Aging Outrageously! Is there an option?

Just go into a store that sells affordable clothing for the older woman, and that includes the variety and department/chain stores, and you’ll be faced with rows of look-alike garments that may be your size, but which if you had a choice you’d probably walk past.

Basic colours, styles your Grandma probably would have refused to wear; even fabrics that don’t like you or your skin or your time of life. But do you have a choice?

If you are a “size” that is included in the shops that sell “younger” wear, then don’t kid yourself you would only look like mutton done up as lamb! This is just not true. We’re not suggesting that you go from wearing ankle length skirts or slacks/pants to wearing mini skirts. But let’s look at things sensibly.

Clothing for the younger market is more available; usually it’s quite cheaper too! Yes, maybe it’s made for a “disposable” society, but hey, let’s face it, do you really want to be wearing the same garment for 30 years? You’ve proved throughout your life that you can adapt to change - circumstances, relationships you name it. So why do you think you can’t change your clothing habits?

Choice is out there. It’s just that we’ve become so self conscious of our age and even our size and shape, which no one can suggest hasn’t changed over the years as well, that we’re afraid to be adventurous any more. And this is silly. We’re independent women, right? We know what is best for us, right? We know or have a fair idea of how good we could look if we found the right clothes, right? We’ve also been treated with a little disdain by saleswomen, right? We’ve been told the store has nothing in our size, right? And we’ve become too scared to keep trying, right?

We can’t disguise all our body faults, that’s for sure. And we shouldn’t try to hide our bodies completely either. Why should we be made feel embarrassed about our body and the way it looks?

For a plus-size woman who is aging, she has two battles on her hands. One is she is treated as “ga-ga” because she is “old”, and the other inference is that she has let herself go to the extent of being obese. And that means she has a cheek expecting to be able to buy clothes that make her feel and look good, from her point of view.

It’s wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!

Experiment. Go into trendy boutiques and stores that sell for the younger market. Get an idea of what is available, and whether you could open your mind to wearing a certain garment. Add to that garment in your mind first, and then look for something to go with the first item. Accessorise. Look around for nice shoes, belts (if you have a waist), and jewellery. If you want to be a twinset and pearl lady, then be one. If you’d like to show a bit of cleavage (at 60-70 or more) then do so. If you want to wear red, be brave and do it.

It’s your life, after all, and you need only answer to yourself when it comes to how you dress. That is, of course, assuming that you see yourself for who and what you are, not someone to make fun of yourself so that others do likewise, but someone with a smart mind ready to follow through on what is best for you.