Contentedly dressed
"Trends are the plastic surgery of fashion."
- Roland Mouret
I've recently turned 62 and realize I've lost the taste for trendy.
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resented with a hot trend, my response is boredom or disdain. Other than some fabric innovations such as linen-metal blends, I have seen it all, including grey nail polish, which my groovy art-major roommate Janie concocted in 1969.
"Trendy" items are typically coveted by 18-to-28 year-olds, sold at hip boutiques for a season, knocked off at H&M the next and forgotten in six months– until five years from now.
I'm also aware of my tendency to lock on to past preferences, not a good thing. I saw a 60ish woman downtown yesterday: helmet hair, mid-1990s coatdress, prissy little bone shoes with those heels shaped like hockey pucks, everything rigidly perfect. And I thought, Sweetie, it is 2010.
You can do that look if you're 30, with cat's eye glasses, Jimmy Choos and rhinestone earrings, but if you have an AARP card in your handbag, think again.
(By the way, the Canadian equivalent is Canadian Association of Retired Persons, CARP, as perfect an acronym as ever put on this earth.)
So the maxi-sundress will not be my summer treat, though I admire them on young women.
I aim for Contentedly Dressed: pleasing to me right now. "Nicely" sounds like someone else is doing up my buttons, "Well" seems self-absorbed.
Wear the clothes that lift you up, whether Bean or Beene. If ecstatic in vintage Sant' Angelo and Halston, let your freak flag fly, but keep your accessories current– shoes and bags made within the last few years or classics still in production.
When my mother was nearly 85, she came to a casual family dinner in navy pants, a white Egyptian-cotton shirt and this gold-buttoned cashmere cardigan, all from Maus and Hoffman.
Some of these items were likely going on 20 years old (she replaced favourites with duplicates, so it's hard to know), but on her feet she wore glossy new Belgian loafers.
Proud as a five-year old, I thought, She is beautiful.
I have her sources filed. For now, no trends.
Trends don't make me look younger, they make me uneasy with my authentic and acceptable age– for which I am increasingly grateful.
- Roland Mouret
I've recently turned 62 and realize I've lost the taste for trendy.
P
resented with a hot trend, my response is boredom or disdain. Other than some fabric innovations such as linen-metal blends, I have seen it all, including grey nail polish, which my groovy art-major roommate Janie concocted in 1969. "Trendy" items are typically coveted by 18-to-28 year-olds, sold at hip boutiques for a season, knocked off at H&M the next and forgotten in six months– until five years from now.
I'm also aware of my tendency to lock on to past preferences, not a good thing. I saw a 60ish woman downtown yesterday: helmet hair, mid-1990s coatdress, prissy little bone shoes with those heels shaped like hockey pucks, everything rigidly perfect. And I thought, Sweetie, it is 2010.You can do that look if you're 30, with cat's eye glasses, Jimmy Choos and rhinestone earrings, but if you have an AARP card in your handbag, think again.
(By the way, the Canadian equivalent is Canadian Association of Retired Persons, CARP, as perfect an acronym as ever put on this earth.)
So the maxi-sundress will not be my summer treat, though I admire them on young women.
I aim for Contentedly Dressed: pleasing to me right now. "Nicely" sounds like someone else is doing up my buttons, "Well" seems self-absorbed.
Wear the clothes that lift you up, whether Bean or Beene. If ecstatic in vintage Sant' Angelo and Halston, let your freak flag fly, but keep your accessories current– shoes and bags made within the last few years or classics still in production.
When my mother was nearly 85, she came to a casual family dinner in navy pants, a white Egyptian-cotton shirt and this gold-buttoned cashmere cardigan, all from Maus and Hoffman.
Some of these items were likely going on 20 years old (she replaced favourites with duplicates, so it's hard to know), but on her feet she wore glossy new Belgian loafers.Proud as a five-year old, I thought, She is beautiful.
I have her sources filed. For now, no trends.
Trends don't make me look younger, they make me uneasy with my authentic and acceptable age– for which I am increasingly grateful.
Comments
I find, more and more, that my closet is filled mostly with Talbots and Pendleton. I've given up the long, flowing skirts I used to love in favor of crisper khakis, oxfords, and loafers, softened by the silk scarves and other beautiful things that my husband brings me back from his travels. I changed professions from one that was more humanistic to one that was more technical, and I have come to the realization that in this field women, especially women of my age, need to be a bit androgynous in order to be taken seriously.
Splurgie: The librarians I've seen in the public library wear jeans, and the corporate ones wear business casual, Repression is strictly a projection!
Toby: Also, I can no longer wear cheap sweaters, they just pill and bag.
Staircase Witch: I love calf-length skirts, usually full or gored, so always look a bit out of it compared the the thigh-high trend. So be it. A closet full of Talbot's and Pendleton is going to give you good to excellent wear and fits our more mature bodies.
I worked in tech for over a decade and avoided the khaki/oxford shirt thing (and t-shirts). My uniform was pants (not jeans) and a cashmere v-neck or blouse with a scarf and jewelry.
Artful: I have seen some killer bone shoes, but since I can't wear 4 inch spikes... Whether bone or other colour, there is a low, wide heel, kind of the proportion of a shot glass, that looks dowdy. I'd rather wear a flat.
Pseu: "They can also be helpful"- do you mean lower heels? I don;t see these as trendy, someone is always making a low-heeded loafer or oxford.
Current trends here are tie-dye, maxidresses, about three yards of scarf wound on the neck in 30C weather, and ultra short-shorts (essentially swimsuit bottoms)- worn on the street. I feel absolutely ancient regarding these.
I'll stay away from the more extreme versions of trends, however.
I leave the trends to the under 30 crowd.
And I was very contented in my maxi-dress on several occasions this summer -- altho' I'd only wear it on a rural restaurant patio or an island garden party or hostessing in my own back yard.
Some trends do resonate with me and I see no reason to refuse them simply because others have finally caught up to my inclinations ;-)
I'll just try to be judicious about them, balancing them with more classic choices, and if I don't quite achieve that balance, well, I'm old enough not to fret too much about a fashion faux pas here and there . . .
My gran is my style icon - she is always band-box perfect, and at 97, still buying new and fashionable clothes -- ones that suit her and that are also comfortable. She has a great haircut, and does accessories really well, especially scarves. Gran doesn't dress like a little old lady, though she's had to put vanity aside in favor of shoes that don't hurt her bunions. (But she hates 'em.)
When I get back to the States, I'll take a few snaps of her and send them your way -- I think you'll find she's quite an inspiration!
Belle and Marsha: I agree, but wish the marketplace was not so trend-oriented
hostess: I pretty much avoid the "is this aging?" concept, as I don't see anything wrong with aging. (As they say, especially in light of the alternative.) But I do consider the inverse, "is this too young?" Inconsistent, I know!
Glasses need to suit the face and personality. more than age. And I think those string things on glasses are dowdy even if they are pearls.
materfamilias: My opinion is that very trendy clothes look odd after a certain age (an age that each woman will decide for herself). I recall one of your posts when you wondered about a particular dress. Neither of us is headed for the St John knits, but it seems we are thoughtful about trends, and my caution has increased. But I am considerably older than you :)
metscan: I find myself attracted to items I once would have walked by, like a classic cashmere cardi (but in an unusual colour). Today I was in a shop with a friend, full of exquisite clothes, all very edgy. but I wondered if I'd want them in a year.
Rubiatonta: I think I can speak for all, we would *love* to see photos of your grandmother!
Imogen: SO for me, that will rule out saddle shoes (which look best on fairly small feet, anyway) but maybe I'll sneak in a pair of penny loafers.
I've never been one to follow trends, but I do like to keep up with what's in style. Don't see anything wrong with maxi-sundresses though. Guess it depends on the sundress, but I think that can look nice and summery on any age.