Today I'm dressed like an old lady 😂

[GarlicEverywhere]

I hasten to clarify that I am an old lady! I'd love to claim "I don't know how this happened" - but I know exactly. I needed to go to The Outdoors but was hot and tired.

A weather-appropriate dress happened to be top of a nearby pile (yes, I need an actual wardrobe) and it is a very comfortable dress. Double muslin, basically a long, crinkled sack with an under-bust gather in place of any shaping. I'm not wearing a bra, which, at my age, only adds to the shapelessness.

As I looked so very drab, I felt I should add lively footwear. Trouble is, I needed said footwear to be flat and - yes, comfortable. The shoes best meeting my need were metallic gold, basket-weave loafers. And now I understand why old women so often wear shapeless dresses with incongruous footwear! Comfort imperative; too tired to style it but making a low-effort attempt at interest.

I probably need some better quality sacks 😳 and a pair of less flashy loafers.

Feel free to share your not-very-successful attempts at looking like you made an effort when you made none at all - or, alternatively, chortle quietly at my hapless discovery of my inner bag-lady.

yes! i’m in my sweater-slung-over-shoulders era 😁

Today I'm in a vendor office, in the City. Pretty casual, so linen wide-legged trousers, a linen shirt (not tucked) and elasticated sandals! (Fly London, so not as fuddy-duddy as my crocs etc..). I do have underwear on! Proper Harvest Festival pants; everything is safely gathered in. 😀. It's v hot outside, and v cold in. Joy.

Quick question, have we reached a consensus as to how old we should be to embrace this aesthetic? I’m branching out this summer. I’ve adopted DS1s aesthetic of wearing PJs in doors.
Outdoors I’ve realised that patterned tops massively disguise the lack of a bra.
And I’ve a couple of dresses that touch at the shoulders then sweep down almost to the floor, worn with just long johns for comfort.

All I need to complete the outfit is crocs. ☺️

And that's why I don't have a full-length mirror!

Long johns ...??!!! In summer?? Unless you're joking??!

I have just bought this online when one came back into stock (I rarely buy new, but this is my birthday present from my partner - though he is unaware of that yet 😁!! My birthday was in February ...!). It IS a dress that touches at the shoulders then sweeps down almost to the floor, & is my idea of easy dressing ... I will be wearing a bra & (big) pants underneath it. I don't own long johns ...!!!

But I realise it's not perhaps in the spirit of this thread - however, I don't really do different clothes for indoors v outdoors/ day v evening/work v leisure ... I don't have any really scruffy clothes - if it's for DIY or similar I borrow my partner's old things! In the evening I just put a big apron on for cooking?

Am I alone in this???

Outdoors I’ve realised that patterned tops massively disguise the lack of a bra.

Another Seniors' Sartorial Secret, @PrizedPickledPopcorn!

This year's trapeze (tent) dresses are a godsend, aren't they. I'm quite surprised young women are wearing them - but, considering their equally pragmatic adoption of socks with sandals, perhaps I shouldn't be.

Nobody could mistake me in a tent dress, socks and crocs for a 19-year-old in same. I like to delude myself that she'd appreciate my style, though 😏

Oh, I don't know - she might well appreciate your style! My 23-year-old goddaughter thinks I'm quite cool, apparently (& my partner - we're 59 & 66).

My 14-year-old nephew thinks I'm an embarrassment though 😁!!!

You aren't alone, @EleanorMc67, and you are quite rare in your commitment to elegant aesthetics. I'm like you in my head but not in my daily reality. To be fair to myself, I paid great attention to my style for 50-odd years. Now I perch on the uneven border between fashionable, stylish and fuckit.

Oh I think I'm already on that border!

A couple of women on Instagram, who I've enjoyed of late, are both in their 50s & 60s.

It's not that I would necessarily dress like them (though they wear certain types of things that overlap with my style) - I just love their love of (& fun with) clothes & combinations, & that they're doing it for themselves!

One is in the US & has a wardrobe of entirely (& usually cheaply) thrifted items, the other is in Glasgow & wears lots of natural fibres & UK brands.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaeCj6yP4mr/?igsh=MTJyazBmY25uYzZhZA==
(I am a sucker for a pussybow blouse - though I like it better without the waistcoat! But love that she puts things together that I wouldn't & makes them work!)

https://www.instagram.com/p/DSpU1iqjUyE/?igsh=MXNhaGtkYXBxZDJ0cg==
(Great use of colour, & I am very chuffed that I just found this skirt on eBay!!!)

@EleanorMc67 I didn’t used to have scruffy indoor clothes until this summer. In fact, I could perhaps have been criticised for being overdressed in the past. Long lace or velvet skirts regardless of the occasion.

But this year indoor and garden indecency has been the vibe.

And yes, long johns! Chub rubs
I have an old culotte petticoat that is comfort personified under a dress, yet looks and awful lot like bloomers. Those Edwardian ladies knew a thing or ten!

I LOVE lace or velvet skirts - & lace AND velvet skirts!!! I still have a beautiful cream silk & lace petticoat that I wore as a skirt in my 20s - the waist might just fit one of my thighs now ...

My favourites are the silk velvet, brocade, or even synthetic maxi skirts from the 70s, although the waists are usually so tiny they don't fit. And I am too tall to get them shortened at the top to widen the waist, as then they're no longer maxi. I do have a (very prized) Bernat Klein maxi skirt that I think was a 1970s size 20 - I'm a 16 & it still pinches!!

"Garden indecency" sounds quite fun though - & I bet the Edwardians got up to plenty in their bloomers!!

I've suddenly begun wearing lots of old-fashioned tea dresses like the ones my Nannas wore - today I wore a mid-calf length white silky one with china blue flowers on it and a crossover bust and I've had it for ages.
Sent my DH a funny photo of one of our dogs being daft and there was a glimpse of my dress in the background as the dog was lay across my lap and DH commented "You look lovely in that dress. It's my favourite dress of yours." - he never normally mentions my clothes so it made me smile and glow - definitely what I needed after feeling bad for a long time.

Same! Love a bra and pants. I wear a crop top bra and knickers in bed too. And no I don’t have recurrent thrush ;-)

I am 55 and love getting dressed every day, even if it’s just me at home. I still experiment lots with looks. For me, I worry that the day I stop caring will be the day I get depressed and give up. But maybe I have the wrong attitude!

Omg my fashion twin. I wear the same stuff for work, evenings out with friends and when I am staying home at the weekend. My husband is the same. We don’t do scruffy or casual wear!

How nice! I'm glad you feel perked up!

I still have some old silk tea-dresses I used to wear a lot in the 90s (a few originals from the 40s but mostly good-quality silk/cotton ones I bought then).

It's time to put them all on eBay/Vinted as they no longer fit - & they are now considered "proper" vintage by the young, which blows my mind!!

But it's hard to say goodbye to them & the memories they hold ... I'm thinking of one very attractive rascal of a boyfriend I had at that time!! He loved those tea-dresses too!!

I wear either a jersey nightie with a bra-type top part, or a jersey vest top & pyjama bottom set - I cannot abide those shirt-style pyjama tops!

And I know from experience, that when I went through a dreadful period of extreme anxiety, depression & disordered drinking several years ago, that losing interest in my appearance is a sign of other much more serious things.

It's not a vanity thing as such (probably quite the opposite, as I'm not a very confident or secure person underneath the lipstick!). I am just quite a visual (& sensory) person overall, & - like you - it gives me pleasure & is fun!!

I am not alone after all then!! Thank you ... 😁!!!

I have always dressed like a bohemian old lady and think I always will. No colour is forbidden except peach and tan which make me look ill.
Never worn heels. No make up now and like how I dress. Mind you, I'm agoraphobic so it doesn't matter!
Dh only ever wears black and loves mu crazy loud pattern

There's something nice about tea dresses - they're smart but also casual and comfortable.
I'm glad that you also have happy memories with yours x