Woman of a certain age…
As a woman of a certain age, I’ve come across this strange set of rules. One of them is a woman of a certain age shouldn’t wear loud or bright eyeshadow. We should wear a good neutral eye…I guess so that we blend into the background. Well, if you took a look in my makeup drawer, you’d see one teeny tiny palette of neutral eyeshadows! The rest are colors, including shimmers and a couple glitters. The only reason I keep away from glitters is the fallout is terrible, and that glitter inevitably ends up in my eyes. Robert Welsh, one of my favorite YouTubers, mentions this in his recent video. I love bold eyeshadows and once spent several minutes in the make up chair as a new employee used red on my eyelids. Let’s just say it looked better on her! But, I will wear purple, burgundy, rust, silver, bronze, and gold as long as I can see to put it on!
Woman of a certain age…
Another rule is a woman of a certain age shouldn’t wear her hair long. Gone are the days when I would wear my hair in a pony tail. Truth be told, I rarely wore it in a pony tail out and about because my hair is so thin. But, I definitely wear it up when I’m exercising. Why would shorter hair be a good thing just because I’m a woman of a certain age? It would seem the opposite to be true. Longer hair covers move surface area, right?
Woman of a certain age…
A woman of a certain age shouldn’t let her hair go grey! I should have continued to cover my greys with whatever color my natural color was. I have to tell you, I can’t remember what my daggone natural color was! But, my grey hair has garnered me more compliments and attention than my natural color ever did! And, I don’t have to worry about roots. That’s a huge win in my book!
Woman of a certain age…
Well, apparently, as a woman of a certain age, there are two more rules I seem to break. As a woman of a certain age, I shouldn’t wear bold colors, fun shoes, or even shop in certain stores! Think Golden Girls. That’s what I’m supposed to wear! But, OK, there are certain stores that cater to women of a certain age…you know, the ones that are in the teen age…I don’t go in those. But, it’s not for the reason you think. I don’t go in those stores (except with my granddaughters) because the quality isn’t what I expect. For the prices they charge, I can find something much better for not that many more dollars. So, why would I shop there? I’m not one to shop in any store just to say I’ve shopped there. And, that applies to stores in which I’m not supposed to shop! It’s a quality thing, not an age thing.
The outfit…
The April Cornell store in Asheville, NC is moving. So, they had a sale with everything 75% off! I couldn’t resist picking up a couple of things. One of them was this cute Paris Dot Tunic Dress. It’s on a huge discount right now in April’s Attic. You can also use my code, MARSHA15, for $15 off orders over $100. Trust me, you can pick up some wonderful things from the attic right now and get wonderful bargains with my code! But, I digress! This dress is described as Smoky Amethyst. I’m not sure exactly what color it is. It reads as brown in my photos, I know. In person, it’s a brownish grey with purple undertones which makes absolutely no sense, I know. Just take my word for it, it’s a unique and beautiful color! Two details you may miss if you’re not looking closely are the drawstring waist and the gathers above the elbow. I really like the drawstring waist. I can adjust the waist to make it more va-va-voom! Or, I can leave it looser and have the length hit closer to my knee. At first, I was going to wear my brown tights but decided to wear black ones instead. Now, many of you are probably thinking I wore black boots to lengthen my leg, right? I’m not! These are the Ocean color which is a deep, deep navy almost black. Weird seeing my legs, right?
The Lewk!
These Leighton boots by Miz Mooz are the most expensive pair of boots I’ve ever bought. But, they are worth their weight in gold. But, that wouldn’t be much because they are really light. The jewelry has all been on the blog before. The necklace and earrings are from J Jill, and the two bracelets are from Banana Republic.
Wrap it up, Marsha!
As a woman of a certain age, I’ve decided I will wear what makes me happy. Most of the time, it works. Sometimes, it doesn’t! I’ll admit I will catch sight of myself in a mirror in a store and wonder, “What was I thinking?” But, then I smile confidently and go on my merry way. As a woman of a certain age, I’ve learned wearing something with confidence and a smile counts for so much more than you’d think! So, can we talk? Are there rules I’ve missed? Are there rules, as a woman of a certain age, you wouldn’t break? Or, are you a rule breaker like me and wear the things that bring you joy? Please leave me a comment or two, and we can talk. I promise to respond within a day or two!
Thank you!
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Where you can find me:
Linking up with Nancy’s Fashion Style, Fine-Whatever, Is This Mutton, Shelbee on the Edge, Chez Mireile, The Grey Brunette, and Away from the Blue as well as Deb’s World and A Fresh Cup of Coffee. I also link up with This Blonde’s Shopping Bag, Doused in Pink, I do deClaire, Mummabstylish, Style Splash and Elegantly Dressed and Stylish. Please check out these wonderful ladies and their blogs! I also am a co-host for Ageless Style on the third Thursday of the month and Songful Style on the last Monday of the month. I co-host Traffic Jam Weekend every Thursday with Melynda, Lisa, and Sue. I also host Final Fridays on the last Friday of the month as well as 10 on the 10th on the 10th of the month! I do hope you’ll check out all of these blogs and link parties!
I have zero plans to dye my hair; when it starts going gray (or white!) that’s the color it’s going to be. And I’m pretty sure I’ll be wearing whatever I want too “rules” be darned. You look wonderful.
Thanks, Joanne! I started dyeing my hair years ago because my youngest sister was my hairstylist. Unfortunately, she didn’t want to let me go grey because our mom didn’t have pretty grey hair. Our dad was a silver fox, and I must have gotten that gene from him! I think it’s up to each woman to decide what she wants to do because those rules about our hair and clothes are just not necessary!
That is such a cute dress! I didn’t even know your hair was grey. It looks, IDK, but it’s just so pretty, I just thought you were blonde. If my hair was a pretty grey like yours, I would not dye it. I think there’s all different shades of grey and I also think skin coloring makes a huge difference. Blondes tend to look so much better with grey hair than brunettes. But women should feel free to do and wear what they want. I get so tired of the rules. I read most of them and just laugh. Frankly we’re told so much of what NOT to do or wear, that if we listened to all their rules we’d be walking around naked. ha ha.
Thanks, Amy! I am a brunette…well, I was! As I got older, I put highlights in it which made lots of people think I was a blonde. But, nope! My natural hair was brown. The strange thing is my coloring seems to have changed over the years, too. I tan quite easily, too. I think I got lucky with greying. My mom’s hair was not a pretty grey at all. Yes, those rules are just ridiculous!
Marsha,
Loved this post….I let my hair go natural at 57 years old, almost 10 years now and I too also received more compliments on it than when I was having it colored blond which was not even my natural color ( brown). I do wear my hair short but in my 66 years, it has been short much more times that I wore it long…Just easier to take care of….I do tend to wear more classical styles and do not follow trends with clothes but now that I am retired, my wardrobe is very casual…I hope to lose more weight so I am wearing clothes that I was not able to fit into for over 10-15 years.. I have not worn a dress in over 20 years since I gained weight…Maybe if I lose more weight but I really now do not have the occasion to wear a dress except maybe in the Summer in the form of a sun dress…I love your style and it looks great on you…I find that since I no longer work, I am wearing less makeup…I have always been a rule breaker and have frequently gotten myself in trouble because of i and how outspoken I have been about it!! But not really when it comes to fashion…My pet peeve is retired people should downsize and stop collecting and buying things for their house….HECK NO!! Having fun breaking that rule!!
Thanks for sharing!!
Hugs,
Deb
Debbie=Dabble Blog
Thank you so much, Deb! I think I started going grey in 2015 or 2016 after we had moved. And, it’s been wonderful! I wear dresses a lot of the time because I have them! Congratulations on the weight loss! It’s wonderful when you can wear clothing you haven’t fit in for years. I hope to achieve that this year. It took me a few years to get out of the teacher clothing mode. I didn’t really break too many rules re: teaching but I might have bent a few! I have to chuckle because we did downsize quite a bit with this last move. We did it more because houses in our neighborhood are just not that big. My husband is much happier being on one floor instead of three. I would have stayed in that house forever! Now, I just don’t have the space to put things unless I go up in the attic or down in the crawlspace. Neither of those is a problem, but moving things up or down has resulted in some breakage…glass not bones, thank goodness!
And we are far to pretty to hide! Well, at least you are! And about grey….I will never grow my grey hair out, but you! You have the most beautiful shades of grey! And no short hair for me either! And although I don’t wear colouron my eyes, I do almost everyday wear a smokey eye and bold lipstick! By the way, your hair looks thick!
Oh, thank you, Nancy! That means a lot to me. I have worn my hair quite short, but I like it longer now. I try to do a smokey eye and always end up with color all over it! Hahaha!!! When I wear a ponytail, I honestly use on of those little girl hair ties! I have the thinnest hair ever!
My daughter asked me to wait to let my hair go grey until after she graduated from high school. Not sure why, didn’t ask but I waited. I started dyeing my hair when we lived in China over 20 years ago. People thought I was really old and that I needed help crossing the street! The youngest of our 5 kids were in preschool and growing in those days and everyone thought I was the grandmother. Got sick of it!! Totally grey now for about 7 years.
Part of the reason I always dyed my hair was my youngest sister was my hairstylist for decades. She didn’t want me to grow grey because our mom didn’t have pretty grey hair. Our dad, however, was a silver fox! Luckily, I took after him in that regard. I think I’ve been totally grey for about seven years, too. But, my stylist now puts fun fashion glazes on every once in a while. They soon wash out but you have the fun for a bit.
Thanks, Linda!
I’m not 100% sure when “of a certain age” starts, but I think I qualify and agree that these “rules” are hogwash. Even the ones that have something that applies to some people certainly don’t apply to everyone. I rocked very short hair in my 20s but look better with long hair these days, for example, which is the exact opposite of the “rule.”
This look is absolutely fabulous, and the “rule”-breaking is a big part of it! I adore the color of this dress; it looks like a lovely cool medium-saturated taupe on my screen, and it’s a wonderful color on you. It looks stunning with your hair color; it picks up the taupe colors in your hair really nicely.
Thanks, Sally! This color of this dress is really hard to describe. And, that taupe color in my hair will be gone in a few weeks. I love doing the fashion color glazes on my hair because they’re so temporary.
My hair has been all lengths except for a Judi Dench kind of pixie. My hair just couldn’t pull that off. But, I’ve worn it long, short, and everything in between. Right now, I’m trying to grow out my bangs which is driving me crazy! Why I asked my stylist to do that, I’ll never know!
I actually googled “of a certain age” and couldn’t get a definitive answer. It primarily means a woman who is older. Well, that applies to me, and I don’t mind it. I do mind if someone tries to put me in a box and say, “This is how you act. This is what you wear.” Ain’t nobody got time for that, right?
I am thankful that the societal perspective of age is changing. Let’s all just do what we like and wear what makes us feel good! To hell with the rest! I think you look fabulous!
Thank you, Laura! The only two rules I ever followed (because my mom made me) was not mixing patterns and no wearing white after Labor Day. I still catch myself thinking “WTF!” when I see someone in quite the get up. Then, I chide myself because we truly need to wear what makes us joyful!
The first thing I thought when I saw this polka dot dress is Pretty Woman – and you are! You are also so right about those crazy rules that are so irrelevant. I’m with you about quality at some retailers too, I don’t shop at certain stores because of the same reason. I’d rather have a better quality piece. Your hair looks so good Marsha, I love it!
xo,
Kellyann
Oh, thank you, Kellyann! I loved that dress! The fashion rules are just so random and bizarre! And, thank you for the compliment about my hair!
You know the thing is some of us only start getting confident in ourselves and our styles in our 40s so that is probably when we start doing all of the things a women of a certain age shouldn’t do lol! Love your hair, and this outfit today is really cute!
http://www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
You are a wise woman, Mireille! That is probably exactly what happens. We are pretty much done with raising babies and have some time to ourselves. Thank you so much for the compliments!
Hi Marsha, I think most of us now rebel against ‘women of a certain age shouldn’t’ because we realise that we need to live life the way we want to and not by a set of rules. I love your polka dot dress especially the colour and style. You keep doing you, Marsha because you always look great. x
Thank you, Sue! You are a tonic to my soul and ego! I realized a few years ago that I just needed to be free to wear what I wanted and the heck with anyone’s opinions. It really is freeing. There are days I dress waaaay down, and days when I dress to the nines. I let my mood guide me though some days I dress to brighten up my mood!
Hi Marsha, I dress down most days at the moment as we aren’t being too social with renovations. I’m so pleased that you have joined us this week for #WWWhimsy. I love to dress up when I’m in the mood – it just makes you feel so good. Have a lovely week. x
I am almost always dressed in jeans and a sweater. But, I love dressing up when we’re out and about! Thanks, Sue! I will try to link up at #WWWhimsy…are fashion posts OK?
I’m so tired of hearing age restrictions on fashion/beauty, etc! We should be dressing “me appropriate” not what others think as “age appropriate”! You’re polka dot dress is so fun! Love this latte inspired look!
Jill – Doused in Pink
Oh, I like that…”me appropriate!” Yes, that’s the way I dress! I may borrow that in a future post, Jill! I was thinking, when I read your latte post, that I didn’t have anything like that, and I’d posted this the day of or before!
Thanks, Jill!
This dress is lovely Marsha and your hair looks fabulous! Rules aren’t meant for the likes of us whether we’re a certain age or not! I wear whatever takes my fancy these days, mainly bright and bold colours, and I get comments when I wear something a bit neutral saying I don’t look quite right!! Thanks for joining us for #wwwhimsy and yes fashion posts are welcome 🙂
Thank you, Debbie! I agree that we should wear whatever takes our fancy! My tastes are always changing, it seems! I will be linking up often!