A Dress A Day

A dress.
Mostly every day.

July 15, 2009

What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

This lady:


Not At Your Age

Thanks to Style Spy for tipping me off to the wonderful blog Advanced Style. SO worth adding to your blogroll. (The slightly patronizing "oh aren't they cute" tone is more than matched by the patient amusement of the oldies being photographed. They *know* they're hot stuff -- they've had years of experience *being* hot stuff!)

Am I the only person who thinks incessantly about how I'm going to dress when I'm 80? (When I am an old lady, I probably won't wear purple, though. Fair warning.) Watch, I'll get hit by a bus tomorrow, and then all the pages I've ripped out of "comfort shoe" catalogs and saved "for future reference" will be for naught.

In a similar vein, I've also been a subscriber to this for years. Highly recommended.

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posted by Erin @ 6:46 PM  

39 Comments:

  • At Jul 15, 2009 7:09:00 PM, Blogger Amy said…

    Thank you so much for pointing out that site - it's wonderful!

     

  • At Jul 15, 2009 7:27:00 PM, Blogger Sal said…

    Oh you're not alone. I think about my old-lady self CONSTANTLY.

     

  • At Jul 15, 2009 8:43:00 PM, Blogger Nadine said…

    Hoover DAM, that is an awesome site! Ye gods!

     

  • At Jul 15, 2009 9:06:00 PM, Blogger Barbara at Oodles and Oodles said…

    You're not alone. I see older women who look great and I have to refrain from asking how old they are - I just need to know it's possible to be that old and still have some sense of style.

     

  • At Jul 15, 2009 9:38:00 PM, Blogger Maija said…

    I was just looking at Advanced Style a few minutes ago and thinking that it's one of the things that makes me seriously grateful for the internet. And yes, not only do I constantly think about how I'll dress when I'm 80, I've also already bought some clothes for the occasion.

     

  • At Jul 15, 2009 11:56:00 PM, Anonymous theresa said…

    I figure I'll be dressing wildly Inappropriate for an 80 year old woman and constantly breaking my hip because i refuse to give up high heels!

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 4:18:00 AM, Anonymous Rachel said…

    I think about that all the time and I'm not a big fan of purple or red either. And theresa, I'm the same way. My heels will be buried with me :)

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 6:38:00 AM, Blogger CyberGirly said…

    Totally awesome! I shall definitely be wearing purple when I am an old.

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 6:55:00 AM, Anonymous Rita said…

    Perfect timing! Thanks so much for the link to Advanced Style. Lately I've been wondering if I should subdue my retro look at the age of 62. Now I would never even consider it!

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 8:06:00 AM, Blogger Joni said…

    I've decided I'm going to be a Cranky Old Lady when the time comes. You know, the kind that's always waving her cane at people and hollering at those whippersnappers to get off her lawn. And I've got a while to go since I'm turning 30 this year, but I'm already getting in practice by mumbling to myself while I rummage through my coupons and paying for things entirely in change.

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 8:06:00 AM, Blogger Joni said…

    This post has been removed by the author.

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 8:30:00 AM, OpenID monochromatism said…

    I love you for letting me know about this blog. I've felt like a LOL (lil' old lady) inside from the very beginning.

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 8:40:00 AM, Blogger lucitebox said…

    I was thrilled to find Advanced Style and even more thrilled when one of my found photos was posted on the blog. It's a photo of a woman and her dog from the late 60s. She's wearing an outrageous paisley top. Her German Shepherd has a pink bow to match it. Her glasses are amazing. See?

    http://tinyurl.com/leuq77

    I gleefully await being of advanced age and doing it with style! Can't wait to hit the geezer set because I know that's when I'll finally hit my fashion stride.

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 9:17:00 AM, Blogger Miss Amelina said…

    What a great site. When I get old I am going to dress like Mrs. Roper.

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 9:25:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I think about how I will dress in my --ahem--golden years-- too. 50 is getting pretty close and I find myself contemplating "age appropriate" and the things I really want to wear, which are not. I figure I'll be wearing the Judas Priest T-shirt and black Converse on weekends for a long time to come. And elegant work attire during the week, of course. But no housecoats. --Karen

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 10:01:00 AM, Blogger belphebe said…

    I will probably wear purple when I am old, but that is because I wear purple now! Why change my style?

    I'll probably wear pink as well, and whatever outlandish colors/patterns I currently wear.

    Thanks for the links. There are some great photos there.

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 10:06:00 AM, Anonymous Karen Minturn Brown said…

    I plan to be even more weird when I get older, but I worry about not being able to sew my own things. I doubt RTW will meet standard when I have been able to sew my own all these years. I'll just have to keep sewing as much as possible so as not to lose the skill!

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 10:16:00 AM, Blogger Melissa said…

    Yes, I always wonder about what to wear when I get older.

    And here's a question that has been plaguing me for years, and I've yet to find an answer:

    Why do old ladies wear short trousers?

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 10:35:00 AM, Blogger Sharon said…

    I recently asked my sister ... "how will i know when it's time to start shopping at the (apparently secret) grandma store for my clothes."

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 10:53:00 AM, Blogger Julie said…

    I so enjoyed both of your links - thank you!

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 11:23:00 AM, Anonymous La BellaDonna said…

    Oh, I'm looking forward to checking this website out!

    Why WOULDN'T a woman over 60 have style? She's had more time to practice putting herself together than someone 30 and under!

    I like to keep in mind the advice given in The Mirror of Graces: The most beautiful woman is not at forty
    what she was at twenty, nor at sixty what she was at forty. Each age has an appropriate style…;
    and it is the business of discernment and taste to discover and to maintain those advantages in
    their due season.

    Barbara, I don't think you need to worry. You'll still be Barbara at 40, 50, 60, 70, and on. Unless you anticipate all your clothing preferences changing at once, or someone sneaking into your closet on the eve of a birthday and stealing all your clothes, what you wear needn't change solely on the basis of your age.

    I do think there need to be some concessions on the grounds of good taste and common sense as we get older: it just is seldom flattering for a 60-year-old to dress in the extreme of fashions designed for a 20-year-old ... but it isn't always flattering for a 20-year-old, either, to dress in those extremes. I'll still wear silver leather, if I want to wear silver leather - but it's more likely to be a jacket, or a long skirt, or boots, or a vest, rather than silver leather pants, or a silver miniskirt.

    One of the few strictures I do lean towards is that, as we age, whatever one's style, one's grooming should be as impeccable as possible. "Disheveled" works better on, say, a woman in her 20s, rather than a woman in her 60s. It doesn't look cute, or gamine, on a 60-year-old; instead, it tends to make her look as if she has been in an accident, or forgotten her medication. It's fine to be a woman in her 60s, living alone except for a herd of cats; however, you don't want to look as if you should be pushing a shopping cart down the street piled with all your worldly goods AND the cats. I sincerely believe in this grooming stricture ... and, some day, hope to abide by it. Still working on that, though.

    Heh. I have every intention of wearing red, and purple, when I get older - but then, I've been wearing them for YEARS. (Instead of a winter coat, I had a purple cape. In high school. In the '70s.) I'm not exactly happy that there's a fad for the colours I've loved; I'm hoping that the vogue for them will pass. I'm a long-time hat wearer, and I'm especially annoyed that wearing a red hat now seems to designate me as a member of a cult. On the other hand, it does make finding red hats easier these days.

    Since I often lean a bit towards the more formal in what I wear, I actually intend to take every possible advantage as I get older of dressing UP as much as I want to. I always wear a hat; I'm going to start looking for gloves that will work with my outfits.

    One of the most fabulous women I saw recently was in her 60s; I don't remember what she was wearing, but I DO remember her haircut: short, chic, and silver, with FABULOUS purple and lavender streaks in it.

    As far as I'm concerned, getting older means MORE freedom to dress as myself, not less. If I want to wear lime-green boots to work, who's to stop me?

    Something not often talked about: dressing to please oneself is often EASIER for women as we get older, because there's less need to worry about unwanted male attention and comments. The type of oaf who makes comments isn't going to make them when he sees grey or silver hair, or other signifiers of age. He won't make them, because he doesn't actually see women who are middle-aged or older. Take advantage of that Cloak of Invisibility!

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 11:40:00 AM, Blogger belphebe said…

    "...dressing to please oneself is often EASIER for women as we get older, because there's less need to worry about unwanted male attention and comments."

    I would think that the rude comments about one's style comes from women rather than men, but I could be wrong. It's just that I see and hear more women being "catty" and mean about another woman's clothing choices.

    I agree about the whole red hat cult. The point of the poem - or so I thought - was that when the person got older, she would still be a unique individual and would dress the way that she wanted to; not that she would have to join some group to dress in the colors that she liked. ("repeat after me: we are all individuals")

    I love the style of the people at the Advanced Style blog! I especially love the boutineer/pin that this gentleman is wearing:
    http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/2009/07/stars-and-stripes.html

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 11:59:00 AM, Blogger Joni said…

    I want to be this lady:
    http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/search?q=mint
    That dress! The hair! The glasses and satisfied smile! And I would KILL to have that figure and I'm half your age.

    And I agree that Stars-n-Stripes Guy has the best lapel pin EVER. I don't know what could be cooler than a MAN wearing flowers.

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 1:37:00 PM, Anonymous La BellaDonna said…

    Belphebe, I was thinking less about comments regarding one's taste (which would seem to fall in the Rude Comments: Female category), to which one may always be subject (someone, sooner or later, is bound to hate your taste in lipstick colours - those kinds of comments cropped up even in the Advanced Style blog), and more about the kinds of comments that, for lack of a better description, fall into the Assault/Mating Call Comments: Male category ("Hey, bay-BEE, Hey, bay-BEE!")

    The second are the types of comments I expect to diminish/disappear as women get older.

    And I agree with you whole-heartedly about the red hat cult. I struggle with trying to be happy that it apparently affords some women a feeling of solidarity and a group with which they feel comfortable, one that encourages them to embrace growing older ... and a distaste for the cultlike aspects and the assumption engendered when I choose to wear a red hat that I'm a member of that group. No, I am not. If I'm going to join a group, I'd prefer it to be based on more than the mere fact of my growing older. I'll be dead eventually, too - doesn't mean I want to join a group just because its members will also die eventually!

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 3:28:00 PM, Blogger Cookie said…

    Tip: You can style white hair the same way you would Platinum Blonde. For those of us with darker hair...it will be a Divine Revelation/Big Break!

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 6:30:00 PM, Blogger Chelsea said…

    This is advertising the label Old Ladies Rebellion oldladiesrebellion.com
    They have been featured in the Guardian loads recently.

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 9:59:00 PM, OpenID sewducky said…

    My biggest concern now (and I'm barely 34) is not dressing as a mutton in sheep's clothing. I date the 24 year olds, I don't want to look like them.

    I don't worry about my 80 year old self partly because I have no intention of being alive at 80, and partly because I plan on having a bout with dressing inappropriate when I AM in my 40s (low cut mostly, but I do that now anyway). I figure I plan my mid-life crisis now, I'll be forgiven for anything I do later.

    As to dressing my age, I'm the only one I know that does. Out of the 5 of us that hang out, I'm the only one that doesn't borrow their kids' clothes, dress/talk/act like their kids, and generally don't try to live my teenaged years over again.

    I have more fun that way.

     

  • At Jul 16, 2009 10:44:00 PM, Blogger What-I-Found said…

    At 53 I find I'm in an odd stage...not old enough to look eccentric but with no desire to dress as 20 somethings do. Now that I'm an official Grandma it's hard to avoid the labels.
    I'm leaving my hair to go gray because I'm curious...this is the most interesting thing my hair has done in years. I want to see what happens.
    I am somewhere after Hot Topic jeans and somewhere before Sears matched pastel Capri Sets. It's hard to find the balance.
    For now I just live in Hawaiian shirts and hope for the best. ;-)

     

  • At Jul 17, 2009 8:28:00 AM, Blogger Trudy Callan said…

    I am 44. I am hoping to be considered elegant when I am old. At this point I am planning on leaving the gray in my hair and just having a good stylish cut. I would like to look good in anything I choose to wear, but I think that will depend on if I can be committed to an exercise program. There is an excellent book that is written for women in their 40s and above that teaches women how dress stylishly and what looks good and what doesn't on the older woman. It's called How Not to Look Old. I've learned a lot from this book.

     

  • At Jul 17, 2009 1:48:00 PM, Anonymous Lisa Simeone said…

    I make cracks all the time about what I will wear when I'm old. I may have have a cane, for instance, but you can be damn sure it'll be covered in leopard print!

    And what if I need a hearing aide? Nothing says it has to be that blah flesh color. I would add little sparkles, or glitter glue.

    Thank god we live in an era where we can do what we want, and have the confidence to do so. We don't have to run out and get the dreaded helmut-head haircut at 50 (I'm 52 and still wear my hair long and wavy). We don't have to wear old-lady dresses (I was just looking at a picture of my mother at my college graduation -- she was the age I am now -- and I'm stunned at how different we look).

    We can be strong, beautiful, powerful, stylish women at any age, and I'm not just saying that as some kind of phony "positive thinking" bs. I really believe it.

     

  • At Jul 17, 2009 2:04:00 PM, Blogger Lydia said…

    They can take my Chuck Taylor All-Stars from me when my body is cold. Not a moment before. Of course, these days I wear my Chucks with orthopedic insoles. But that's our secret, right?

     

  • At Jul 17, 2009 5:07:00 PM, Blogger Liz said…

    I've been rehearsing for old ladyness since I was 15--a LOOOOONG time ago. Ruth Gordon was my no. 1 role model.

     

  • At Jul 17, 2009 5:15:00 PM, Blogger mere said…

    I had am textiles teacher in art school who was an older lady that just had great style. She had long sholulder length frizzy grey hair that she kept pulled back from her face with little butterfly barrettes, and she wore sort of long flowy skirts with longish flowy tunic style tops. Her style fit her personality perfectly.

    I think about what I will wear when I am old in terms of my own comfort first, and then whether or not it will embarrass my husband and children. I do want to be an elegant old lady and look as though I have put some thought into my appearance, never dilapidated, so to speak.

    Have you ever seen this site? I love this lady's gumption!

    http://www.marywalesloomis.com/index.html

    mere

     

  • At Jul 20, 2009 10:50:00 AM, Anonymous Sheila said…

    My very first time here at Dressaday which I have been peeking at daily for a long time. Decided to jump in! Since I've always wanted to be more comfortable than stylish getting older has been more of a challenge fashion wise. Taking youth for granted is over LOL. Now I'm more conscious of not looking too ragged or thrown together. I see so many fabulous styles / patterns at my site that I can at least pick and choose something that is timeless and ageless. In my "desperately" late 50's!

     

  • At Jul 20, 2009 10:53:00 AM, Anonymous Sheila / Out of the Ashes Collectibles said…

    Okay I'm a goof - think I have it figured out now! Instead of "Sheila Who?" I am Sheila at Out of the Ashes Collectibles at www.risingfeenix.com - let's try this again - smile!

     

  • At Jul 20, 2009 6:05:00 PM, Anonymous La BellaDonna said…

    Good heavens. Is that the Mary Wales Loomis who, I think, had a book out on How To Make Your Own Shoes? If it is indeed she, I bought that book back in the Jurassic .... it's quite useful. Must go see!

     

  • At Jul 22, 2009 10:06:00 AM, Blogger Sandy's Fancy Pants Antiques and Collectibles said…

    I have always planned on living till 109. Not 108 or 110. Pacing myself.

     

  • At Jul 23, 2009 1:48:00 PM, Blogger Robyn said…

    I've been thinking about how I'm going to dress when I'm old ever since my dad said to me last summer, "When are you going to stop dressing like a mod? You're going to be a funny-looking old lady!"

    What's wrong with that?

     

  • At Jul 23, 2009 1:48:00 PM, Blogger Robyn said…

    I've been thinking about how I'm going to dress when I'm old ever since my dad said to me last summer, "When are you going to stop dressing like a mod? You're going to be a funny-looking old lady!"

    What's wrong with that?

     

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