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Style & beauty

Do you dress like your mum did at your age?

(142 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?

Ilovecheese Wed 26-Jan-22 11:04:16

My mum didn't live long enough to be as old as I am now, but she wore kaftans quite often. I don't remember her ever going to the hairdresser, she had long hair worn in a French pleat.

Kali2 Wed 26-Jan-22 11:09:40

Yes, but my mum looked amazing in smart casual- I have not inherited her style and simple, understated glamour.

Mamie Wed 26-Jan-22 11:13:36

My grandmother (born 1883) and my mother (born 1910) always wore trousers after the war, unless they absolutely had to wear a skirt or a frock.
My mother made all her own clothes as well as working full-time.
Both of them threw away their corsets as soon as they could.
I loved them for being feisty and forward thinking. ❤️

Lincslass Wed 26-Jan-22 11:14:14

My mum always looked amazing, even when at home. She had more style than I have, seemed to know what to wear to look stylish, but never frumpy. But she never wore jeans, as I do, as find them warm.

Oopsadaisy1 Wed 26-Jan-22 11:18:03

Yammy my Mum was very similar to yours. Her makeup was Nivea cream or Ponds, powder and red lipstick. She only wore her wedding and engagement rings.
Skirts and blouses with an apron on if cooking.
She never wore trousers and wouldn’t have been seen dead in jeans or anything casual.
By the time I had children she was your typical old fashioned homely Granny and would do anything for all of us.
My MIL spent all of her earnings on herself and floated around in posh frocks, long red nails, covered in jewellery and didn’t do anything unless it suited her.
But the kids loved them both (probably due to their very different ways).

paddyann54 Wed 26-Jan-22 11:22:11

My own mother was always fashion conscious,she used to tell my dad we'd be a s well dead as out of fashion when he compained our skirts were too short etc .She did like to be well dressed and always had her hair fixed and her face on .She was weight obsessed and ate off a tea plate to keep her portions tiny.She was never above 7 stone in her life.

It made us follow some of the same routes,I always put my face on as soon as I get up and am always reasonably well dressed,my daughter calls me her wee glam mammy .

It isn't all good though as I've had weight issues all my life ,fasted in my teens when I was a size 8 and still now panic if I've put on a few pounds or a stone over lockdowns.
All in all I'm happier to be an image conscious person when I see the mess some folk are in the street ,they dont seem to have a mirror to check how they look from all angles,but I AM image conscious not vain.

Yammy Wed 26-Jan-22 11:34:14

Oopsadaisy1

Yammy my Mum was very similar to yours. Her makeup was Nivea cream or Ponds, powder and red lipstick. She only wore her wedding and engagement rings.
Skirts and blouses with an apron on if cooking.
She never wore trousers and wouldn’t have been seen dead in jeans or anything casual.
By the time I had children she was your typical old fashioned homely Granny and would do anything for all of us.
My MIL spent all of her earnings on herself and floated around in posh frocks, long red nails, covered in jewellery and didn’t do anything unless it suited her.
But the kids loved them both (probably due to their very different ways).

We could have had the same families. My MIL spent all the money on herself and was always up to the minute she even wore mini skirts until my FIL complained. Her array of youth creams would go down well now.
My mum was like yours I had forgotten the ever-present pinny. One step up from the wrap around one my gran wore it was really a sleeveless frock.With something called a course brat on top. A heavy-duty pinny that looked as though it was made from sacking.
My kids did enjoy them both and got a different set of values from them. MIL smoked my mum didn't, MIL didn't have pierced ears and when I let one of mine have hers pierced aged 16 she said the same as she had to me,it was "common", until I pointed out the Queen had hers pierced.smile

TerriBull Wed 26-Jan-22 11:35:58

No! my mother was born in the 1920s, my grandmothers in the 1890s, all of their time. My grandmother once told me off when I was aged 13 turning up at a family gathering in bell bottom jeans shock

My mother, when we were growing up didn't have the money to splash out on the clothes she may have wanted, although she did have a working wardrobe that comprised of fairly smart blouses and skirts. She had the most disposable income towards the end of her life when she downsized after she was widowed, but then she no longer cared about clothes that much, simply wanted to wear what she felt comfortable in, usually trousers. She also achieved her ideal weight around that time, in fact she ended up quite tiny, because she ate like a sparrow, we often laughed about that, many of the things she would have like to have had before came too late to appreciate them.

No! I don't dress like her, I still wear jeans, leggings, ankle boots, all the stuff we grew up with but possibly have modified somewhat according to our age now. I wouldn't for example wear a short skirt or ripped jeans, not that I like the latter anyway, but do wear skinny jeans sometimes. My perception of older generations is that they were generally more conservative in what they chose to wear. Particularly if we go back to our grandmothers' time, I think my paternal grandmother had ten pink fits at what she viewed as the outrageous back when I was going through my teens. I was also at the hairdressers yesterday, loads of multi coloured hair worn by stylists, I think in comparison none of our generation bat an eyelid as to what once would be viewed extreme and is now just pretty commonplace.

AGAA4 Wed 26-Jan-22 11:37:59

My mum never owned a pair of trousers. Always wore dresses and skirts. Had a perm every 6 months and a shampoo and set every week. Make up was lipstick and powder. All this was very similar to her own mum.
I am much more casual. I wear denims and jumpers or leggings. I hardly wear any make up, just lipstick.

kittylester Wed 26-Jan-22 11:39:46

I was a huge disappointment to my mother. She wore an awful lot of beige and that sort of greeny colour that middleclass ladies used to wear.

I have said before that she hoped, one day, to see me dressed like the wife of a professional man! Sadly the twin set and pearls seem to have got lost in the post.

Urmstongran Wed 26-Jan-22 11:41:24

I dress more like my 41y old daughter. We’ve been known to share clothes occasionally.
?

Shinamae Wed 26-Jan-22 11:46:20

My mother sadly passed away at the age of 69 which I nearly am but anyway she loved clothes, she even had clothes made for her, Me,I live in jeans and sweaters, T-shirts in the summer and linen trousers…

Chardy Wed 26-Jan-22 12:03:48

My mother was born in 1920s, grandmother in 1890s. I think my mum's generation dressed like their mothers between 30 and 60 yr old, tweed skirt, jumper, maybe twin set . Once they retired, a lot of comfort clothes particularly manmade trousers and skirts. My gran never worked outside the home once she married. She always wore a corset, dressed smart, full pinafore or housecoat to cook/clean.
Me? My comfort is leggings & skirt, jeggings, T shirt, hoodie, fleece - cotton, cotton-mix, natural fabrics if possible.

Marydoll Wed 26-Jan-22 12:10:25

M y mother dressed as if she was much older than her age. She was never interested in her appearance.
I am the exact opposite!

Germanshepherdsmum Wed 26-Jan-22 12:16:06

Yes my dear Mum, born 1920s, was a dress or skirt and blouse lady and always wore a pinny in the kitchen. Tidy hair and a shampoo and set every week. Very little make up, she looked lovely without it. Gran, born 1890s, was the same except she had her hair permed and I don’t remember her wearing any makeup. I’m the complete opposite, live in jeans, long hair and wear eye makeup every day. I’d love to have inherited Mum’s looks.

Squiffy Wed 26-Jan-22 12:34:41

My mother never, ever used face creams - she was a soap and water person - and had the most amazing complexion right up until she died at nearly 90! Her only concessions to make-up were a flick of powder and lipstick if she were going out.

She had the weekly, obligatory shampoo and set, plus a perm every few months!

She made her own clothes, mainly dresses and always looked well turned out rather than glamourous. She did succumb to trousers, but never jeans!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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'.

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.

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 !