Do you dress your age? I've read a few posts where someone over twenty-five gets flack from other members for admitting they shop in the junior's department. But with sizes so crazy nowadays it's often a choice between dressing too young or not having anything to wear at all.
I don't dress my age. My mental image of dressing my age is how my mother dressed when she was my age; shapeless shifts on weekdays, skirted suits and helmet hair when she dressed up. I'm a jeans and tee-shirt person, always have been. I dress up maybe once every other year and when I do i always feel like I am wearing a costume. My everyday clothes are low-rise jeans and a tee-shirt. In cold weather I wear a thermal shirt under the tee-shirt and a flannel shirt over .
In my opinion as long as I don’t show belly button in the summer because my t shirt is too short or don’t have too short skirt/dress I am ok. I mean we work so hard to keep slim figure not just to cover it with layers of shapeless cloth! Also, I think that T-shirts’ should be more “relaxed”, without crazy colors and signs. Body hugging cloth is what I go after but not showing too much skin, you know what I mean?
I am just a little over 35 and I found myself cleaning up my closet few months before and donating some cloth because it is in 20th stile, so there definitely has been some adjustment for me.
I think more elegant and settle, not “trying too hard” is sexier for 35...Thought, I have to admit it takes a lot of effort to look effortless now days.
Also good skin and nice hair stile which looks taken care of is way more important in our age, I think, that is why I started to drink my water daily and quit smoking.
Dear, I almost didn't open this thread because at 36, I am NOT "ahem" older!
I think I dress my age, but I'm like you. My preference is jeans and a t-shirt. Lately I've taken to the new "modern cut" for tops. I like clothes to fit my shape now.
I'm going to be buying an entirely new wardrobe here before too long. I don't think I'm going to have to go to junior's. Junior's clothes intimidate me anyway and they're not well made. But a lot of the other stuff is matronly and "costumey" like you said.
My only real issue right now with clothes is that the length of dresses is either floor length or a few inches above the knee. I would like my dresses to hit the knee, maybe just above.
I'm mostly into buying "investment" pieces. In my wardrobe, I've got a 50-year-old camel hair swing coat, a trench coat that dates back to 1985 and an original WilliWear smock made while Willi Smith was still alive. Yeah, I've got some t-shirts from Target, but my basics are better quality than that. Most junior-size clothing is simply not made to last that long. It's assumed that it will be discarded or outgrown before it's worn out.
Look, some people cycle through clothing quickly; I don't. So even if they fit well, I probably would not buy much of it. That said, you should get clothes for their look & fit & go wherever you need to, if you're after a certain look.
When I think of how I want to look, I think of Lauren Hutton, who is still a style icon at age 66. (Yes, that's considerably older than me.)
It's a casual & breezy look, but there's a classicism to it. I'm always looking for good Ralph Lauren pieces from the 80s & 90s. That might give you some idea: Classic American sportswear, somewhat British-influenced. With occasional wild pops of color.
I'm fine with growing older looking like that.
The last thing I want to do is look like I'm trying to compete head-on with someone who's 17-21. It just ain't happening.
well I almost didn't open this either as I am waaaayyyyy older 45, I have pants I bought in the juniors department, cause they fit nice, and a couple of sweaters as well and no one would ever know. I would certainly not dress like my daughter in law who is even 24, so apparentley she is close to being over the hill. My mom is 72 and was recently in a fashion show (no not for old ladies) but because she dresses awesome, alot of tv shows have fashion days so to speak where they have a mini fashion shows, macy's has alot of nice things that are not teenageish of matronly. Magazines might offer some help as well if you can overlook the 6 foot 100 lb models.
I swear I was silently praying that older was 50+...I am in the older category I guess at 40. lol
I rarely shop in the juniors department now but I will venture over there once in awhile.
I am not ready to dress like my grandmother but I am also not wearing short shorts or skirts either. I am a jeans and t-shirt girl who once in awhile likes to dress up a bit. After all, I do like try and look sexy in my old age.
I'm 47, and I love to dress up when I go to work (I am a high school counselor). I love Anthropologie clothes - but not their prices. I get them on ebay. The other brands I especially like are Moth brand, as well as Hazel and Alberto Makali. I like older styles by Nygard.
I have also had good luck finding well made, less expensive, dressy clothing at Nordstrom Rack. They also have jeans that are made for adults - not super low waisted, or skin tight.
ETA I also shop at Ann Taylor Loft. They have great sales!
Chrys Dayley
Last edited by cdayley; 02-22-2011 at 06:27 PM.
Reason: to add info
Hoo boy - I am depressed now to think I am "older" at 38!!
TBH, without enumerating every single item of clothing in my closet I couldn't really tell you how I dress. I have formal trousers for work, and fitted blouses, but I also have a purple linen flared skirt, a cream linen flared skirt, a variety of sweaters, any number of black skirts in various styles, a sweater dress I wear with black leggings, a rose patterned swing top I wear with my black trousers - OK, I think I am well on the way to listing everything I own so I'm going to stop.
In summer I have lots of cute swingy skirts and summer dresses and little tops although I can't show too much flesh in school so my out-of-school wardrobe is a little skimpier than my in-school one
By "older" I meant thirty-five and up. I'm fifty. I dress young because misses sizes are much too big and so are most junior sizes. I can wear anything from a 00 to a 1 in juniors but it's just about impossible for me to find dressy clothes in those sizes. The few times I've found a size 0 dress it's always something designed for somebody tall and thin; on me the proportions would be all wrong. There used to be a size range called junior petite designed for shorties like me, but it disappeared long ago. Misses petites hardly ever carry sizes under a 2 and, in my opinion, the styles are too matronly.
I generally buy my jeans in the girl's department and my shirts in the boy's department. I have to buy what fits me and kids sizes do but even though I'm shopping in the preteen departments I don't want to look like I'm trying to look like a cute little girl. Girl's shirts tend to be frilly and cutsey which is why I buy boy's. In general they are sturdier as well.
well, i'm 33 - so i guess i am not quite at your cut-off...but close, right? haha.
i have really pared down my wardrobe- i live in a very small house (it's a beach cottage in Los Angeles- we decided to go for location over closet space- lol). so anyway-i just have things i like right now...i am trying to get rid of anything that is something i don't absolutely love, love, love.
i have found old navy to be pretty good for trends- and not too expensive. i live in los angeles, though- and people here dress really young all the way up until they move into the old folk's home- lol. so i am not so worried about dressing "too young"-
I'm 35 (and I only feel old when I talk to my tweenage niece, who thinks I am just ANCIENT ), and primary concession I've made to trying not to dress "too young" is that I used to be kind of a goth/punk/alternative chick in my late teens and early- to mid-twenties (blue-black hair, all black clothing, fishnets, Doc Martens, very Janeane Garofalo), but not only is that sort of not really a thing anymore, it also seemed kind of "trying too hard" as I finished school and had to get a real grown-up job.
Like others said, I find Old Navy a great and inexpensive option for lots of things, both staples (dress pants for work, basic jeans, tank tops... I LIVE for their tank tops) and whatever little trend is going around (without making a huge cash outlay for said trends). I also get blazers for work from inexpensive catalogues so that they're a little heartier in terms of care than something from a slightly higher-end place that is usually dry-clean only.
I'm at a stage in my life and a career path where I do occasionally need formal gowns (I swear by Bluefly) but also lots of shorts and tee shirts (I get a long summer vacation and NEVER wear business suits if I'm not at work). I have a great mix of high-quality stuff and super cheap, almost disposable stuff. I'm also a big nerd and have a bunch of goofy tee shirts celebrating my favorite science fiction shows, and I wear those to gaming conventions and on weekends.
What I basically don't do anymore as I've aged is ever dye my hair an unnatural color (at least not on purpose), never wear bright baby pink, never wear midriff-baring tops except for swimwear, never let my underwear show (this was harder to do when low-rise jeans were more popular), never wear flip-flops if the weather doesn't ACTUALLY permit it and never wear them to work or any formal occasion, never wear Crocs or Uggs or open-toed boots (or, really, any truly too-trendy footwear), never wear busy patterns, and I also never wear super skinny jeans because I find that even though I've gotten slender, I just don't think it's a good luck for someone out of their teens (other people can pull them off just fine, just not me).
Oh, and I never, ever, EVER show cleavage at work. That's less of an I-am-now-old thing and more because I work with a lot of males in their early twenties and before I made this rule, I often felt incredibly creeped out. I have a very smallish, modest, er, rack, but apparently twentysomething boys are easily distractable.
I'm 31, so while I don't meet your cut-off, I did make mention to not shopping in the junior's department in another thread. I wasn't giving others flack though, I was speaking to my own preference, most of it being guided by my career.
I work in a very conservative industry (finance), which is also a very male dominated industry and I try to dress in a professional, classic way. I've checked out the juniors department of Nordstroms and there are plenty of basic sweaters that I would wear on weekends, but for work I didn't find anything I personally thought was appropriate. I try to stick with really basic, classic styles.
Everything I own is from Ann Taylor, Brooks Brothers, J. Crew, Banana Republic and Calvin Klien and I have one thing from Boden UK. The trendiest thing I have are skinny jeans from Ann Taylor and I don't wear them to work - ever. On jeans days I wear Calvin Klein boot cuts because I think skinny jeans tucked into boots look unprofessional for MY place of work (most people wear trouser jeans or don't wear jeans ever). I work in a more conservative industry than most everyone unless you work in law. Law and financial services are really not fashion forward industries, some of my friends don't get that, but well, it is what it is and I don't mind wearing classic styles.
Saef - we seem to have similar fashion tastes. When I get to my goal weight I hope to get some timeless investment peices. I'm going to start slowly...but investing in something like that will surely be motivation to stay at my goal.
I think juniors can be just fine depending on where you wear it.
Wildflower -- I'm still "young," but I found your post really interesting -- I'll be working in consulting next year and will have many finance clients as well as a number of retail/CPG, nonprofit, and public sector clients, so I'm starting to stress about how to build an appropriate and reasonable-cost wardrobe that accommodates all their different styles of dress. I think separates from Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, & Brooks Brothers will be essential (with perhaps a classic grey pantsuit from Theory and a sheath dress or two from WHBM, FCUK, or BCBG). So I guess I plan to be dressing as if I'm 35+ immediately.
Magrat -- I stopped shopping in the Juniors department when I was 17. I find the stuff there tends to be really poor in quality. But, to answer your question, most department stores with a Misses department are pretty reliable -- otherwise you might be better off looking in outlet/chain stories. I've always thought J Crew and Talbots style is absolutely classic and lovely and definitely have "35+" styles in really flattering cuts and slim sizes! But then I may have been born in a pantsuit. Anthropologie has slightly more fashionable (though pricey) stuff that is still classy, and ModCloth.com is a lower-price equivalent.
Last edited by lackadaisy; 02-27-2011 at 12:46 AM.
Wildflower -- I'm still "young," but I found your post really interesting -- I'll be working in consulting next year and will have many finance clients as well as a number of retail/CPG, nonprofit, and public sector clients, so I'm starting to stress about how to build an appropriate and reasonable-cost wardrobe that accommodates all their different styles of dress. I think separates from Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, & Brooks Brothers will be essential (with perhaps a classic grey pantsuit from Theory and a sheath dress or two from WHBM, FCUK, or BCBG). So I guess I plan to be dressing as if I'm 35+ immediately.
I stopped shopping in the Juniors department when I was 17. I find the stuff there tends to be really poor in quality. Most department stores with a Misses department are pretty reliable -- otherwise you might be better off looking in outlet/chain stories. I've always thought J Crew and Talbots style is absolutely classic and lovely. But then I may have been born in a pantsuit.
Hey Lackadaisy - I suppose you will need to start out dressing 35 right away, especially since you will be young and in consulting. It will be important that all those clients see you as someone professional who they can take advice from. Your clothes will really help project that when you might look young otherwise (and of course confidence and carrying yourself well is invaluable). Sounds like you've got a good handle on the brands, etc to build a professional work wardrobe. With BCBG and FCUK it might be hard to find something the appropriate length, but it really just depends on the sheath. WMBM does have nice things, I just don't go in there too often.
Also, did you know that Ann Taylor and I believe Banana give student discounts? It's only on full price items, but it's worth using if you are buying a suit or something else you can't wait to go on sale. Just ask at the register and show your student ID. Also, near me, we have outlets for BCBG, WHBM, Brooks Brothers, Anny Taylor, J Crew and BR. They are about an hour from me, but I hit them up every few months.
There is a fashion blog I read for bankers, consultants and lawyers on conservative fashion. You might want to check it out -> http://corporette.com/ There is a lot of info out there on this stuff and unlike some blogs, this one is updated daily and has a large following of ladies you can ask questions to in the comments.
A Question For The (Ahem) Older Feathers
In my opinion as long as I don’t show belly button in the summer because my t shirt is too short or don’t have too short skirt/dress I am ok. I mean we work so hard to keep slim figure not just to cover it with layers of shapeless cloth! Also, I think that T-shirts’ should be more “relaxed”, without crazy colors and signs. Body hugging cloth is what I go after but not showing too much skin, you know what I mean?
When I get to my goal weight I hope to get some timeless investment peices. I'm going to start slowly...but investing in something like that will surely be motivation to stay at my goal. 
