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6 Things That Women Over 50 Shouldn’t Wear

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Google “what not to wear after age 50” and you will have your pick of thousands of articles telling you what looks terrible on your old body.

I want to point out to the writer who wrote the ‘no-no’ article, you need to remember you are writing for women over age 50, not preschoolers. I don’t think I’ve said ‘no-no’ since my youngest was a toddler.

We could spend hours studying the clothes we shouldn’t wear and the slang we shouldn’t use and the makeup techniques we need to retire.

Here’s me, weighing in on this topic.

You are over 50 for Pete’s sake. Wear whatever you want. If you’ve made it to 50 and still need to consult articles on how to dress appropriately then you are so missing out on one of the best things about being over 50.

One of the best things about getting older is realizing that we don’t have to spend our energy worrying what other people think and we get to be comfortable in our own skin with our own freak flags.

Still, there are a few things that women over 50 really shouldn’t wear:

  1. The weight of the world. When you wear the weight of the world on your shoulders, you age. If you like the feel of the world’s weight and don’t want to give it up, then try scaling back a bit. Perhaps just wear the weight of a few of the smaller continents. For instance, I am only wearing the weight of Australia and a made up country called ‘Michelloponia’. I think they have a slimming effect.
  2. Shame and regret. So few people can carry this look off. Most of us just end up looking haunted or like we were forced to eat liver and onions. Shame and regret are especially hard to wear after fifty. Wearing shame and regret past fifty is one of those things that make your eyes all red and runny looking. The downward spiral just snowballs from there. Once the eyes get old lady looking, then you have to re-evaluate the wisdom of black eye liner. I say give up wearing shame and regret and don’t give up on black eye liner.
  3. Rose coloured glasses. Oh, sweetheart, you know who you are. Those glasses do nothing for you. Not only do they make you look like you’ve been smoking weed for days, they also keep you from examining life and your surroundings realistically. Yes, reality sucks, but by the time we hit fifty, we need to suck it up, take those glasses off and punch reality into submission. Or just get some really big dark sunglasses instead. They cover all manner of sins.
  1. Stiff upper lip. There is a time and a place for the stiff upper lip, but it can’t be worn all the time. Too much stiff upper lip causes those funky vertical lines between your upper lip and your nose holes. We don’t always have to be stoic. I’m not suggesting that you wear your heart on your sleeve, but that is a  much softer look than wearing a stiff upper lip.
  2. Too many hats. Personally, I can’t pull off wearing one hat much less many hats. I don’t have a hat head. My hair poofs out and my ears look like car doors when I wear a hat. Wearing too many hats just exacerbates these issues. When you wear too many hats, it’s easy to forget which hat you’re wearing. For instance, are you wearing the ‘no nonsense corporate’ hat when you meant to wear your ‘quirky and kicked back’ hat? We’re not getting any younger, you know. Sooner or later you’re going to accidentally wear your court jester hat to the gynaecologist and then where will you be? I’ll tell you where you’ll be. You’ll be in an undignified position and wearing a stupid hat is where you’ll be.
  3. Resting b*tch face. Hahahahaha. Just kidding. Wear that one all you want. Although, it wouldn’t hurt if every once in a while, you had a welcoming and kind look on your face. At least that’s what I hear from other people.

There isn’t anything wrong with getting advice about updating your look or what to wear, but we are just inundated with that stuff, aren’t we?

Who says what is appropriate? From where I sit, it seems ‘appropriate’ changes based on geography, social status, income and size. After a while, the advice becomes a confusing blur. I think I’ll just keep wearing my Keds and jeans and black tee shirts.

Oh, I do have one real tip. Stop wearing holiday theme clothes. Seriously.

This piece was written by Michelle Poston Combs and you can find more articles by her here.

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shirley

Tuesday 15th of August 2023

I AM 84yrs. old I love style,and I wear style to suit my taste ;what ever I think that looks great on me I wear it.I don't wear high heels anymore, I wear a lower heel shoe that helps to flatter my outfits. I will continue to be stylish as long as the good Lord allows me to be on his earth.

Elena Peters

Wednesday 16th of August 2023

Good for you!

Diane spicer

Tuesday 16th of May 2023

Ok ladies, my first on something as each one has their own thing going on. I’m 70 but to me that’s just a number. Some days my bones tell me hey , you are 70 live with the number , but I say. As long as you have God as you God . You can go wrong no matter how old you are . The clothes , makeup . Comfortable and makeup go for what is easy. I tried to be happier than sad , it’s always up to oneself . Have a great day ladies ☀️

Kate Bober

Thursday 13th of April 2023

I will never stop wearing holiday themed outfits!!! LOL, but I mean it.

Beverly Decker

Tuesday 3rd of May 2022

I wear what looks good on me. I love the younger styles and wear them if they don’t make me look ridiculous.

Lorna A.

Thursday 11th of March 2021

Great article, but what doesn't sit right is this author is about making "mid life matter" but uses "young bait" in her lead shot. Um... no. Great shot, beautiful woman, but she's midlife like I'm Yoda. lol

Elena Peters

Thursday 11th of March 2021

I hear ya! This is a super old article and believe it or not, but it used to be really hard to find stock photos of midlife women. They would all be photos of my grandmother. I should update this and find a more appropriate image. Thanks for the reminder!

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