Fashion Friday: Advanced Style

Fashion and style as you get older. Damn, is that a big, interesting topic.

For this week’s Fashion Friday, I want to give a quick shout-out to an excellent fashion blog I’m very fond of: Advanced Style. It’s a blog devoted entirely to the topic of stylish older people. Classy, playful, put-together, exuberant, sensual, elegant… there is a tremendous variety of personal styles represented here, reflecting a tremendous variety of personalities. It’s hugely fun, and hugely inspiring… especially since I’m turning 50 this year, and am looking at how I can express myself through fashion and style in ways that honor and celebrate my age.

I have lots of thoughts about fashion and age. In particular, I have lots and lots and LOTS of thoughts about fashion, age, and sex: how as we get older, women’s sexuality is treated as either laughable, pathetic, or non-existent, and how middle-aged and old women can use fashion and style to claim our sexuality in ways that are age-appropriate but that still defy these social norms. I’ve written about it before (On Being Age-Appropriate, The Aging Slut), and I plan to write about it again soon. But time got away from me this week. So for now — enjoy Advanced Style!

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Fashion Friday: Advanced Style
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16 thoughts on “Fashion Friday: Advanced Style

  1. 2

    I very much look forward to your thoughts on age and fashion, Greta. Although I think it’s too late for me to care about “fashion” so much as “dressing well.” Being raised ultra-conservative fundie, some things just die hard, I guess, despite my best efforts. But I’ve always enjoyed dressing for classic quality, and at times secretly wondered if maybe I chose my profession partly based on the clothes I got to wear. (Remember “L.A. Law” in the ’80’s?) It seems like a completely ridiculous notion.

    When I was younger I really didn’t know what “middle age” meant. Not really. Then, almost overnight I had a gestalt experience when shopping for clothes and suddenly, absolutely nothing seemed right anymore. Everything either felt like I was trying to mimic a 20-something, which was just silly, or even worse, seemed more suitable for my grandmother. Nothing seemed designed for me. In a flash of insight it hit me, this is what middle age is.

  2. HS
    5

    Oh, I love that website! I’m going to use some of the ideas when shopping for gifts for my mom.

    Patrick, I hope you’re not saying that like it’s a bad thing 🙂 It seems like society gives elderly women more permission to be theatrical in their garment choices. On me (I’m nearing the end of my 20s), that outfit would be laughable. On her, it’s charming and whimsical.

  3. 6

    mephistopheles, I had almost the identical “gestalt experience” around the time I hit 40. For me it was very specific: I had been wearing mostly vintage dresses from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Mostly floral prints, or black lace and rhinestones. When I was a young adult they looked goth and hip. Then suddenly I started looking like someone’s grandmother going to church.

    I had to give myself a major style makeover. For some reason, I have found that I can get away with modern dresses that look “vintagey.” But most of my beloved thrift store finds have been stored away except for costuming. They just look frumpy on me now. Kinda sad, but it’s opened me up to some fun new clothes I would never have otherwise tried, so I’m trying to view it as a natural progression.

  4. 8

    I love that Star Trek outfit, sort of Captian Picard meets the Queen Mum. It just screams “Engage!”

    Looking forward to more thoughts on oldness. 30 years ago I don’t think that I have much thought to whether I would be interested in sex at 50 (and older) but I do remember getting some comfort from a friend’s dad, who commented that his interest did not diminish with age – and he was a ripe old 37! I do count myself as pleased and surprised at the half-century mark that there’s still some candy in the old piñata, if you know what I mean.

  5. 10

    I do count myself as pleased and surprised at the half-century mark that there’s still some candy in the old piñata, if you know what I mean.

    Well, I rather hope my sex life at that point won’t involve trees or baseball bats, but whatever works for you… O.o

  6. 13

    When I was younger I really didn’t know what “middle age” meant. Not really. Then, almost overnight I had a gestalt experience when shopping for clothes and suddenly, absolutely nothing seemed right anymore.

    that has always been my experience. I always thought that everything in the stores was designed for a completely different subspecies of human. that said: The good thing about getting older seems to be that you eventually are allowed to cover youself completely.

  7. 14

    I’m so grateful that stylish women I admire are blazing this trail ahead of me. I’m having the best sex ever, I’m not depressed for the first time in my adult life, and I’m gaining real self confidence.

    I have no idea how to express this with my personal style. *staying tuned*

  8. 16

    Thanks for posting a link to this blog! I spent the weekend looking at all of it! My mom is always complaining about her hair, or her clothes, so I got a lot of fabulous ideas for how she can jazz up her look, and a lot of inspiration on aging with grace and style.

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