Clothes for ladies of a certain age

When I was young and going to the Mecca Locarno on a Saturday night, we always wore lovely dresses, mine also was black velvet, boat neck and very form fitting, I also wore Lurex and chiffon. Those were the days when we got dressed up to go out with our boyfriends who always wore suits, not like the scruffy lads of today. The girls still get all dolled up but never the boys.

Sounds very much like me, bless her. We were teenagers of the late 50's and 60's and I bet she wore those flared dresses with net underskirts and 4 ins heels. I wish I had saved all my clothing from that era. I bet she could jive as well.

Both my parents loved clothes. Dad didn't stand a chance with a all femail household he always wore what he was given, he never went shopping. Mum always looked great, unlike my darling old Nan who wore a pinny over a pinny.

I always remember my mother coming down the stairs to go to a special event with Dad dress in a sleek black velvet classic dress with her blonde hair up, looking stunning she looked like a more shapely Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's she looked beautiful.
As she got older she never gave up her style.
Please to say my sister and I have inherited that gene.

Actually my mum kept up with fashion and always looked good she wore trousers that were fashionable or dresses, painted her beautiful nails, and changed hair colours regularly
My mums mum was also quite within fashion for her period however my dads mum was a slippers and overall lady and I never saw her dressed up always in kitchen clothes mind you I never saw her go out either

My mother's clothes didn't really vary much, whereas I wear a real mixture of styles.

There are photos around showing me (80), DDiL (55) and DGD (16), all wearing almost exactly the same clothes, leggings, sweaters, the difference being that they are wearing DMs and I am merely wearing clumpy shoes.

I'm looking back at the clothes that Grandma wore in her seventies - actually some very nice dresses .
But she wore rigid corsets underneath .
She called them stays .
They were boned and had thick shoulder straps .
They were always a white or a beige colour or a nasty shade of pink .
These corsets took some selecting as Grandma used to spent hours looking at brochures .
I recall her buying some from Miss Mary of Sweden .
Then , came the corset washing .
This she would do very carefully by hand in the bath with Lux flakes .
Sometimes , she'd forget about them soaking in the bath when you wanted one .
My mother at the same age , having been incredibly fashion conscious for years suddenly wore a uniform of comfy polyester jumpers and matching trousers every day .
Her roll ons were abandoned .
I remember her saying that she'd let herself go .
With this new look came increasing agoraphobia and eventually I couldn't get her out of the house without a great deal of persuasion .

As for me , I wear the same style of dress that one of my daughters wears .
I sometimes wear the fifties vintage look complete with big net petticoats .
I have many Muslim friends and wear shalwar kameez if invited to one of their parties .
I also like shorter kimonos with plain tops and trousers .

I occasionally try shapewear , but find it uncomfortable .
But in the winter , I admit to wearing very casual hoodies and tracksuits , because I'm just too cold .
I do have some beautiful winter frocks and coats , but the weather is defeating me .
I certainly look forward to warmer days to enjoy my wardrobe .

Desdemona. I’d love to meet your Mum, she sounds fabulous.

I met a lady of almost 90 some years ago and asked her what music she listened to and she said “the vengaboys” who were dance/electronic stars. She was a scream. 🤣

My mum was a professional dressmaker and made most of her own clothes. She mostly wore dresses until she was in her 80s, when she wore trousers with lovely colourful blouses and shirts. I remember once when I was visiting them my Dad, who was a bit of a grump at the time, said to her "I don't like that blouse, it's too garish", and I couldn't help it and said to him, "Well, don't wear it then!"

I wear comfortable, clean clothes that fit the occasion. If I am gardening then jeans and sweatshirts/T shirts depending on the weather. If I'm going out for lunch with friends or family then more fitted trousers (I've never liked skirts or dresses) and a nice top. For childminding duties, something that will wash well to get the paint/glue/food stains out!

My mother-in-law age 9o has some slightly stretchy jeans with some tiny diamanté on the hip and back pockets.

My mum tended to wear those awful crimplene dresses and never ever wore trousers!

My mother loved anything colourful, she loved buying clothes, even when she was in the nursing home , if they had a clothes sale , she would always treat herself and if it was colourful / sparkly it got her vote. She died 7 years ago at 95.

Combat trousers
Sweatshirt
Trainers
For me in the Winter

Shorts
T-shirts
Dresses
In the Summer

My Mum definitely doesn’t approve of what I wear.
I’m 57
Mum 81 - she’s very much twin set & pearls and has always been the same. Also, has best clothes and my Dad has to have a matching handkerchief with his clothes. Just recently she made him change his clothes to go to the Doctors!!
Definitely old before her time

Aveline

Hmmm. As long as you're comfortable that's OK.
However, I remember a dear colleague at work who deplored what he called 'Carrion dressed as mutton'. Made me think.

That’s a good saying. I’m mid-80s and I wear whatever draws attention away from my bad points. Never sleeveless/short sleeves, as aging upper arms are not good, and never anything too young for me. I go for simple, wearable elegance!

Since retiring 18 months ago I live and die in jeans and jumpers in the winter, with ankle boots or sketchers and in the hot weather floaty hippy dresses and sandals. My mum wouldn’t have cared what I wore. In later years she just wore what she was comfy in.

Hmmm. As long as you're comfortable that's OK.
However, I remember a dear colleague at work who deplored what he called 'Carrion dressed as mutton'. Made me think.

My mum is 94 and tells me I dress rather frumpy and tries to give me fashion advice!

She likes wearing tight black leggings, leather jackets and boots. I like long skirts (the current denim maxi skirts suit me especially as I don't have to bother shaving my legs!) For tops I like v neck jumpers this time of year. Ballet pumps or open front trainers for comfort (used to love heels but no more.)

I remember my nan who passed away in the seventies. She was only in her mid sixties when she died and I don't think I ever saw her without one of those wrap around pinnies on. The rare occasions she left the house she always put on a hat.


I like

My Mum lived to nearly 97 and was stylish until the end. She loved clothes and fashions but was not able to afford much for herself when she still had children at home. In later years when she got her pension I made her buy things for herself and bought her a lot too.

A few years before she died she saw some soft leather ankle boots and we went in to ask how much they were and she nearly collapsed when she was told £125. I persuaded her to buy them and she absolutely got so much comfort and pleasure from them they were worth every penny.

I am usually happiest in tunics and good quality organic leggings not those hideous tight things and I like clothes by Masai, Gudrun Sjoden and a few others whose names escape me just now. I also like casual dresses in unusual prints.

I wear jeans. Washable clothing, easy, nice enough with jackets.

I've tasks that make jeans best, dog walking, cooking/serving, many days child minding or driving, voluntary work at Church (teaching life skills and cooking), gardening - jeans are always appropriate, imo.

Mum wasn't a fan of anything without a skirt. She was incredibly slim and stylish, would've looked chic in a bin bag. Apart from the fact that jeans weren't part to the time back then, she'd like them now I reckon.

So many people assume that confort and style cannot go together. I have never been prepared to be uncomfortable in clothes or shoes and my aim has always been to be stylish.

What was your mum wearing Sallywally1?

I wear whatever I feel most comfy in - which usually means leggings and a loose sweatshirt or jumper of some kind. My mother never approved of what I wore in any case.
Maybe we should all take a leaf out of Iris Apfel's book (see other thread) and wear what we like - she had her own very flamboyant style right up until her death at the grand old age of 102!

I am the third, and rather inadequate member of a stylish family..

A saying of my grandmothers has got passed down the generations, when some one chided her because something she was wearing wasn't fashionable (yet), she turned round and said: 'I do not follow fashion, I set it'.

As a child, I was always being told how well dressed my mother was, so elegant, the subtext being, how did she end up with a daughter like you?

My lovely DiL and GD always insist I am very stylish, I feel it is all more hit and miss, I like colour, wear jeans, cords, big sweaters, and a discrete touch of bling.

However 16 year old DGD is her great great grandma incarnate, she has the looks, she hasthe flair, she has the same nimble fingers that means she can restyle and embellish clothes to taste and loves charity shops.

I used to wear dresses for work but since my recent retirement I’ve mostly stuck to jeans or jeggings and a sweater, with ankle boots, upgrading to smart trousers and a jacket for going out. Comfort over style, perhaps. My mother at the same age rarely wore trousers until she got older (80+) but always smart ones. When going out my mother always wore lipstick- whilst if I only wear one bit of makeup it would be blusher or mascara. My mother and I were similar colouring and shapes, but mum was taller so suited slightly different styles to those that suit me.

Think my lovely Mum would be pleased and impressed with my current dress mode as I was with hers in days gone by. Smart, clean and co-ordinated was her mantra.