I didn't have time to do pictures this morning (I'm on week 3 of my Wednesday 6am workout routine, which is awesome, but limits my time in the morning), so the picture above is from my Wonder Woman Pose Conference submission. I didn't wear this outfit to work today, and it's cropped since the skirt looks a lot shorter than I'd like in the picture.
Cynthia from Be Fabulous Daily had an interesting post on aging today, including questions posted over at Oranges and Apples. I've enjoyed reading Cynthia and Franca's remarks, and the discussion over at Oranges and Apples, so I thought I'd give my two cents here.
What is your relationship with age? A lot of times my age depends on where I'm at and who I'm with. If I'm at work, I'm the youngest in my group and one of only a couple who isn't married with children and a house in the suburbs, so I feel a little young. But among my same-aged peers, I feel pretty old. Actually no, not old - mature. And it's a good thing - I'm happy to have my youth, but glad I'm more grown-up, responsible and mature than I was at 22 or 23.
I've been mulling it over since reading this article about 20-somethings not growing up as soon as they used to in the NY Times last week. The article notes the 5 milestones for being an adult - graduating college, moving out of your parents' house, starting a career, getting married, and starting a family - and states that people used to have accomplished all of this by the time they turned 30. Now, not so much. I'll be 30 in May. I've done the first 3, and although I'm not married, I think my relationship comes pretty close. We've lived together for over 2 years now, adopted a dog together (it's more responsibility and commitment than it may sound like to non-pet owners) and I've served as my boyfriend's health care proxy (decision-maker) and primary caregiver on two separate and extended occasions now. That was, incidentally, one of the first times I truly felt like a serious adult.
As for #5 - having kids - Cynthia notes the correlation between the presence of a biological clock and feeling one's age. Mine is definitely starting to tick because of an old goal to have kids by the time I was 30, so seeing women my age or younger having kids does get to me sometimes, and makes me feel like I'm getting too old too fast. But for the most part, I've adjusted those expectations, so I'll be okay when I hit 30.
Do you look the age you feel? I hope that I look young, but still somewhat experienced in life. I have freckles (my Irish suntan) helping me look young, but things like gray hair (since I was 16! talk about looking your age!) and dark puffy circles under my eyes showing my age a little more. The dark circles kind of bug me because they're hereditary, so I know they'll just get worse with age, and I think they're the first thing that makes me look "old" at all.
Do you dress in a particular way to make you look the age you are? Or the age you feel? I feel like my own age most of the time, and I think the way I dress reflects that. I dress more professionally than other women my age at work for some fear that I won't be taken as seriously if I don't, but outside of the office, I don't dress too much differently than I did in college and my early 20's - just a little more polished and cleaned up. I often go with comfortable classics, like jeans and t-shirts or sweaters.
What do you think of people dressing younger than they are? Do you assume that they want to be younger? I assume that they feel younger than they are, and they want to express that outwardly. On a recent trip home, I visited with my great-aunt who is 81. I love that she still takes the time to curl her hair and do her make-up every morning, and was wearing a pretty contemporary outfit of capris, a flattering knit top and wedge heels. I don't think she does it to look younger or because she's deluding herself or anything like that, but it's because she feels young and is not resigning herself to wearings sweatpants or polyester ensembles, or whatever else other women her age might be wearing.
What constitutes 'mutton dressed as lamb' anyway? Is it about showing more skin or something else? I had to look this one up because I've never heard that expression before! For me, I guess it would be wearing trends and styles that are obviously way too young for you. So in my case, I guess it'd be if I dressed like my pre-teen and teenage cousins. For my definition, yeah, it's definitely about showing too much skin. When I started working at 22 and 23, I wore short skirts and low-cut tops because I just didn't know better. Now if I accidentally wear something like that (it happens to the best of us), I'm a little embarrassed and feel like I'm old enough to know better.
What are your thoughts on aging?
