I just spent the last hour on pinterest looking at images of older women, all kinds, and they were beautiful. And not what you typically think of as being “age appropriate” in their fashion and hair. Just seeing the range of beauty and personality completely redefines aging, or how to age. There are no rules. Just be fabulously you, living out loud.
We only know what we have always seen and been taught, so let’s challenge this paradigm of what is “age appropriate” or not.
The first thing we must do is ban these two words from our vocabulary: age appropriate.
I am not sure if I am being more sensitive to those words being 50 years old now, or if they are just being used more than ever. But even 5 years ago, I did not like that comment.
I think recently I heard it in the context of someone looking for an “age appropriate” hairstyle for herself. It is HAIR. Can hair really be inappropriate?
If we were flamboyant in our youth, why can we not be flamboyant in our senior years? If we love our hair long, why should we feel pressured to cut it off and get an old lady perm just because we reach a certain age? Maybe even your hairdresser is steering you down this road, because long hair is not “age appropriate” for you anymore. I don’t know about you, but I love to see an 80 year old woman with the same spirit of her youth. She is writing on the wall of life. I honestly do not care what she is wearing. Her hair can be long, or it can be short and spiked. I just want to see her being fully herself. If she is wearing love beads and a crown of flowers, painting graffiti on a wall, more power to her. I admire that. I want to be that. I want to be fully me, enjoying life. Awake. Immersed.
Aging is a natural part of life. No one is denying that. But I think we should redefine how we should be doing that. No wonder no one wants to age. There are all these rules on what we should wear and how our hair should look, none of which feels like us. It is like we are expected to become a completely different person.
Whatever fully a person is, is age appropriate.
Now, that being said, certain things are inappropriate at any age. But it has nothing to do with age. If a woman of age cannot wear it, none of us should be wearing it.
And who are we to tell a woman who has lived 80 years how she should dress or how she should cut her hair? She has earned every right to be any way she wants.
And instead of trying to change them, let’s marvel at them. It will give us permission to do it one day, too. It will give us permission to age fabulously.
And the funny thing about age, we still feel like the young version of ourselves on the inside. Because that is who we are, and it knows no age.
So dress like you want. Wear your hair like you want. It’s never too late, and you are never too old to be fabulous.
I am so grateful you stopped by my blog! I hopped over to say thank you for the kind words…but now need to thank you for making my day! What a beautiful blog you have here, so full of hope and light. “You are never too old to be fabulous”…SO true!
Thank you again!
It is so good to see you here! What a wonderful surprise! And thank you for your sweet words. That means so much to me. I was just over at your blog catching up and sharing a quote with you!
Thank you again, for stopping by to say hello! xo
I love this! And your added comment about how some things no woman of any age really ought to wear, but in other things, we should just allow people to express their own taste! My Mom is 43 and I don’t think she’s very confident about what to wear but I always try to encourage her–if you love it, wear it!
Good for YOU telling your mom that, Rachel! I hate it when we feel we have to dress a certain way. So many women fall into that trap without even realizing they had a choice. Good for you reminding your mom of that! It’s wonderful to meet you!
xo ~Topaz
I love this post! Great thoughts. I’m really enjoying your blog!
Thank you, Madonna! And thanks for stopping by to visit! ~Topaz
What a fabulous post! I too think it is beautiful to see someone just being themselves no matter how society thinks they should look. These are the people who really stand out and not just because of their appearance. Generally they are beautiful souls too!
So true, Susie! Don’t they really stand out and are almost always beautiful souls? They shine, really shine. I just ADORE that in a person. It’s wonderful to meet you, Susie. 🙂
Great words. I love that we are seeing more older women going against the grain, especially since I want to keep my hair long forever ;). I’ve never thought to search Pinterest for images of older women, but I bet it was so fascinating and inspiring. Age should earn freedom, not a new set of rules on how to look. Thanks for sharing!
I just turned 47 and had one of those ‘aha moments’ after I showered and was moaning about all my flaws that have come with age. I love this post- it resonates deeply with me and I KNOW you would appreciate my post I boldly shared with pics and all!! I am going to share it with you here simply because I think you would chime right in with my message!
http://themomcafe.com/47-years-thankful/
Oh, my goodness. This was in my spam folder. I’m so glad I go through that thing every once in a while.
Ahhh….you get it. Don’t you just love those aha moments? I’m so glad you commented and let me know about your post! Off to read it now! xo
This was a wonderful post! I loved it. I also loved your words: “Just be fabulously you, living out loud.”
Thank you so much, Jerralea! Some of these older women are such an inspiration the way they live life! Just love them!
What a beautiful, well written post. Just the way I feel. I don’t want to be age appropriate but that is what is expected. After everything that life throws are way, isn’t it time to break the age appropriate mold. Be yourself!
Thank you so much, Kathy. It really bugs me when people talk about age appropriate hairstyles, fashion, etc. as we get a little older, like we cannot be cool anymore. If anything, I think we have earned an even bigger right to be as cool as we want to be. I love it when a woman my age follows her own path. It’s been wonderful connecting with you. I look forward to checking out your blog now that the holiday craziness is settling down.