over 30? maybe we should kill ourselves now.
(floria sigismondi who does over 30 colored tights nicely)
i’ve been sitting on my anger for almost a week now. i came across this post about how women over 30 shouldn’t wear colored tights. so in discussing this with a gal pal, she suggested that i purge and set the frustration free.
so here goes. it begins with an interesting sidekick to ageism:
Jeunism is the tendency to prefer young people over older people. This includes political candidacies, commercial functions, and cultural settings where the supposed greater vitality and/or physical beauty of youth is more appreciated than the supposed greater moral and/or intellectual rigor of adulthood.
***
having spent several years faithfully reading fashion blogs and the viewpoints of other fashion gals who are nearly 10 years younger than me i’ve come to the conclusion that because i’m 33 i’m ancient, a dinosaur, a fire breathing anklyosaurus with a penchant for making one faux pas mistake after the another.
but do i care?
a quirky fashion sense has saved me from several premature suicides. disco inferno outfits detered ruthless catty remarks said behind the back during those teenage years (after all, if they were going to chop me down let it begin with platform shoes and a gold lame party dress!). being a fashion outcast opened the world up to a cast of characters who lived on the outskirts of town, the ones who screamed ”let it be tacky, or nothing at all!”
so yeah, our clothes were tacky. we mismatched. we raved. we listened to depeche mode as we drove around town in a 1967 VW bug. some of us did grunge better than courtney love. others coined the mod look, which later became a hot topics’ “goth” thing. and boho chic? we were doing it in 1993.
so do i take offense when a youngster tries to tell us wise old fashion vertebrates what we should or shouldn’t wear? Hell yes! we were the ones who started the trends you are now biting, the neon color combinations that make you look so street cool, and “hey dj girl with the high waisted acid washed jeans, vest and debbie gibson hat” your high fashion look wasn’t dreamed up yesterday.
you see, we were puffy painting and wearing colored tights long before you were ever born. and after 20 years of experience, we know a thing or two about layering socks with doc martens, pairing leopard print footless tights with a jean miniskirt, and better yet, how to wear striped stockings with a floral print dress. in fact, i’m convinced a tacky minstrel from my youth is the she-man behind the curtain churning out these regurgitated trends you are now coveting.
so in conclusion to my very indulgent, therapeutic fashion rant, i invite all 30, 40, 50 and 60 year olds to go hog wild and dress in all the glitter, mismatched splendor and colored tights that your heart desires.
we love life on the other side of the railroad track and always welcome the company.
You tell them!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WendyB
April 7, 2008 at 10:09 pm
I should add two words to the discussion of age and fashion: Carine Roitfeld.
WendyB
April 7, 2008 at 10:17 pm
love it s. especially the comment about the debbie gibson hat & puffy paint. classics. your unique & ever fabulous fashion sense & taste makes you more hip & stylish at every age than any 20-something.
Dianna
April 8, 2008 at 3:10 pm
i love the puffy paint reference. i had a kick-ass puffy paint shirt with bears and ballons and GLITTERY puffy paint. You keep rocking those tights, missy. You don’t look a day over 19.
losing it
April 8, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Floria is from my hometown
I think you look better than most 20 year olds, and should wear whatever you want.
la femme
April 9, 2008 at 5:43 am
words of wisdom. way to go.
a dreamer
April 11, 2008 at 3:42 am
I am older than you. And I have to say that Mid to late eighties and early nineties fashion has a visceral effect on me when I glimpse a reminder in today’s fashions.
Jelly shoes? Ra Ra skirts and Cherry lane leggings. I melt and yearn for the days when Blondie’s Atomic and an asymmetrical hair do was all you needed to have a good time. Live fast die young and you wont have to see Peaches Geldof wearing your youth as vintage (sob)xx
hammie
April 12, 2008 at 9:05 pm
hammie,
you’re my new idol. so can i see pics of your asymmetrical haircut?
theuglyearring
April 13, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Right back at ya hon’
And cheers to Imelda for linking us up. Another reason to get out of bed each morning and whizz downstairs to check the bloggies.
xx
hammie
April 13, 2008 at 8:07 pm
I missed this brouhaha but it sounds as ridiculous as the other tempest about fashion bloggers ‘should only be under 25.’
I can’t even comprehend this mindset. Do the people saying these things not realize they’re going to be 33 some day? It’s just such a limited viewpoint.
And granted, my own viewpoint isn’t the most open but when I hate something, I hope it’s more thought out than some ageist claptrap.
ambika
April 18, 2008 at 5:56 pm
been feeling exactly the same of late.
well said.
maggienikole
April 21, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Halleluyah hell yeah!
Bria
May 9, 2008 at 2:17 am
Hi there, I came across this post as it was linked up to my latest post entitled Crimes of Fashion.
According to the critic who declared women over 30 shouldn’t wear colored tights, I should be reported to the fashion police.
All winter long, I wore tights of the striped and argyle varieties. And I’m well over 30. Scandalous right?
Great post. I look forward to reading more of your blog.
Fashion Sensei
May 24, 2008 at 11:54 am
i think i love you. way to go! ive been struggling with the idea of having to change my fashion bc im over 30 now, and i recently decided, eff it!
jj
May 24, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I’m over 50 and wear whatever I want. I’m the hottest I’ve ever been, too. I felt like shit when I was 33, like a total hasbeen. Everything has gotten so much better-body wise. Maybe it’s just my freak life, I don’t know.
Miss Havisham
July 10, 2008 at 3:55 am
Thank you! I’m 34 and nothing is going to stop me from wearing whatever the hell I like. When these 20 something fashionistas become neurotic 30 year olds I’m going to be a rampant 40 +++ sporting a miniskirt, stripey tights and a smile with lots of teeth in it. This is no time to be dull!
smells
December 11, 2008 at 10:16 am
hell yeah they’re biting! …and they all act like they’re effing original too. Fab post ..found you searching for camel toes …I think. lol.
...love Maegan
February 7, 2009 at 6:48 am
Style and Fashion are two separate things – “Style” never goes out of fashion. If you’re the “colored tights” type – you belong in them – and if you’re not – you don’t. I always have/always will look foolish in colored tights – By the same token, I have always looked right in red lipstick – always will. KNOW THYSELF. Women who dress “young” to defy their age look pathetic – women who are true to their type through the years look like a force to be reckoned with – and they usually are!
Mrss
May 16, 2009 at 7:06 am
Sing it, sister. I’m afraid I don’t consider the fact that I’m 43 before I pull on my wooly gently-patterned tight to go to work in 20 below temperatures. Fuggem. The great thing about getting older is that you don’t have to give a damn anymore about that stuff. I wear what I please. I’m no fashion plate, and I don’t care. I’m not our man-hunting. I’ve already got one of those.
And as far as the youth-worship thing goes, all I can say is viva Craig Fergusen:
Dingey
August 4, 2009 at 4:16 pm