Does anyone look back at old photos and think "Actually ......." ?

Oh yes. I was tall, slim, the shape for mini skirts and hot pants in the 60s and 70s. I rarely went anywhere without being chatted up. As a friend said to me recently 'You used to be stunning didn't you?' I wasn't sure how to take that!

Yes, I recently looked at a photo of myself as a youngish woman, (early 30s) and thought I looked good then, much better than I remember ever thinking at the time.

I too had an 18 inch waist when I was sixteen - to hear my mother you would have thought it was my only good feature.

Waist long gone, but my eyes remained looking nice until quite recently when thyroid trouble kicked in.

One thing is that young girls never think they look nice, but we, their older relations, could and should do a lot more to point out their good points to them and bite our tongues before mentioning anything that strikes us as less fortunate.

My mother used to say 'no-one will get off a galloping horse to look at you' which did not help my self esteem.
She was always super critical of me and she was gorgeous. My father adored her - I felt like the ugly duckling.
I am now told I look like my mum but I still do not believe it.

It really is one area that the --phrase "be kind" is appropriate, as sugary as it sounds.
Kind to others, and kind to ourselves.

Mostly I think “OMG I had an 18 inch waist!”

My mother had it all worked out, I was the 'intelligent' one who would get a good job in the City, and stay at home to look after her. My sister was the pretty one who was going to give her grandchildren.
I fled home to a job the other side of the country and married the only man who showed any interest in me. This was a mistake, but I never knew I could be attractive. ( At least till after I got divorced and found that even at an advanced age that was possible )

MissAdventure

I bumped into one of my nearly mother in laws a while back.
She is very late 80s, still drives, cooks, keeps her home and garden beautiful, and herself well maintained.
Her first words were "Oh, look at me! Still as fat as I ever was."
It quite upset me to think that it's still so prevalent in her thinking.

My MIL had curvature of the spine plus all the usual age related problems that affect your image.
All she could talk about was how fat she was (she was thin , not as a rake but..)
Thus was in the 80's before so much emphasis on BMI ect.

I think women are the worst critics of other women.
I've often asked a man what 'so and so's' new girlfriend is like, and they're hard pushed to describe them.
"Oh well, she's got hair..."
"Long or short?"
"Erm, sort of middle length I think..."

My Mother was obsessed with my weight and me being 'left on the shelf'
What was it all about?

Most young girls are body conscious, some go to extreme lengths to change how they look, I used to envy my sister who was slimmer. I’ve never been more than average in “looks” there are advantages in that, I don't attract the wrong men. As I got older I realized that personality counted much more than super slim looks

I bumped into one of my nearly mother in laws a while back.
She is very late 80s, still drives, cooks, keeps her home and garden beautiful, and herself well maintained.
Her first words were "Oh, look at me! Still as fat as I ever was."
It quite upset me to think that it's still so prevalent in her thinking.

Same here. I hated my nose but I realise now that in a lovely fresh plump face it’s hardly noticeable. Dieting even as a teenager when I really didn’t have to. Like Tanith settled for the first boyfriend, guess I was worried I wouldn’t get another, in my case too it was a disaster, apart from my sons. So let’s learn the lesson and accept ourselves as we are now, wrinkles and all!

We're educated by our surroundings to judge and compare with the 'perfect' images of women around us.
It's the same for those women in those images.
It must be worse now with all the selfies.

I think of all the years I thought I was fat.
When I look at myself now, I know what fat really is.

Oh I do too
I used to feel so ugly and think I was awful and when I look at my photos I really looked so pretty and dressed gorgeously lovely blonde hair and long tanned legs Why did I never see this and why did I always feel grateful if a boy noticed me
My friends often tell me I look good now but I still don’t see it when I look in the mirror

Yes, me too.

When I was young I thought I was ugly. Now I realise I was lovely.

Yes - I was quite slim and pretty but didn't appreciate it. As they say, youth is wasted on the young. On the other hand I may look pretty good now at 71 to my future 90 year old self! Just saying - don't make the same mistake again now!

Oh completely !! We used to have a fun thing on last day of the sixth form when I was teaching which included a PowerPoint with teachers when younger…. Oh my goodness the wolf whistles!

My DIL gave me a photo of my twin GD its like looking at myself a lifetime ago. I was one of six girls and the only one with red curly hair and freckles and hated it. I was pretty with dimples but could not see it.
I spent my youth trying to change it straighten it or dye it. Now my hair is snowy I wish it was how it was!

Yes I used to hate looking at photos of myself because I thought I looked awful. Now I think I looked so slim and pretty and can't understand why those photos used to depress me.

Absolutely, never know why I settled for the first boyfriend I ever had which apart from my lovely children was a disaster. I had low self esteem too and didn’t think anyone would want me but oh to look like that now ?

Yes, I see such different things in photos of myself to what I saw back when they were taken.