling on to youth.