This week I bought a shiny black vinyl mini-skirt. For a moment I did wonder ‘at 43, am I too old for this tomfoolery?’, but wooah Nelly, hold up! Why should anyone think they are too old for anything let alone fashion? There are exceptions to the rule, obviously, but you know your body shape and you know your own mind so do as you so wish.
I also chanced upon an article on the interweb on this very subject. On the (admittedly US) website there were 10 things they suggested were not appropriate for those over 30 (let alone over 40), every one of them I wholly disagreed with. To that end, here are the first 3 things you are not supposed to wear in your advancing years and why I call bullshit on every one of them. I shall continue with the next set in a few days time, stay tuned…
1. Band T Shirts and Slogan Sweatshirts
I do regret that I didn’t keep some of the band T‑shirts I bought at gigs I went to in my youth. Maybe not so much the obscure Goth bands that never quite made it out of the ‘Slimelight’ club in Islington, but I definitely wish I had kept that Prince Lovesexy tour T‑shirt. Now I have to suffice with trawling vintage shops to find old AC/DC merchandise. There is no reason you shouldn’t wear your favourite band T, I think the only rule here would be you should actually like that band or be familiar with their music enough to name at least one song. Slogan T‑shirts or jumpers are also great as I’ve said before, so long as you steer clear of ‘Let’s take a #Selfie’ or ‘I’m a Badass with a Good Ass’ …
2. Too Trendy Denim
Here’s what that site had to say about this ‘If you have jeans that are torn, distressed, embellished with embroidery on the pockets or – shudder to think – have patches on, go outside your house and light a bonfire now. You’re just too old to wear it’. Shut up! If I want to wear an embroidered kick flare 3/4 jean, then I bloody well will. My all time favourite pair of jeans (above) have Mexican Wrestler patches all over them, I still love skinny jeans, I’m happy with anything ripped or printed. My other favourite jeans have big stars on them and I think they are totes appropes. Trendy denim rules OK…
3. Mini Skirts
Finally we are at my first case in point, the mini-skirt. Ok, maybe not go for the full ‘Why are you only wearing a belt, I can see your underpants’ look, but a mini skirt with a nice thick opaque tight underneath is perfectly acceptable. If you don’t like tights then maybe a legging underneath — I have a pretty low opinion of leggings at the best of times but under a mini-skirt they are ‘almost’ acceptable. Go for A‑line mini rather than tight and clingy and why not try a groovy fabric? I’m still trying to justify that shiny black vinyl…
That’s your first 3, I’ll be back in a few days with the next ridiculous set of things that you apparently shouldn’t be seen just because you happen to be a lady of a certain age…
k x
