I'm not blowing my own trumpet here but...

Lexisgranny - now we all want yo see your fabulous shoes!

It's lovely to receive compliments and at the age of 72 I'm still vain enough to enjoy an appreciative glance or two.

I think many of us spent quite a lot of our lives wearing a uniform of sorts. For me it was school uniform (navy) and then corporate wear, either my employers uniform or some form of formal business dress, usually dark colours such as navy, black or grey, colours which do absolutely nothing for me. They drain me and they aways made me look old and tired. I always felt frumpy in my work clothes.

The joy of retirement is that you can please yourself. I no longer have to be constrained in my style choices, I can indulge myself and dress exactly how I please. It's liberating. I still tend to dress in fairly classic simple tailored styles because they suit my body shape but I now chose more flattering colours and fabrics. I do look more youthful in brighter colours and instead of dark neutrals such as black and navy for the basics I wear a lot of cream/camel/winter white. A lot more flattering for my skin tones and hair colouring.

Both my mum and my grandmother died at the age of 90 and both had beautiful skin, so I'm hopeful. 😉. Mum always told me to be careful in the sun and use moisturiser every day.

I did sunbathe a lot when I was young (without sunscreen😱). Luckily I don't think I've done too much damage because my skin looks ok. I've seen much worse. Luckily I've never smoked so I think that's helped. My skin is much dryer than it used to be so I now use lashings of industrial strength moisturiser.

And I tend to be more careful in the sun. 😉.

I think as we age paying more attention to grooming, skin care and dressing well pays dividends, plus of course moderate exercise, a good diet and good posture. Nothing is much aging than slouching and stooping.

And a nice warm friendly smile can light up the plainest face.

NotSpaghetti

Lexisgranny - now we all want yo see your fabulous shoes!

We certainly do!

I don’t get compliments often but can remember feeling flattered by a woman asking where I got my hair cut as it was a nice style. 🙎🏻
Shop assistants often ask where I buy my handbags as I have some nice ones (I think. Not expensive). 🎒

Yes, just this week. Walking down the road in my favourite summer dress, a good hair day, and thinking happy thoughts. A woman walking towards me with her husband said, "I've been looking at you as you came towards us, thinking how lovely you look". I thanked her for the compliment particularly as it was my 83rd birthday. She said she was astonished. As I continued my walk home I came across a young girl who looked very sad. She had the most beautiful copper coloured hair and I stopped and told her how I loved her hair. Her thank-you-smile was glorious. It was just as nice to give that compliment as it was to receive.

Well said Lettice - I think one of the compensations of age is that we can pay compliments and nobody suspects any ulterior motive!
I rember while teaching I loved it if a kid said "You look nice Miss" or "I like your hair" etc but remember from my childhood that such compliments were viewed as personal remarks and deemed inappropriate.
But if it brings a smile to a face - it can't be bad

Lettice, I met a friend recently who said that as she’d walked towards me across the fields, she’d thought I looked like a teenager. She then spoilt it by saying “till I got close”.

My husband had a nice Complementary from our Handyman he was telling us about his dad who is 71 and I said o he's just.a couple of years older than DH then and he was genuinely shocked! He thought DH was in his 50s like the Handyman! The landlady of our local admired my shoes and said they looked comfortable so I ordered her a pair !

The gardener was amazed when he found out DHs age, luckily I wasn’t mentioned!

Many years ago I was the only person in the lift at work. A guy got in and complimented me on my appearance and lovely perfume. As he got out he said 'thank you for a lovely start to my day'
I've never forgotten it, what a good feeling it gave me.
Now I am retired, I shower, wash and blow dry my hair every morning. I wear makeup and nice clothes because it makes ME feel better.
I did it all throughout lockdown too.

Since I've retired I just don't care how I look. Not having to worry about squeezing into the correct clothes and shoes etc and plastering my face with expensive gunk has led to me looking much younger! Let yourselves go ladies!

I participated in a Pilates sample lesson taught by a friend during a summer festival in a nearby park last year. When it ended, 3 teenage girls came up to me and said “When we are older( or was it “old”?) we want to look just like you!”

A young woman in her 20s tapped me on the shoulder as we were standing in a bus queue a few months later and said something similar. This time, I did hear it correctly and she did say “older”! I am 73.

People actually asked how old you were? Only old people would be asked their age. Pretty patronising responses.

When I was in my 50s, I was waiting for the bus after work. A very handsome young man (around 35) came towards me and said 'Hello'. I sort of mumbled hello back. He said 'May I say how lovely you look?' I said 'Erm thank you'. He replied 'Not at all. Credit where credit's due. Have you got someone waiting for you at home?' I said 'Yes'. He said 'Well he's a very lucky man'.
When I told my husband, he said 'Weirdo'.

Creep

Kate, he doesn't sound weird or a creep. That sounds lovely!

Smarmy bugger then. Patronising *!

There is a woman who lives in our neighbourhood, a retired teacher, that I always admired for her appearance. Not necessarily a beauty, she has a certain grace about her. She has nice posture, lovely smile and always tidy looking.

A younger co-worker had her as a teacher, and one day said I reminded him of her. I was flattered by the comparison to such a lovely woman.

Well I floated home kitty. He was gorgeous.

Oh dear. Well as long as you were happy. I'd have given him a long cold stare. Can't bear patronising men.

On a holiday tour a couple of years ago,
2 ladies told me they called me the ‘effortlessly glamorous’ one. That was before they knew my name. Ha ha! but what a compliment! Husband still teases me about it. Makes me smile- guess they wouldn’t think that if they saw me in my usual gardening gear.

Aveline

Oh dear. Well as long as you were happy. I'd have given him a long cold stare. Can't bear patronising men.

A touch of the 🤢 eyed monster in your statement.

I'm not sure he was being patronising. That's assuming that in my 50s I looked like an old lady. I think I looked pretty good actually.

Kate1949

I'm not sure he was being patronising. That's assuming that in my 50s I looked like an old lady. I think I looked pretty good actually.

Good come back Kate! .... If you think you look pretty good then I am sure you do

Good for you Kate and all the other ladies who take pride in looking good.

I am 72 and I can still turn head and I love it!!! Why not.

I am a widow, I am not looking for a lover or to replace my husband. I've had a few offers since my husband died but so far I have graciously declined. Lol. I have white hair and people often refer to me as a silver fox.

Last year I went to a concert and a handsome guy in his 40s. Paid me attention, asking me to dance, flirting with me. Perhaps he should have gone to Specsavers or maybe he was wearing beer goggles or maybe he just has a thing for older women. Who cares, he was nice, respectful and good fun. I wasn't interested in taking things further although he made it obvious that he was quite keen. I just had a nice evening.

A couple of years ago I went on a cruise and I had two suitors......again I didn't choose either of them.

I'm a fussy madam. 😂🤣.

This morning I went shopping, no make up because in the summer my skin looks ok without it. I was freshly showered, hair washed and styled and wore a nice maxi dress (no tights needed with a long dress so was nice and cool). I looked nice and felt good, and again I got lots of smiles and good mornings from both men and women of all ages.

There's no need to be invisible just because you are older. And you don't need to look like mutton dressed as lamb.

We can look stylish at any age and it doesn't have to break the bank. My maxi dress today was £2 from a charity shop. 😂