The first thing the author said was to get rid of "message T-shirts." Well, it so happens that the top I threw away a couple of weeks ago was a T-shirt with a message on it. Still, it wasn't the message that caused me to throw it away. I threw it away because the fabric wasn't holding up well. Since the first wash, it had sagged more and more, turning a shirt with an "okay" shape into a frumpy, saggy, disaster. Every time I wore it, I felt like a frumpy, saggy, disaster. Well, I don't need clothes that call me names like that. So I threw it away.
So, the article. I read the whole thing. There were some things she said with which I agreed, but I found myself shaking my head about most of it. So what if I had jeans with rhinestones or Mickey Mouse on them? (Where can I get some of those?) Who cares what type of bag I carry? And the thing about giving up "loud accessories" like nail glitter...
This spring, a young lady invited me to a Jamberry nail wraps party on Facebook. I told her that I was too old to wear cute things like that, and she responded that no one was too old. During that time, I went to a school event for one of my children. A lady sitting in front of me was wearing some fun nail wraps. A little gray-haired lady, definitely older than I was, was wearing CUTE nail decor, and realized that I liked them on her. It stood to reason, then, that it wouldn't be ridiculous for me to wear cute nails, at least not because of my age. I bought wraps, including two colors of glittery ones, and guess what -- I don't care if someone thinks they aren't age appropriate.
So it has been a few weeks since I read the article, and it turned out that it was written almost a year ago, so I was already behind the times when I saw it. But I decided that the author was wrong. What I'm too old to wear isn't dictated by anyone but me.
I am too old to wear things that make me feel bad about myself.
I am too old to wear things that don't make me smile.
I am too old to wear things that are uncomfortable.
I am too old to wear things that bore me.
I recently rediscovered the joys of wearing makeup. There was a long time that I stopped bothering with it, and maybe it was partly the "you're too old" mentality. I knew that no matter what I did, no one was going to confuse me with a younger woman any more. I told myself it was a waste of time to apply it, and a waste of money to buy it. I told myself I was too old to be able to make myself look pretty. I'm still not sure what made me buy new makeup, but then I had spent the money -- my husband's hard-earned dollars -- so I told myself I'd better use it.
The first time I put it on, I told myself I was silly and looked ridiculous. I told myself that, but I wasn't listening very closely because I didn't look ridiculous. I put it on every morning for a few days. One day, I had to take something to my son at the high school. Before getting out of the van, I looked at myself in the rear-view mirror, and before I knew what was happening, I said, "Pretty." I actually said it, about myself, out loud. And I couldn't argue with myself. I liked what I was seeing.
I am too old to waste time despising my appearance.
And I am too young to let myself waste away.
It turns out I'm too old to let anyone else tell me what to wear.
So, the article. I read the whole thing. There were some things she said with which I agreed, but I found myself shaking my head about most of it. So what if I had jeans with rhinestones or Mickey Mouse on them? (Where can I get some of those?) Who cares what type of bag I carry? And the thing about giving up "loud accessories" like nail glitter...
This spring, a young lady invited me to a Jamberry nail wraps party on Facebook. I told her that I was too old to wear cute things like that, and she responded that no one was too old. During that time, I went to a school event for one of my children. A lady sitting in front of me was wearing some fun nail wraps. A little gray-haired lady, definitely older than I was, was wearing CUTE nail decor, and realized that I liked them on her. It stood to reason, then, that it wouldn't be ridiculous for me to wear cute nails, at least not because of my age. I bought wraps, including two colors of glittery ones, and guess what -- I don't care if someone thinks they aren't age appropriate.
So it has been a few weeks since I read the article, and it turned out that it was written almost a year ago, so I was already behind the times when I saw it. But I decided that the author was wrong. What I'm too old to wear isn't dictated by anyone but me.
I am too old to wear things that make me feel bad about myself.
I am too old to wear things that don't make me smile.
I am too old to wear things that are uncomfortable.
I am too old to wear things that bore me.
I recently rediscovered the joys of wearing makeup. There was a long time that I stopped bothering with it, and maybe it was partly the "you're too old" mentality. I knew that no matter what I did, no one was going to confuse me with a younger woman any more. I told myself it was a waste of time to apply it, and a waste of money to buy it. I told myself I was too old to be able to make myself look pretty. I'm still not sure what made me buy new makeup, but then I had spent the money -- my husband's hard-earned dollars -- so I told myself I'd better use it.
The first time I put it on, I told myself I was silly and looked ridiculous. I told myself that, but I wasn't listening very closely because I didn't look ridiculous. I put it on every morning for a few days. One day, I had to take something to my son at the high school. Before getting out of the van, I looked at myself in the rear-view mirror, and before I knew what was happening, I said, "Pretty." I actually said it, about myself, out loud. And I couldn't argue with myself. I liked what I was seeing.
I am too old to waste time despising my appearance.
And I am too young to let myself waste away.
It turns out I'm too old to let anyone else tell me what to wear.
3 comments:
If anyone really, really wants to read the article that started me ranting about this, it is here:
http://www.lifescript.com/well-being/articles/t/top_10_items_youre_too_old_to_wear.aspx
Meh. I've been dressing more or less the same way since I was about 14 years old. Wear what you like. Same with makeup and hair color. My mother is never going to be anything but some variety of a redhead... :)
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