By the time our mothers were 40 years old they seemed old. And I don't think it was just because we were young. They dressed differently than young people did, they wore their hair differently, and they did different things for fun. I think it's interesting that has seemed to change over the last generation or two.
Granted, not many people look as good as Demi Moore at 47, but today it's not uncommon at all to see women in their 40's and 50's wearing the same clothes, shoes, and hairstyles as young people. Almost all of them wear blue jeans, which is something my mother never did.
Perhaps it started with the hippies and flower children of the 60's. They decided not to get old. My boss, who is in her late fifties, still rides a Harley, and if she's not at work she is wearing jeans and a t-shirt. My good friend Miss M wears funky boots and a beautiful handmade scarf with her winter coat, that has peace symbols all over it. She's 57.
I'm 46, and it's not unusual at all to find me standing down front at an AC/DC concert, banging my head with all the other old people (and a few young ones)!
From where I sit, there are upsides and downsides to this. On the upside, people are living longer, and they are having more fun in their lives. They don't seem so stuffy, and they are more apt to stay in tune with younger people. It's not unusual for women to be good friends with much younger women.
On the downside, many of us want to continue to treat our bodies the same way we did when we were twenty. Often, we don't eat right or excercise. Soft drinks are more common than water or milk. Fast food is more common than a home cooked meal. Maybe this was fine when our bodies really were 20, but not such a good idea as we age.
Somewhere in the middle, I've noticed people refer to a lot of 40 and even 50 somthing's as "girls" instead of "ladies" or "women"; a title which commands less respect, particularly in the workplace.
I'm not condoning or condeming this shift in the way things have evolved, merely noting the observation. A 40 something woman can look good in "young" clothes, as long as she respects her limitations on bare arms, legs, and midriffs (people don't want to see wrinkles and flab). And I think a young, fresh hairstyle is good for everyone. However we choose to dress or wear our hair, we need to look our best and live our best life at any age.
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