How old is too old ?

[Blondie]

Hi, was just wondering what you thought about growing old gracefully in vintage, there are so many vintage fanatics, well what happens when we all get old ? Do we suddenly, when we hit 50 or 60 , stop dressing in our favourite era ?
I admire Vivienne Westwood for her style and at 66 she looks amazing ! Just thought would be interesting to hear what you all have to say !

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I see myself dressing more and more vintage as I get older until I eventually turn into my Grandfather, not my dad who seems to have a penchant for track suits.:eusa_doh:

 

[BettyValentine]

My dad seems to like me in vintage. Hates my mom in vintage. He gripes whenever she wears anything vintage, or even something like a flare skirt. On me or my cousins it is cute and arty. On my mom, he says it ages her 10-20 years.

It works out OK for me, since whenever she tries something I wind up getting it after my dad declares it foul. Whether or not I will keep wearing it in 10 years remains to be seen.

BV

 

[Classydame]

Well, I have thought about this too. I will be 40 soon and sometimes wonder if ponytails are to young for me. And I do have stuff that is kind of younger vintage look and am not to sure if I should be wearing them. So I try to go with a classic look or pick something from the era I like that a woman my age might of worn. I guess, all in all, we just have to wear what we like no matter what others say.

Just my opinion.

Shellie

 

[RondoHatton]

Too Old? I resemble that remark! 50 has been hit so hard it's trying to gain on 60. Been accused of dressing like my Grandfather (or a gardener - he lived on a farm) for years. Like to think it will grow old gracefully with me. Seen old fogeys in motorcycle kit with street cred. My Dad - and GrandPa - was a fairly sharp dresser in his youth say the photos (and memory of tales of ox blood colored oxford shoes). Depends on one's fave era, IMHO elderly elvis' is less than graceful.

 

[ssubialdea]

I'm going to try my hardest to still be in vintage. The thing is that when I'm old the things I consider vintage now will be really vintage and I imagine extremely hard to find. Better stock up now.

 

[olive bleu]

There have been times that i have not felt that i look my best because i feel my outfit dates me.In December I turned 40 and i have begun dressing as a 40 year old woman would in the golden era.I have cut my hair and wear more mature clothing.I feel it suits me much better and i love all the elegant styles.I don't feel that i will ever be too old for vintage.i look forward to shuffling about someday in my wool, tweed suits

you're never too old to have style.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I hope to be just like Chauncy Gardiner.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Hi, was just wondering what you thought about growing old gracefully in vintage, there are so many vintage fanatics, well what happens when we all get old ? Do we suddenly, when we hit 50 or 60 , stop dressing in our favourite era ?

I guess I don't follow...do you mean older women in the Golden Era dressed all futuristic-like, maybe, say a space age muumuu after a certain age? [huh]

 

[Edward]

I take my inspiration from dear Vivienne, and Richard O'Brien too. Not that I'd care to wear everything that I've seen Dicky in(!), but to wear what I feel good in and carry it off with style and conviction.... IMO, having the confidence to wear something and being comfortable in your own style is half the battle to looing good. I've seen confidence make some very improbably outfits look stylish - and I've seen some great style ruined by lack of confidence on the part of the wearer.

I don't think the classics will ever - to put it one way - make us all look like mutton dressed as lamb. IMO, the folks who will look dated in that sense will be the people who still wear what were contemporary fashions when they stopped "keeping up" as it were. We all know that couple in their late forties who still wear what they wore in the mid 80s, and whatever. Those of us who prefer thirties and forties, even fifties styles I think will be considered still to be eccentric, I'm sure, but we'll look classy and timeless....

Of course, as one gets older, as at any age, the real secret is in finding what suits body shape, colouring, etc the best. It seems to me that this can and will change somewhat over time as we all age. It's not that I've recently accepted I'm too old for drainpipes, so much as they just don't suit the bodyshape I have nowadays compared to when I was eighteen, and a wider leg is much more flattering on me now. If I was the human toothpick I was at 18, I'd certainly not give them up so lightly! lol

 

[Miss Neecerie]

See I think its all about dressing the right age for the age you are.


At 36, I would look frankly ridiculous in a fluffly pink gown, because thats what -young- girls wear.

No matter when the dresses were made, 80's fluffy pink dress or 40's fluffy pink dress....still gonna look silly.

Dress for your age, no matter the age.

 

[hargist]

I don't think this is a vintage clothes vs. age issue. The issue is wearing clothes that is age appropriate.

People run into trouble when their style doesn't fit their age, vintage or contemporary. I've never liked zoot suits, but when I see guys in their 40's wear them, they look doubly ridiculous. The same goes with older guys who wear hip-hop clothes. It just doesn't look right.

So my advice to the ladies is to dress your age, (vintage or contemporary) and you'll look fine. Think of it this way, if in the 1930's or 1940's a woman in her 40's dressed like a teenager of that time, she wouldn't look right. Same goes for today.

 

[hargist]

See I think its all about dressing the right age for the age you are.


At 36, I would look frankly ridiculous in a fluffly pink gown, because thats what -young- girls wear.

No matter when the dresses were made, 80's fluffy pink dress or 40's fluffy pink dress....still gonna look silly.

Dress for your age, no matter the age.

I must have posted my comment just seconds after you posted yours. We are of the same mind.

 

[Viola]

It's not like its going to be MORE tasteful/appealing to see a seventy-year-old woman in hip-huggers and a tiny tee, is it?

I mean, there IS something kind of appealling about being old and shopping at Hot Topic, but really vintage is likelier to look good.

As long as the vintage flatters me figure/color-wise I don't see a problem.

 

[LizzieMaine]

My grandmother lived to be 69, and was still dressing like it was 1942, so I guess there's a family precedent...

 

[olive bleu]

See I think its all about dressing the right age for the age you are.


At 36, I would look frankly ridiculous in a fluffly pink gown, because thats what -young- girls wear.

No matter when the dresses were made, 80's fluffy pink dress or 40's fluffy pink dress....still gonna look silly.

Dress for your age, no matter the age.

NOW..THAT PINK DRESS IN YOUR AVATAR..PERFECT EXAMPLE OF HOW TO WEAR PINK APPROPRIATELY

 

[dhermann1]

I just hit 60. They say that 60 is the new 50, 50 the new 40, etc. As I've stated before, I've found that 60 is the new 12. However I try to dress like a grownup, just to throw people off. I just started regrowing my William Powell mustache, and am accumulation more and more vintage stuff, both clothes and home furnishings, as the years go by. I plan to do it forever.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I just got this horrifying vision of all these old geezers 60 years or so from now in their vintage ankle-length T-shirts and over-sized shorts with backwards baseball caps,....
I'm glad I won't be around to see it. lol

 

[Big Man]

Who the hell decided that 50 was OLD ??? [huh]

I will have to agree with several opinions already posted in that people (vintage or not) should "dress their age". While I don't consider myself "old" at 52, I do think I would look a little ridiculous dressing the same way I did in the 1970's when I was 18 or 20. Now, if I dressed as a 50 year-old man did in 1970, then that's a different story.

The same logic could/should be applied to any decade. What looks appropriate on a 20's something man or woman in the 1930's, would not necessarily look appropriate on a 50's something man or woman during the same time period.

You don't have to "dress old", but I do believe that you should (within reason) "dress your age."

 

[52Styleline]

Since I turned 62 a week ago, I am likely one of the oldest frequenters of FL. I think older guys can carry off the vintage suit look pretty well. However, three years ago I removed my necktie for the last time and have refused to wear one since then so I have pretty much written any sort of formal business wear off the menu. When I was in HS, the guys all wore chinos and short sleeve madras plad shirts. I still dress that way and although it could be termed 60's vintage, it is also contemporary. I have a couple of 50's outfits that I wear when taking my old Chevy to car events but that is about all the vintage stuff I do these days.

With regard to women, I've lived through the era of the poodle skirt, the mini skirt, micro-mini, and maxi. I've seen hip-huggers become the rage twice. All of this looks good on teenies through mid 20 somethings. As a woman enters her 30's and beyond she really comes into her own and (IMHO) there is nothing more attractive than a fully grown woman dressed in understated but elegant garb. Women in their 30's and beyond have a mature class that such traditional clothing (regardless of the era) amplifies. I may smile when I see a young female hardbody dressed in shorts and a brief top, but I can be brought to a standstill by an attractive 30+ gal dressed with style and class.