Hi dears!!! Today we’ll talk about a very new-fangled topic i.e. what 10 things women after the age of 40 should not wear.
Black leather pants or jackets should be circumvented after the age of forty.
Jackets that are of mid-thigh length should be avoided.
Creased trousers should be evaded.
Fluorescent colors should also be shunned.
3/4th length trousers should not be worn.
Low rise jeans.
Plunge V necklines should not be worn.
Mini skirts should be avoided.
Wearing bikinis means violating this ninth rule.
Wearing sleeveless clothes may reveal your skin aging.
I am 54 years old and I love to wear sexy and revealing clothes plus black leather. Those rules are as antiquated as the Roman Catholic church. Older women look younger today due to more liberal attitudes. Old is in the attitude. Older women looked dowdy in the 1940s-1960s. Older women no longer have to dress dowdy. We are sexual beings.
whoever wrote this must have been very young not only in age but in mentality. They have no clue as to how older woman feel. At 57 we need color and a little style maybe even a lot of style. I agree that swim suites and tiny short skirts and perhaps leather pants should be items that should no longer be an active part of our attire. However, there is nothing wrong with a mid thigh long jacket if worn with the correct pants – nor an elegant dress that allow us to show that we are still sexy and feel good about who we are..
I believe you need to re-evaluate your colum as it is clearly beyond antiquated or perhaps never really existed. After all, you are aware we are still amoung the living and taking center stage in our lives — why should we not dress the part.
I agree that leather pants, mini skirts, low rise jeans and plunge V should be out. Not too sure about fluorescent colors either. But sleeveless – I mean, what’s wrong with wearing sleeveless clothes, I am 42 years old and shun the plunge necklines and mini skirts, but the only luxury I allow myself if wearing sleeveless tops and jeans. I don’t see anything wrong with us ‘older’ women wearing mid thigh jackets either.
I am 45 and I have leather pants, low rise jeans, and plunging V necks. Nothing wrong with a little cleavage unless your boobs are shot. It’s about body type and whether your face is youthful enough to “sell” the clothes you’re wearing. I’m a slender size 8 with a lineless face and I wear whatever I feel comfortable wearing with less thought about my age, and an awarness of what suits me as an individual. I can’t wear a mini with my cellulite pocked thighs, but I wear the hell out of a pencil skirt and some capris.
If you have great legs and your knees aren’t wrinkled or sagging go ahead and wear a miniskirt over 40. It’s Okay no matter what Tim Gunn says. Of course you’re not going to wear the mini in the same way a 20 year old would! You will class it up. Sleeveless tops, if when you stop waving and your upper arms don’t you might want to skip sleeveless. But if you’re relatively firm – you don’t have to be perfect – go ahead. A good role model for over 40 dressing is the first lady, btw. Check out her look when she’s just hanging out with Sasha and Malia.
The problem with these rules is that they are using age instead of body type. We can all agree that just because you’re a certain age doesn’t mean you have the same body issues as someone else of the same age. We’re individuals.
Completely agree. I am also a slender 8 with no lines. I work out everyday and just recently ran a sprint triathlon. I have had 4 children and while thicker in the waist than at twenty I have even been carded and often receive tons of compliments why not help those of us that are in shape look youthful without looking ridiculous and not subject us to 30 year old taste standards?
women over 40 can wear what ever they want, i’v seen many womenin in there 40’s who just look stunning, if you have why not show it off, and at the end of the day it’s up to them to make up there mind what they want to wearday or night.
I agree with you Ger.
The thing is it’s not how old you are but what your body is like. I wear low rise jeans, but not low Britney Spears rise. Low rise is good if you don’t have a lot of belly fat and a muffin top. Do all older women have the same body type? No. So how in the world would these “rules” apply according to age? It’s a stereotype. Like people have been saying it’s about you and not your age.
How about the young woman who are over weight wearing low rise jeans? I guess that will be ok.
You guys don’t get it do you? Yes, fat young girls get the green light to wear low rise jeans, mini skirts, whatever. Precisely because they are young. The implication is those types of styles are made for young women. That’s why you’ll hear the fashionistas say “just because you look good in the miniskirt doesn’t mean you should wear it”
Seems to me if you look good in it you should wear it! But somehow that advice doesn’t apply if you’re over a certain age. Why? Because older women, according to society are not supposed to be sexy! They are supposed to be beyond the age of such trivial concerns. Secondly, men on the whole don’t desire the older women as much as the younger ones, so by decorating yourself you are being foolish. Who wants you?! Thirdly, the very idea of a sexy, sensual older woman is anathema to young people. It grosses them out. You are mutton dressing as lamb. It’s embarrassing. You should accept your age, move aside, and let the young ones have the spotlight.
So, I hope you see that the rules and “age-appropriate” dressing has nothing to do with an older woman looking good or better than younger women in certain styles. It has to do with societal attitudes toward older women and older women’s sexuality. That’s what it’s REALLY about! And that’s why it’s okay for pudgy youngsters to run around in clothes you may actually look better in.
You will “get it” in a few years when you ….GASP age! We ALL age! I will feel sorry for you when you’re old.
Karma is gonna get you girl when you hit the big 40 and beyond. I’m 49 and do agree some of the styles, like mini skirts and extreme low cleavage, but I believe even the young look cheap in that kind of style. Your as young as you feel. You can be young with no sexual appeal and older with great sexual appeal. Depends on the individual. Young fat girls are gross dressing with their butts, stomachs and boobs hanging everywhere as well as older women. My husband is 50 and complains about how some of the younger girls dress with their fat stomachs hanging etc., and my 40 year old guy friend said it doesn’t mattter what age the women as long as she takes care of herself and has the right attitude. The mature sexy women is here to stay, so don’t get in our way!!!
I want to know why we can not wear capri pants if over forty. My legs look better than most of the teenagers I have seen lately.
i love capris they are sexier than short shorts. Look great dressed with heels or casually with little sandals. I also continue to wear sleevless and mid thigh jackets. I’m 45 fit and still funky and young at heart. Don’t get me wrong i dress stylishly and not as though i’m still in my 20’s… but hey give us a break what do you want us to do, start wearing crimpolene and have a blue rinse. Boo to your fashion suggestions i say.
Being older can free us from the bonds of having to be in style and fashionable. We don’t have to care anymore what everybody else thinks of us. Wear the colors you prefer, the fabrics that feel good, and the styles that make you happy… but most important, be confident and enjoy life. And be glad not to have to fuss over keeping up with the latest trends unless you happen to like them.
I wish I new how to copy and paste, because I sure would copy and paste my photos of me in a tiny bikini and I am 51 soon to be 52 on Thanksgiving 2009.
People are blown over when I tell them my age. I have no wrinkles on my face and don’t wear any makeup but a little color on my lips. I don’t have any sagging, drooping or cottage cheese because I have always taken care of myself. I exercise, bellydance, ice skate and rollerblade with my 11 year old son.
I’m not skinny and have no desire to be. I’m a very curvy, hourglass size 10 and I eat.
My mother is 72 and even though she ruined her health with smoking, she also looks very good for her age. So I suppose my youthfulness has to do with genes. And my dad looks good for 73 also.
I don’t give a damn what any one says. If I feel comfortable wearing something that is considered not age appropiate, I will. Why waste my youthful looks on some dowdy matriarch moo moo.
The majority of people compliment me with the exception of a few jealous women my age who only wish they could Rock a Bikini like I still can. ;-p
I’m one of the jealous ones! You keep on rockin’ it until the wheels fall off. : )
I plan to!!
To anyone out there shunning the fact that the over 40 crowd can still turn heads, I feel sorry for you! I am 44 and repeatedly get mistaken for being in my 30’s and on occasion still get ID’d for a drink! There are more women than I care to state who are younger than me that wear holiday sweaters, sweatpants and horrible haircuts who wouldn’t know fashion if it came up and bit them, so I say, to each his own! If you’ve got it, flaunt it!
You go Gayle. I’m 49 years old and still can rock a bikini and wear low rise jeans too. I also take care of my skin and have no wrinkles on my face.I have three children and two grand kids. Alot of women our age let their body go to pot and just look awful and look their age and they do tend to get jealous of other women that are their age and look better. Alot of women just don’t age well as others. I see alot of women my age and even younger that don’t look good at all. I excercise and take care of myself also. It’s all in the genes.
OK, I don’t get the mid length coat being off limits, or black leather. What if you’re over 40 but weight less than 120, are taller than average and very fit? What could I wear then?
That’s what I mean. That “rule” obviously doesn’t apply to you! It’s meant for the woman who has huge hips and the no leather rule is because leather is supposed to be for young folk only. It’s a certain overtly sexy image that “older” women aren’t supposed to be able to pull off anymore. Because all women over forty are “supposed” to be wrinkled hags. But we know that’s not true. As the great designer Christian Dior said, “As far as age is concerned, there are only two ages- girlhood and womanhood. There are also grandmothers– but it is only necessary to dress like a grandmother if you have a certain kind of figure and lead a certain kind of life.”
I understand women over 40 should not wear mini skirts but low rise jeans what are we meant to wear?
I know may women over 40 who look good in all the above. Who ever wrote this nonsense when you get to 40 you will realise what a load of rubbish this is.
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If you are fit and 20, 30, 40, 0r 50 then wear it! I am 51 and wear most of my blouses without sleeves because I take very good care of my arms and have no giggle, no dimples, and look to the first lady for fashion trends for women my age. I thank her for helping those of us who are fit and beautiful in mid-life from living the cover it all up prescription suggested by out of shape women who need to cover up. My husband told me yeaterday that my body was in much better shape then most women in their 30;s and 40’s and he is 42!
I am 40. For the most part, I agree with the “don’ts”. And I am amazed by the people who defended wearing these clothes by calling some younger women fat. I think its great to have a good self image, but class and maturity have nothing to do with how many wrinkles or how hot your body is. I saw my 2 nieces become visibly embarrassed when their mom (49) showed up at a school function with a jean mini and low cut shirt. People know your chronological age, and I’ve heard more than once, “that women should dress appropriately for her age”. Looking sexy and attractive are not dependent on revealing clothes. Just because I feel this way does not mean I wear sweatpants and look frumpy.
Finally, there are clothing that don’t work for the young, the overweight and lots of other differences. I don’t think the list implied that if you are under 40 anything goes.
How much of those clothes are revealing? And how much are they revealing? A sleeveless shirt? A bikini? Personally, I don’t think any woman of any age she wear clothes in public that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. But that’s not what these rules are referencing. Leather pants? Capris?
If you have the body and attitude for such items why not wear them? Sure, don’t go to the PTA meeting in your jean skirt mini. That’s common sense. But what about a casual weekend out with the girls or at the beach? Sure, don’t wear the racy leather pants and cleavage revealing V-neck to work, but what’s wrong with anniversary dinner out with hubby? Or happy hour with the girls? A mature woman knows when, where, and if she can sport her bikini. Of course there will always be the clueless.
Just because you’re past a certain age doesn’t automatically mean you have to hang up your va-va-woom. More and more women are not just allowing themselves to age out of looking attractive. Those are the women these rules are aimed at. You don’t automatically turn into a troll at 40 or 50. But if you don’t do the upkeep it can happen quicker than it would if you were 20 or 30.
I am 46. I wear mini skirts and low rise jeans. I do not wear mid-thigh coats (why cover my butt?) I live on a mountain and walk 3 miles up and down it every day. I heat my house with wood and therefore, I am constantly moving heavy firewood -I am in almost perfect shape. If I feel AND look good in something, why shouldn’t I wear it? I believe that if you let the “fashionistas” dictate what you wear – you will begin to feel as old as they say your chronological age is! Here’s to bikinis!
The article is a very good example of writing something controversial and people will read it as they disagree for the most part. Good Work. I like the other lemmings disagree with the premise of the article as it
1. Assumes that 40 is the age to stop wearing certain items. Under 40 you are good to make all the same mistakes, huh?
2. Age determines good taste, physical attractiveness and over comes eating right, exercising and gaining some fashion sense.
3. It certainly sends women a positive message about their age and after 40 certain aspects of life are, sigh, over
4. Fat women with bad taste, no sense of appropriate behaviour and cottage cheese thighs and butts can wear anything as long as they don’t reach that bad age-40, cause then they might as well just die as their life of free will is over.
Good article, lousy premise!
l am over 40 and l look my best in low rise jeans , mini skirt and most of all bikini. i do make many heads turn with passion and sexy eyes on me when l go swiming in a bikini than many teenage gals and my younger friends. l have got no problem and even my pertner likes it so l will keep on wearing them.
l am over 40 and l look my best in low rise jeans , mini skirt and most of all bikini. i do make many heads turn with passion and sexy eyes on me when l go swiming in a bikini than many teenage gals and my younger friends. l have got no problem and even my pertner likes it so l will keep on wearing them.
I receive updates on this article and am impressed with the number of us that are over 40 (in my case, over 50) and maintaining fit bodies that allow us to wear styles in clothing that may reveal our fit arms, legs, and for those who work out hard, even our abs (in appropriate situations, i.e. the beach). With increased knowledge relative to fitness and nutrition, older women are pushing the limits more and more. We are now realizing that what ages us, and makes our bodies unattractive, is muscle atrophy and weight gain. Valerie Bertinelli revealed her bikini body at 48! She received sharp criticism for daring to expose a perfect body that she worked hard to get. Should she cover up her fit size 4 because the average American women over 40 is a size 14 or larger? Fitness is a greater determinant as to what styles of clothing a woman will look attractive in, not age!
My mother is 60 and dresses, in the main, conservatively except when she’s on her sun holiday. Then she lets herself go and wears her bikini. She may not have the looks of Helen Mirren, but for one week in the year, age and expectation about appropriate attire means nothing to her as she soaks up the rays.
Yeesh. Are we all supposed to wear house dresses in pale blue or what? I’m going to hunt you down and strip in front of you and dance naked until the sight of my jiggling cottage cheese thighs causes you to keel over in a faint and require tequila to revive you.
Barring that, I’m definitely not giving up capris. You want me to wear shorts! Are you crazy?
Yeesh.
I am 35 now and I look better than most teens. I am always on the prowl for health info. I use the info. Anyhow, I wont wear moo-moo’s when I don’t have to. Why? Because I ain’t dead yet baby!
I think when you live long enough to reach 40 and you are in good physical shape, you can wear any damn thing you want! I am 40 and work out four to five times a week, I have a flat stomach and my boobs are perky and don’t sag and I have zero wrinkles. I see girls younger than me with big bellies and the beginnings of wrinkles and they wear whatever they want. So I will wear tight fitting shirts if I want to, I will wear a bikini this summer, low rise jeans or anything else I want to wear. This article is ridiculous. As long as you dress according to your body type and are not trashy, wear what you want!
I’m 44 and only now feel I can afford a leather jacket. whoops! Too late, I guess….
WRONG. If Joan Rivers can wear a leather jacket you can too.
Hey ladies. Here’s a tip for figuring out what you can “get away with” at 40 plus. Look to the OL brands and look for the youthful style you want to wear. For example, you see a young woman in the new boyfriend jean with boyfriend blazer. You’re not sure if it will translate. Go to Chicos. If you see those styles in the Chicos catalogue, you can wear it!
I do that all the time. BTW, I actually did this the other day. The boyfriend jean is in for everyone. So are skinny jeans. Basically women of all ages are wearing the same thing. Age inappropriate now means body appropriate + not too glittery or slutty. So this advice on here about what women over 40 shouldn’t wear is outdated. It’s not a particular style per say, BUT if the style is too flashy or slutty on you. Imho that should go for everyone.
So stay slim, watch the neck and hands – wear what you like.
Whenever I post my photo on any dating site I literally get 100’s of responses. I’m 52 but look 35. I have been bellydancing for years. I don’t have any wrinkles or sagging skin either. I have an hourglass figure and still have the same thin wrists and ankles I had as a young woman.
The only thing I won’t wear is a mini. Not because I can’t. I just think they’re ugly. A form fitting straight below the knee skirt with a pair of heels is much sexier. Knees are unattractive. And I still rock a bikini.
I’m very proud of my youthful looks and am blessed to still be able to wear anything I want to.
I plan to wear black leather jackets and mid-thigh jackets when I am 75. I am 44 and not thin like some of you, but I am not dead or headed for the nursing home, either thanks. I am not going to let some brat convince me I can’t wear sleeveless shirts of any colors other than granny grey. Plunging necklines are not an age issue, if you have the chest for it and like to flaunt, go for it. Bikinis and minis are great at fifty if you have the body for them (I don’t, nor do a lot of the 25 year olds who wear them! Yuk!).
Stuff like this makes me crazy. I am getting married in two months in a white dress. I could not care less about those who think I should be wearing a peach colored grandma goes to church suit instead.
Ok, you’ve all inspired me to get that gorgeous leather jacket I’ve had my eye on for ages. Granted, it’s dark grey, not black….And…I feel FABULOUS in it, not mutton dressed as lamb at all and if anyone is thinking that, well I don’t care….! I intend to wear this little beauty until I drop dead. And look drop dead gorgeous doing so!
Look, times have changed, and who ever put those rules on here must have an issue with their body. Just because someone says you should wear this, you should wear that, doesn’t mean it’s true! All that was back in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. I remember someone telling me that you shouldn’t wear white before Easter. Not so much anymore! Times have changed because we have changed! I wear what ever I want because I look in the mirror and make sure I have a look that is not discusting to the beholder, which would be EVERYONE in public view of myself. One writer was right when she said “Oh, I guess it’s O.K. for the heavy set young girl to let her FAT hang out….well, I find that repulsive to the eye. So if someone over 40 wants to wear what the younger generation does…well, let them. My theory is, I have to look at you in disgust, so pay back isn’t fun sometimes is it? You stop wearing the skimpy clotes on your Way Overweight self, and maybe we (older women) may take your stupid rules into consideration! Like that’s ever going to happen!
Oh, by the way, I am one of those young looking over 50 year old’s that have taken care of my self, and the women my age LOVE to HATE me! All you women out there over 40….keep up the fashion statements!!!
Well Iam 58 have several leather pants, I look good in my pant as the men in their 30s 40s want to date this mature woman. I feel good in my skin becaues I take care of myself eat foods that are good for me I exercise and most of all I love ME, Iam awear of my SELF WORTH. The writter of this article has issues which I will not elaborate on .