All week I’ve been ruminating on topics related to aging: the (Biblical) role of the empty nester, relationships between generations, my mom’s wardrobe, and more. Yet, when faced with the desire to produce a Friday Fashion Lab, I once again ran up against my most persistent blogging frustration: I have words, you all want pictures. But where to get them?
Perhaps in the not-so-distant future, I will be able to produce them myself. 🙂 (Which thought came to me sometime in the 24 hours following my first drawing class.) Why not? If I learn to draw, I could just draw pictures of the ideas which are very clear in my mind, scan them, and upload them to the blog. Much less time-consuming than finding them on the internet (which gives great pictures, but takes forever), or taking them myself (yeah, you’ve seen my pictures, and now that I mostly blog when I’m home alone, the clothes must generally be pictured uninhabited, which is less satisfactory).
In the meantime, links!
- Imogen’s post on age appropriate dressing.
- Duchesse on Personal Style at 80
- Great Vogue video on personal style
And finally, in lieu of a fashion lab, a question:
Would an 80 year old be fabulous or frumpy in this Boden dress? What about you? (What about me?)
Thanks for linking to me, my whole blog is about this theme.
Boden dress could look good, depends on accessories, At 80, she could wear a triple strand necklace or soft chiffon scarf, as the neckline will not be as taut as this model’s. The sleeves are a good length.
I’ve ordered- and returned- from Boden several times. Crappy quality for the price, poor finishing\, shirts cut too short for my torso. And furious to have to pay postage from UK to Canada b/c they will not fullfill orders from their US store.
If the dress fits the 80-year-old’s body type, I don’t see a problem.
But I kind of think — this isn’t a hugely well-formed opinion — that if one has always dressed modestly, there isn’t a lot of reason to change one’s fundamental style with age, other than to accommodate changes in body shape. My mother, in her 60s and aging gracefully rather than trying to look like a 30-year-old, looks great in roughly the same “classic” items that she’s always worn. It’s the more extreme trends from the 1970s that she’d have trouble pulling off now, since the liveliest clothing of that era called for the body of a 23-year-old.
Duchesse – thanks for the info on Boden fit. Too short in the torso is a major problem for me with a number of brands in this style segment.
Wende – like hot pants and go-go boots? 😉
Mom – have you checked out Duchesse’s blog, http://www.passagedesperles.blogspot.com/? Since you are currently cleaning out your closet, you might find it illuminating. Also, what about adopting Wende’s mom’s approach of wearing classic looks from the 70s (and even earlier)?
Somehow it seems to me that the looks of the 80s and 90s have not had enough time yet to become classic, at least for a person in their 60s.
I just plain don’t like this dress for anybody. For an 80 year old, it’s the classic little old
lady from Pasadena look. Maybe she’s got spunk and would smack you with her cane.
I don’t wear Boden and half the time find the looks too precious. I really don’t like their
overly gay exploded prints, either.
Much older than 80, but I love John McCain’s mother’s style. She looks energetic to me or
conveys somehow the energy, determination and headstrong quality I read she always had.
It’s a good idea with the sketches, some bloggers do that and often it’s much more interesting than Polyvore:
http://www.garancedore.fr/en/2009/05/26/trop-facile-2/
I don’t know anything about Boden, but I would wear that dress! 🙂 I’m not sure I’ve ever met a polka dot I didn’t like. hehehe.
If I was still good enough bodily form to wear it at 80, I probably would. Since I’ve never been 80, I can say for certain. 😉
Not sure if the shape would suit an 80 year old! I think that often some more structured clothes look better on an older body.
Thanks for the link!
Can’t wait to see your illustrations – I so wish I could draw!
I know the illustrations will be great.
As to the dress on an 80 year old: I spent some time with our ex-neighbor (LP) recently and I think she could wear that dress. I (not yet 80) would be frumpy. You could wear the cut; I’m not so sure about blue and the polka dots. I do agree that the arm length is flattering on most people of ‘age’.
I read and viewed the links. Did you happen to notice the “elongated” look and related comments in Imogen’s “Ageless Styling” wardrobe? While every woman in the video link could wear those items; I don’t think anybody in this town could.
It is also a bit confusing to have one ‘expert’ say: find your style and stick to it; while another says to throw out anything you’ve had over 7 years.
EV – thanks for leaving the link to that lovely blog!
Imogen – you probably could learn to draw, but I don’t know when you’d find the time. Besides that, what you are doing is working so well – why change?
Mom – I would definitely look good in the blue and small, regular polka dots. As long as the effect came off fun, rather than traditional, it would work with my idiom. But 3/4 sleeves aren’t my favorite.
About the elongated look: Polyvore creates a long, skinny look; they don’t allow you to choose different sizes of each garment, as far as I know. When using internet merchant’s pictures, all we have available to us is the size they show. It’s possible, I suppose, that Imogen puts her tops and bottoms together in a way that more closely resembles a person with long legs and short torso.
Also I think I heard that normally fashion illustrations are done with a 9 head-length body. Normal proportions are 8 head lengths (not sure what Barbie is). I would like to do something more realistic.
It’s true that a person in your community who wore what was fashionable in the rest of the world might not be understood or respected, which I learned the hard way when we moved there directly from Europe back in the 70s. But I don’t think there’s anything too crazy in Imogen’s polyvore.
*chuckle* Conflicting advice can be confusing. IMO, the way to reconcile this one is not to buy more than you can wear out in 7 years. 😉
I should probably clarify, in case my mom reads this blog too — it’s not that her classics are from the 1970s, it’s that some items (like basic jeans and a well-fitting sweater) are so classic that it’s been possible to get them in roughly the same form the whole time.
On the other hand — for no really good reason, I was looking at old Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries episodes from 1977, and some of the clothes are looking pretty darned good again.
Good clarification. I didn’t think she was still wearing clothes from the ’70s, but it could have been misunderstood.
Have you watched the contemporary Nancy Drew movie from a couple of years ago? I watched that with one of my daughters recently and absolutely LOVED the costumes worn by Nancy and her dad. Some of the skirts were too short, but I agree there’s stuff from back then that is looking good to me today. (There were a few other problems with the authenticity of the characters, but over-all I enjoyed the movie. I am not too familiar with the tv series, but I grew up on the books.)
Google Image: Noel Neill 87
You’re going to be amazed. Remember her, the first Lois Lane on the old Superman TV show?
Very PRETTY and girlish at 87. Still recognizable, too. WoW, I was blown away. There are some great looking women in their 80’s of all different styles but I hadn’t seen one I would call pretty.