Feeling frumpy and old

Well, if it's any consolation I'm 71 and living in skinny jeans and boots. Haven't worn heels for a decade.

Get your hairdresser to blend in your grey roots with highlights then one day you'll realise you don't need them any more.

Hat's are cool.

Just be you. Glam is overrated.

My mum looked good till she died at 92. Flat shoes but better than tottering?

Simply robell trousers fab and available online. Different lengths and widths.

I know exactly how you feel 1mm6. Like you, I always felt quite happy with my appearance; cut and coloured hair every 6 weeks; well manicured nails; always wore make up and updated it regularly so that I wasn't stuck in a rut. Never a slave to fashion but I was frequently complimented on what I was wearing. But this last 12 months have seen a real decline. No matter how my hair is cut and styled, it always look bushy and dry and lacklustre. Make up is getting harder and harder to get right and I frequently don't bother these days. And I seem to wear the same clothes day in, day out. Lost my mo jo and need a complete overhaul I think.

It's just the time of year! When spring comes you will feel much better.

No matter how my hair is cut and styled, it always look bushy and dry and lacklustre
My hair has got drier and tends to stick out in the wrong direction but I found if I use a little Argan oil on it before I wash it rather than afterwards it does tame it down a bit. I don't do it every time I wash it though.

Ive tried somany oils, serums and conditioners Jalima and it's made no difference. I've got masses of hair anyway and the last thing I need is for it to be coarse and dry as well. It looks like stuffing sticking out of a sofa most days lately! And I could really do without that white, 2" long hair, that grows at a 90 degree angle out of my right eyebrow. Moustache will be next......

I have just acquired a very cheap hair straightener and it is brilliant. I use it very sparingly and only after a hair wash. My hair is long with a bit of a kink and it tends to just fly out ad lib, but the straightener makes it look like normal hanging hair. Very pleased with it.

That's the reason I keep my hair short!
As for the eyebrows - one side seems to grow more white hairs than the other, so when I pluck them out I look lop-sided!

Thanks for this thread - feel much better now I know it's not just me wearing the frumpy and old badge.

Frumpy and old badge?

That's no way to look at it.

I'm embracing my inner pensioner.
Its lovely.
Big knickers.
Grey hair.
Flat shoes.
Hairy legs.
Its a totally effortless look.

It does sneak up on you doesn’t it?
Like you I thought I looked pretty good for my age until I caught sight of this dumpy old dear in a shop window.
Sucking the tummy in made no difference(tummy, where’s that?) and the silver hair was looking less Christine Lagarde and more Norah Batty.
Only Solution? Stop wearing my glasses out of doors I fear.

I tint my eyebrows to get rid of the grey stragglers and wear a decent quality legging with ankle boots and longish tops on casual days .For work days its a dress with opaque tights and decent shoes .I get my hair dyed every 6 weeks or so and use a root treatment in btween times and I'm religious about skincare .I do have friends who think I'm bonkers because I refuse to get/look old and I tell them that just because I'm a granny doesn't mean I have to look like a granny did when I was young .Everyone is different though so I wouldn't expect you to do what I do but you could try the eyebrow tint as nothing is more aging than white brows

It takes a lot of effort to look half decent as you get older, so I look after my skin, moisture wise and buy good foundation and bronzers. I won't even leave the house without a bit of bronzer and lip gloss and when I go out socially, I always wear makeup, very subtle, more Is less as they say.
I'm booked in every six weeks at the hairdressers for cut and colour, with low lights and high lights and hair layered to shoulder length.
I call in when I'm passing the Brow Bar in a local shopping centre and have my brows threaded.
I keep up to date fashion wise without going over the top, so I wear slim leg jeans and trousers with tunic tops and ankle boots.
I sometimes check with my Daughter and Granddaughters, if I've bought something new, if it's ok for me age wise and they always say that it looks great. In fact they say, "Gran you look totally amazing!"
I trained them well....?

I must just add that if I'm staying in all day and letting it all hang out, as they say, I am unrecognizable from the above description and look every one and probably more of my years.
I like to think of my upkeep as painting the Forth bridge.
Never ending!

This hankering after a youthful appearance seems almost like a medieval superstition to me. People used to seek the Elixir of Youth. It seems many still do. It’s some sort of fear.

There is nothing wrong with looking older. You will, however hard you try not to. Accept it, look as nice as you can for your age but don’t try too hard. I see so many women with aging faces but young hair!

I think it's worse for those women who were very pretty when young. It's difficult to see your looks disappearing, but even film stars can't escape the effects of age. All we can do is make the best of it. One thing I hate to see is older women trying to look young by wearing the latest fashions which are not always suitable for the older lady. I'm 70 now but have kept myself slim, and never smoked, so look ok at a distance! I don't bother about fashions, I wear the clothes I like and which suit my lifestyle.

Mawbroon
1mm6 the first things would suggest is that you go to a good hairdresser and ask their advice. A good haircut really lifts the face. Then, you could embrace the grey, using a blue shampoo once or twice a week to keep it looking silvery and shiny, or have it coloured. Flat boots are great: nothing more ageing than tottering and falling over. There are so many different designs now- look at Hotter, and Pikolinos ( the only boots I buy now- comfortable straight out of the box.) Well cut jeans in black, grey or a dark indigo wash always look good. I like Whistles and M&S. Try shops like Cos and Zara for tops. Finally, go to a department store cosmetics counter of your choice and ask them to show you some different lipsticks, based on your colouring and lip shape. And finally finally, don’t let your age define you!

The best thing I ever did was stop dying my hair. I now have silver, grey and blond highlights you woul pay a fortune for. I keep it short as it is naturally wavy. I like to look good and never go out without a little makeup. The hairs in my eyebrows, however go in all directions and curl! And as for those hairs on my upper lip which grow an inch in a day....

I know what you mean but as my 90+ Mil says, the alternative to getting old is worse.
My advice: find a new hairdresser, a really good one. I think hairdressers go on automatic pilot after a while and you need a morale boost.
New shoes: flat needn't be ugly and as Hillary Clinton once said: you can change your hair and shoes - the bit between is harder.
I play badminton with younger women and yesterday they were all grumbling about their aches and pains but also their teenage DC. I was relieved to be past that stage and not yet at it withe DGC!
Count your blessings especially your health and look forward to the spring.

MissA
I'm embracing my inner pensioner.
Its lovely.
Big knickers.
Grey hair.
Flat shoes.
Hairy legs.
Its a totally effortless look ?

Love this post! I’m thinking of adopting that look MissA I might add in a walking stick just to drive the message home.

How I laughed at Buffybee's comment about painting the Forth Bridge! Thanks everyone. Some great advice here. I agree about the eyebrows. Since I started using an eyebrow brush I've realised the difference it makes. I hark back to the days when I didn't have to make any effort. Now it's such hard work! When I tell people my age, nobody looks surprised any more so I know something needs to be done! I think I have to spend more money on hair and clothes though I'd rather spend it on days out and grandchildren. That's definitely a sign of getting old!

This is going to sound just daft. When I see recent photos of myself, I look wider than I ever did before! I seem to be spreading out sideways!

MissA ??
I totally rock that look.