Feeling 'to old' to wear something

Sibylla

I went shopping with a couple of girls from college today,There were trying on different outfits and I simply couldn't believe the discussion about how they felt 'too old' for a lot of the outfits. They're both early/mid twenties. One of them tried on a lovely pair of shorts with a fitted top and felt old for it. I've noticed on boards/in general a lot of people seem to feel 'too old' to wear certain clothes at a relatively young age. What do you think about this?

Acoshla

I think it boils down to a lack of confidence, they imagine that others will think that of them because they are inclined to think that others are judging them anyway, if that makes sense. I think the age thing is just another bit of "But does it make me look fat?" to add to the list.

lainey316

Genuinely sometimes you are too old to wear something. It's unlikely this will happen before you turn 30 (bodies, goddamn them, do change). It's practically impossible while you are still in college - no need to rush into it like!

Acoshla

Yeah exactly, early/mid twenties girls are more likely being hard on themselves than actually dressing in clothes that don't suit their age.

Sibylla

Acoshla wrote: »

Yeah exactly, early/mid twenties girls are more likely being hard on themselves than actually dressing in clothes that don't suit their age.

Good points Lainey and Acoshla.

I'm 20 and cannot imagine being 'too old' to wear anything for a while yet. Especially in college which is a time to experiment. It must be all boil down to a lack of confidence.

It seems to be a pretty general thing with people referring to themselves as 'old' at 21 etc

Acoshla

Myself (26) and my 27 year old friend were talking about something similar a few days ago. We were saying how when we go out in our town we've noticed that while the younger (17-22) year old girls are all dressed up they are all identical looking, same hairstyles, same trends etc, whereas myself and my friend are only getting to know our own styles in the last couple of years, and are always wearing something unique to each of us, we definitely don't feel too old to wear anything! They seem to think it's safety in numbers, I'll do colour blocking if you do kind of thing, they don't have the confidence to be different.

I bought a playsuit by accident (thought it was a dress!) and thought "hmm, this is a bit too close to being on trend for my liking" but it's lovely so off I go in it, and confidence makes people look better than youth or any fashion trend can, definitely.

R.D. aka MR.D

I think it might just be certain people. I remember i had two friends in college who were very into wearing 'classy' clothes that now i think would be more suitable to mid-thirties office wear. But that attitude rubbed off on me so would avoid trends and stuff. It was only when i went on to postgraduate that i started getting into trends.

But i do think there is such a thing as too old for certain things in your mid twenties. I'm 24 and avoid things like cartoon character t-shirts, baseball jackets and those kid of hip-hop baggy jeans. I just think that at my age and stage in life i'm too 'old' for them.

I've actually noticed the opposite. That a lot of my friends wear clothes you'd see doubles of in the kids section.

All my best friends are really petite, so maybe it's a size thing, because they do look fine in it, but I know I'd never get away with it. Shorts and a fitted top seem fine to me though, I wear shorts relatively often.

Arianna_26

Sibylla wrote: »

I went shopping with a couple of girls from college today,There were trying on different outfits and I simply couldn't believe the discussion about how they felt 'too old' for a lot of the outfits. They're both early/mid twenties. One of them tried on a lovely pair of shorts with a fitted top and felt old for it. I've noticed on boards/in general a lot of people seem to feel 'too old' to wear certain clothes at a relatively young age. What do you think about this?

I think that is quite sad, I wear what I want and I am 25. I don't think anyone should feel too old to wear something, I think people should judge clothes by how they feel in them. I'm a lot more conscious of my weight when choosing something to wear.

tinyk68

Girls, enjoy your youth! You are all young. I'm 43 and at my age I really do have to be aware of the "mutton dressed as lamb" thing. I'm still slim but I can't wear just anything I want any more especially since I have a 16 year old daughter who's the image of me only taller, slimmer and obviously younger. Wear whatever makes you feel good while you can. Sooner than you know it you really will be too old.

baby and crumble

I dunno, I think there's a difference between feeling you're too old to wear jeans and a strappy top or whatever to feeling you're too old to wear a micromini bandage dress wit multi-storey heels. The first- that's silly, no-one's too old for that!

The 2nd... well, after a certain point you just end up looking like a try-hard. After a certain point you want to get to the style point of looking a bit effortless. It's cooler and more slick.

And I've seen 40 year olds in 'cute' pink babydoll tees with eyeore and piglet on them... that's a little bit sad imho.

gargleblaster

Seems like a strange thing to say about shorts and a fitted top. Unless the fitted top had some boy band logo on it or something.

Then again, I don't seem to care any more about mutton dressed as lamb as I would lamb dressed as mutton. It's only clothes, so for me as long as it's not inappropriate to the situation I don't see a problem with it and think people should really just wear whatever they like whether it's too young or too old or a costume if they want.

sparkle_23

I'm 24 and my younger sister is 15, nearly 16. Sometimes her or one of her friends will have a top or a dress that I have as well and it nearly puts me off wearing it! Although the clothes would be geared towards someone older I end up associating those clothes as being "teenagery"!

Malari

*Sparkle* wrote: »

I'm 24 and my younger sister is 15, nearly 16. Sometimes her or one of her friends will have a top or a dress that I have as well and it nearly puts me off wearing it! Although the clothes would be geared towards someone older I end up associating those clothes as being "teenagery"!

Yes, I was going to say this! Or if you once had a particular item as a teenager, you are unlikely to want to wear something similar again, as you think of it as childish, although your peers may not have such an association.

I know there have been one or two things that I think would look good on my mom (a young-looking 60 year old ), like wedge espadrilles, for example and she won't wear them as she remembers wearing them originally when she was pregnant with me

Piglet85

I'm almost 26 and I have to admit to feeling this way about clothes occasionally in the last year. I think it's linked to what Acoshla said about a lot of late teens/early twenties girls dressing in a uniform, almost - they so often seem to wear REALLY similar outfits to their friends. I'm a bit conscious of not wearing the kinds of things that you see being massively popular amongst that age group...although perhaps that's more about wanting to have an individual sense of style than an age issue!

I think it's common to feel 'old' when you reach 20 or 21 - I know I did. I look back and can't believe how much pressure I put on myself at that age. Now I'm 26, I pretty much wear whatever I want, bar things that are very obviously for young teens (like a lot of stuff in Zara TRF - not all of it) I know a girl who doesn't wear miniskirts because they look 'teenagery' - but there are so many different types! I think now is the time to be wearing whatever you want, because you'll definitely feel 'too old' for things at 40 or 50.

chocolate_cat

I am 29 (its sounds so old), i have always felt i am too old to wear shorts, short skirts etc. I even when i was in my early 20's i felt it just wasnt right. I go for more 50's style clothes as i find they suit my shape better. I brighten up with accessories that are a bit mad to liven up what im wearing. I have only recently bought a pair of jeans for the first time, i don't think they suit me. Its taken me a long time to figure out my style, but that kinda thing cant be achieved overnight. You gotta make a lot of mistakes to figure out your style.

desolate sun

chocolate_cat wrote: »

I am 29 (its sounds so old), i have always felt i am too old to wear shorts, short skirts etc.

At 29 you are at your peak, so you should never feel old.

I'm 36 and wear shorts and miniskirts. Although I only wear them in a 'classy' way. Like shorts and tights and maybe a blouse for a night out.
If you look young, and it suits your body shape, then wear it.
And I definitely agree with the people who say the twenties and college is the time to experiment with your look.

And girls please stop thinking you feel old in your twenties! You're nowhere near old. I feel so young now and I'm much, much older than you!


PS sorry to be pedantic, but the title of the thread should be 'too old'

artem

If it fits your personality (and doesn't look insane) why not. It's just like with cars, I can imagine a young guy would feel like an old grandpa while driving a Jaguar XJ, on the other hand I can imagine some people which are quite young driving it.

Wesco

I think you should wear whatever you feel comfortable with. When I mentioned to one of my friends that I had bought a thong to wear under a white dress, she nearly freaked! She thought that women over 40 were too old to wear thongs! (I'm 45) Age is just a number. You should wear what you want to wear. I dont think being in your twenties makes you too old to wear anything