Are we looking younger than our mothers/grandmothers did at the same age?

I think anyone dressing "too young" years ago would have that delightful Mutton Done Up As Lamb saying applied to them
Of course, times have moved on now, in all but the most antiquated corners...

I was 80 this year …. When I said I’d had a “big” birthday they looked genuinely shocked when I said it was my 80th😊…. Maybe they thought it was my 90th!!😳😂

knspol to a child or teenager anyone over 25 is over the hill!
‘‘twas ever the case…. I was the same and my mum had me at 40 odd.

I really did think she was so much older when compared with our more trendy looking short skirted ( female) teachers at junior school and some other kids parents were in fact much younger but not all by any means.

There were a lot of late or “unexpected” offspring in my schools cohort.

I still think that many women then did have a certain homogeneous older woman style at a relatively young age.

My paternal grandmother was a white haired old lady, complete with floral pinny. I remember being shocked to discover she was 57 when she died! My maternal granny was always an old lady, grey hair in a bun, black or ‘lavender’ clothes, and certainly never any makeup. I think she may have been 70 when she died.

I guess I must be as my mother died at 64 and I’m now a few days short of 82 ……can’t say more than that!

Firstly I think dental health wasn’t even on the radar for the majority in the UK until the set up of the NHS. Even those who were better off were quite oblivious. Compare that to now…” Turkey teeth” and all those blinding white social media smiles!

But although Dental services on the NHS were always problematic now they have regressed and soon may vanish.

Secondly: “women’s problems” are dealt with quicker now with less embarrassment and more knowledge.
…and more domestic appliances equals less physical toil and drudgery.

IMO the horrid fashion ( think it was emulating our late Queen and other celebs) for wearing headscarves did no favours for even younger women. And their partner in crime the the blue/mauve rinses, shampoo and set or tight perm

Though always fashionable, it contributed to a stereotypical image.

I * am*talking about the 1960s here though specifically.
Definitely my Mum appears younger in the photos taken from the mid 70s onward.

One of my mum’s carers recently mentioned that she thought my sisters and I were in our 40’s and when asked how old she thought Mum was she said 70’s. Mum laughed and told her that she was nearly 90 and that all her children were in their 60’s. Which amused us all greatly even though my younger sister isn’t quite there yet - one month to go! 😂

A lot has to do with genes. I am 83 but many are surprised and would put me in my late 60s - thank you Ma. I wear whatever clothes I like, sling back espadrilles in Summer and heels in Winter when "going out". I try to walk three miles a day too. Wat we eat has a lot to do with his we age, yesterday I had my monthly hair cut, the hairdresser said !" I can tell you have a healthy diet your hair is so strong for your age"

Do you think maybe WE think we look younger but the young people of today probably still think we look like a load of old frumps? Just s thought.

Sadly the women on my mother's side of the family all died before they reached the age that I am now (75, in case you're interested). I have always tried to look co-ordinated colourwise unless I am working in the garden!

Neither my mother nor my grandmother lived to be my age but I have inherited their youthful looks.

Definitely!

....at the time of the photo she would have been late 30s early 40s but looked about 60-70!

I had one very stylish grandmother who died at 50. My other grandmother wore aprons, slippers and the pink corsets. She loved wearing flowery hats on special occasions. She raised seven children after my grandfather died at the age of 40 and lived to 85. She was definitely the head of the family. Life was difficult with very little money. My mother loved fashionable clothes and was always well dressed as a young woman. After marriage and four children, life was hard. She died aged 70. As a child of the 1960s, I have always loved fashion. I am 73 now and like to think I can still be stylish in spite of weight gains etc. I still somehow have kept my brown hair. My daughter has no interest in fashion so shopping trips together are rare.

Genes and outlook on life. I was lucky to have a very stylish mother till the day she died. Great skin as did my gran,thankfully I'm the same. My mum and gran had literally no wrinkles and I'm the same at 68..no wrinkles. My mum nor gran let themselves 'go' never fuddy duddy old lady clothes but lovely appropriate and classy. Mum wore a lot of Phase 8 and lovely M&S Per Una etc. She was always referred to as a 'lovely classy lady'. Very proud of both my mum and maternal gran,2 great role models, and still miss them both very much.

Looking at photos of my paternal Grandmother, I would say she looked old compared to my Mother and myself at the sane age. It was a photo taken when I was just walking and she looked round and frumpy, an apron
on and with tightly permed hair. She was a wealthy woman and could have looked really smart. At the

Don't mind looking my age as long as I don't look older. Think I've succeeded so far.
far

I wish I did. It was only in the last year of her life that mum looked 'old'. She died last year aged 84. My kids always said she reminded them of the lady out of Disneys Aristocats film. Very upright and gently spoken.

I like to think I look younger than my age and my mum always looked good too. She had lovely soft facial skin which I'm delighted to have inherited - I hope it lasts!!

My mum used to have a shampoo and set every week and whilst she was glamorous the fashion then wasn’t very complimentary . We definitely look younger than our mothers a professor said recently the 60s is the new 50 due to health nutrition and we take more care of our skin than our mothers did. I’m often mistaken for being younger than 68.

My mother's younger sister dated a GI (American serviceman) during the war. When she saw photos of his mother and aunties she thought they must all be movie stars! They were so groomed, elegant and youthful looking and so very far from the frumpy 50 year olds here in the UK. Admittedly they were a comfortably off family but even so. Sadly the GI in question was killed in action but I still have the photos and I must admit, compared to women in the UK at the time the difference is quite staggering.

Yes, I think that we 70 + GNetters have benefitted from NH orange juice and dentistry.
Your post resonated with me, Grannynanny, as my paternal grandmother died fairly young, possibly related to raising thirteen children on a limited income.
It's no surprise that she looked old and frumpy in photographs of my parents' wedding. She was in her late fifties at the time.

I think I look about the same as my Mum did at 70. Looking back at my 2 grandmothers they were as different as chalk and cheese.

Paternal Gm lived in a large UK city and worked in a millinery shop till age 70. Always dressed well in crimplene suits and a matching dressy hat. She never left home without her large earrings, bracelets etc. I remember a neighbour saying to my Mum “I thought that was the Queen mother walking up your path today” 😆

My maternal Gm was of a similar age but I don’t remember her as anything other than a worn out elderly woman when we visited them every summer in rural Ireland. When she was in her early 50s she looked 70+.

By the time she was in her early 30’s she’d had 9 children . All of them crammed into a small thatched farmhouse cottage with 2 rooms and a kitchen with a huge open fire where all the cooking and breadmaking was done. No running water or sanitation. My Mum and her siblings all had to help on the farm before and after school. I have a photo of her in her mid 20’s and she looks more like 45. It makes sad to look at it. Such a hard life.

petra

My mother was very stylish. She was the first person to colour my hair and pluck my monobrow ( Frida Kahlow had nothing on me) 😂
Back in time when smoking was the norm she smoked Sobranei cocktail cigarettes when her and my father went out at the weekend. The colours fascinated me.

When I was at school we had a joint sixth form ball with the two boys' schools every summer.

We always had a new maxi dress (my Mum made mine) and we'd swap the Sobrani Cocktail cigarettes around so we had the matching colour for our dresses. We also smoked them using a cigarette holder.

We smuggled vodka in our handbags and bought orange juice at the bar.

Happy days 🤣

My mum was 5ft 2inch she was a size 10 with a slim figure she did care very much about her appearance rather vain actually. She brought up eight children and worked various jobs. When dementia creeped up she became a totally different person it was heart breaking she was in her 90s when she died.
Both of my grans had small plump figures and had more children than my mum always wore wrap around pinafores like a uniform. They both did not work outside the home as my mum did they were paid for sewing both died in their early 70s.
I was the tallest of five girls and very slim when younger still not overweight I am well educated I worked until retirement over seven years ago. I don’t dye my hair not interested in impressing other people. I have some limited mobility because of arthritis but compared to my grans and mum when she was ill I am young at heart. I don’t sit by the tv or fire all day I am very active. If I sit my joints cease up so I don’t until evening time and I still study it keeps the mind active.