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Style & beauty

Do you dress like your mum did at your age?

(143 Posts)
Yammy Wed 26-Jan-22 10:47:15

Yesterday's discussion about the colour purple set me thinking.
I compared myself to the way my mother dressed at my age.
Mum never owned a pair of Denims, never wore trousers until in a care home. Elasticated waist skirts which I probably would find more comfortable.
Minimum makeup lipstick and powder and Nivea cream. Sunday best clothes and wouldn't have entertained a pair of trainers or a fleece. Shoes always had a strap over them.
A visit to the hairdressers every Friday morning for a shampoo and set. No trends in specs and teeth had often completely gone in their 50's. Handbags were just that no shoulder bags.
I think I might have slipped into the comfort zone in the last two years but that includes denims and cords, tunics and trainers.
I watch fashion and makeup trends and with DD's aid try to move with the times. Chubby sticks for eyes and lips have appeared along with an eyebrow enhancer and a subtle blusher, not good old Max factor cream puff.
How about you?

Framilode Wed 26-Jan-22 18:48:41

My mum was so elegant. Most of her clothes came from Jaeger and when I told the staff she had died they cried. She had wonderful clothes and my sister in law and I split them between us after her death. I remember seeing her in the funeral parlour and looking at her nails which had been freshly manicured and painted. Her clothes were beautiful.
I am afraid I am not at all elegant and live in jeans.

GillT57 Wed 26-Jan-22 18:40:35

My late DM was always very well dressed but not twin sets and tweed. She either bought good quality clothes in sales (Jaeger, Windsmoor etc) or made her own very well. Latter years she wore Per Una linen trousers with coordinating layers, always looked smart. Light make up every day, perfume, earrings and she had an excellent hairdresser who cut her hair beautifully, rather like Judy Dench. Regrettably despite my best efforts I just cannot capture her casual comfortable elegance.

M0nica Wed 26-Jan-22 18:05:05

My mother was always an elegant dresser. All sorts of people who met her would comment on it (the unspoken message being. How did she end up with a scruff like you?)

To the end of her life she was wearing lacy underwer and nightdresses.

Do I dress like my mother? No. I have been told I am stylish, but that is not the same as elegant. I like rich colours, never wear black and my style drifts towards the Bohemian.

BladeAnnie Wed 26-Jan-22 17:01:15

My goodness I would hope not!! My mother is the twin set and pearls, shampoo and set type and she is always telling me to smarten myself up, act my age etc etc!! I'm jeans, leggings and long tops girl so I take no notice ??

Kim19 Wed 26-Jan-22 16:53:32

Yes I think I dress similarly to my lovely Mum but she was taller than me and carried off her outfits more impressively.

nanaK54 Wed 26-Jan-22 16:44:00

Dear goodness absolutely not, I am not a fan of crimplene grin

Sloegin Wed 26-Jan-22 16:37:19

My mother sadly died in 1975 at just 60 years old. She didn't buy many clothes but,when she did ,always good quality. As a country woman ( a farmer's wife) she tended to wear country clothes. I remembered she favoured Dak skirts Jacqumar wool blouses, Donegal tweed coats, a grey Jaeger suit and KSkip shoes. I think I only remember her buying two Donegal coats over the years so everything was bought to last. She was very slim but still wore corsets. Never wore trousers . She also never took to wearing tights. I'm in my 70s, wear trousers most of the time and favour the styles of clothes from Toast, Seasalt or Oska.

Kate1949 Wed 26-Jan-22 16:02:54

Definity not. My mum was very fat. She wore those wrap over pinnies and a turban in the house. She never went anywhere apart from the shops. She never wore make up, heels or jewelry. I am the opposite.
She was downtrodden. I remember going to a friend's on a Saturday night. Her mum and dad used to go out dancing. Her mum would come downstairs I a lovely 1950s style dress with long gloves. I was fascinated. How different from my home life!

Serendipity22 Wed 26-Jan-22 15:43:55

Sarnia

The bit about vets made me chuckle because when i was about 50 my mum said to me Do you still wear a vest?"
I said "Mum !! I havent worn a vest since i was about 10." hahahahahaha.

This thread is brilliant, some fabulous memories.

Serendipity22 Wed 26-Jan-22 15:38:44

Nope, i dont dress like my mum, never have, my mum also never dressed like her mum ( my gran ) who was a farmers wife, so wellies were worn on a daily occurrence.

I remember my mum having an endless amount of shoes, always saying "I could do with a new pair of shoes." ....and me thinking How many do you need ?? hahahaha.

I remember going clothes shopping for a trip to San Francisco when i was 16 ( the underlying reason my mum and dad paid for me jetting to San Francisco was in the hope i would forget allllll about the b/f i had at the time, who I later married but that belongs on the other thread*) and my mum told the shop assistant that she couldnt hear herself think with the *ridiculously loud piped music ringing around the shop and she pulled unnecessarily hard on each item of clothing i said i liked hahahaha she said everything was shoddy.

So no , we most certainly didnt dress alike and neither did my mum and her mum.

smilesmilesmile

Grannybags Wed 26-Jan-22 14:49:25

Yes I do. My Mum was born in 1914 and lived in trousers once she married and left home.

Her Mother told her she would be cut off without a shilling if she wore trousers! (Not that she had any shillings to give her anyway!)

Sarnia Wed 26-Jan-22 14:48:15

I must confess to having bought 2 vests this winter. I haven't worn vests since childhood but my Mum wore them all her life. I can almost hear her sigh of approval and her telling me to tuck them well in to keep my kidneys warm.

GagaJo Wed 26-Jan-22 14:42:12

My mum was very glamorous at the age I am now. Quite unlike me. The best I could say about my appearance on a very good day, is that I'm slightly less scruffy than usual.

luluaugust Wed 26-Jan-22 14:36:40

My mum was always smart, she usually wore skirts and blouses but not trousers until she joined an exercise class in her sheltered accommodation when she was around eighty. Up until her sixties she made a lot of her clothes and even took the hems up a little during the mini era. Later in life she had a great time going through catalogues and picking outfits which didn't get a lot of wear. I wear trousers and all kinds of tops most days, I have two skirts but don't like them on me. I will wear a dress during the Summer but not the sort you can wash but don't have to iron. Wearing make up has slipped a little during lockdown.

Grandma70s Wed 26-Jan-22 14:18:28

I must add, after re-reading the posts here, that my mother kept her own teeth until she died at 89. A back one or two missing, but never a false tooth, and I’m the same so far. She wore glasses most of the time, and taught me that it was silly to mind doing so. Just find nice flattering ones.

Grandma70s Wed 26-Jan-22 14:13:16

My mother was born in 1907. She was a trendy student in the 1920s, I think probably a more adventurous dresser than I was. Some of her clothes and shoes were in my childhood dressing-up box - I remember a beautiful rust-coloured patterned chiffon, and matching rust coloured satin shoes with very pointed toes.

By the time she was the age I am now (early 80s) she still retained a student’s attitude to life. She wore trousers and tops, much as I do, most of the time but still had dresses for formal occasions. I just wear more formal trousers! She always wore flat shoes because she said heels hurt - she was never a slave to fashion, and I’m the same. We are very different in appearance, though both tall. She was broad (not fat) and fair, I am thin and dark. She had straight fair hair which she wore long in a bun or knot until she discovered a short curly perm was much easier and actually suited her better. I have dark hair (still) which I wear ear-length with a fringe. Nobody in our family goes grey young.

I think our attitude was always to looks as smart as we could without ever sacrificing comfort.

MissAdventure Wed 26-Jan-22 14:06:09

I can always picture my mum working in her garden, with the cat lying next to her, watching.
She wore pretty skirts, and casual type blouses.
Bare, lovely brown legs. smile

hazel93 Wed 26-Jan-22 14:03:26

Definitely did not dress like my Mum , that said she was always very well dressed once out and about. Think it came from my Nan who took me clothes shopping from a young age "Always look at the hem and seams " was her mantra . Ridiculous, but still find myself doing it now !

Dee1012 Wed 26-Jan-22 13:42:08

My mum died when she was in her 40's....she never wore trousers but was quite tall, 5'10 so I think at that time finding the right length was a lot harder!
An abiding memory is nail polish, she had lovely hands/ nails and always wore soft pink nail polish.

LtEve Wed 26-Jan-22 13:34:20

My mum was born in the 1920s and always looked and dressed like the Queen. Skirts and twinsets, 'nice' dresses and Sunday best with mid heeled court shoes. She never wore any makeup or trousers and had her hair permed and then a shampoo and set most weeks. She always looked smart but old for her age.
I, on the other hand, live in jeans, rarely wear a skirt or a dress, have my hair coloured and my nails done. She would turn in her grave to see me 'not dressing my age'.

MiniMoon Wed 26-Jan-22 13:26:45

My mother was born in 1923. She wore skirts and twinsets. It wasn't until she was in her late 50s that she bought her first pair of trousers!
I've never worn a twinset in my entire life.
I tend to live in jeans and jumpers in the winter.

Elusivebutterfly Wed 26-Jan-22 13:26:23

I think the older generation generally dressed more formally than we do now. Many had perms and shampoo and set and never wore jeans and trainers.
In my case it is over 40 years since my mother died, as she died quite young, so I cannot compare how I dress now.

sodapop Wed 26-Jan-22 13:13:18

My mother was born in 1896 so was quite old fashioned in her clothing. Never wore trousers, always a pink corset despite only weighing around 8stones for most of her life. Very much smart dresses and skirts, wore an overall in the morning and changed into a nice dress and apron for the afternoon. I don't remember her having teeth, always dentures which came out at night. She was horrified by short skirts and stiletto heels.

nanna8 Wed 26-Jan-22 12:40:06

No nothing like mum did except she left a raincoat when she died and sometimes I wear that even though it is 20 years old. It has a good cut and nothing keeps out the rain like a British raincoat. The ones here are mostly useless. She wouldn’t let me wear jeans when I was young but I wear them a lot now.

Blossoming Wed 26-Jan-22 12:36:15

No, I live in jeans and hoodies in winter. My mother never wore trousers of any kind.