Should I dress my age?

franktheplank

Ok, I'm early thirties and I'm starting to think my days of dressing like a scruffy student should be coming to an end. Is this true?

Should I be moving more towards middle aged man threads, or can I pull off this look for a few more years?

At what point should men and I suppose women too (but ye seem to know all about fashion stuff and whatnot) start to dress more conservatively, or should we ever?

BBDBB

get yerself a pair of farah slacks and a nice cardie old timer

Mr.Crinklewood

If you dress under age you might end up in court.

orestes

Yes. And get a haircut while you're at it you dirty hippy.

smellsfunny

Nope hoodies and jeans is my casual clothing when not in work.

TeddyTedson

How's your bra?

Praetorian Saighdiuir

Onesies are all in at the mo!

Until hipsters claim them.

Ihatecuddles-old

I like the student look ...once the clothes are clean!

admiralofthefleet

pipe and slippers

Sugar cube

franktheplank wrote: »

Ok, I'm early thirties and I'm starting to think my days of dressing like a scruffy student should be coming to an end. Is this true?

Should I be moving more towards middle aged man threads, or can I pull off this look for a few more years?

At what point should men and I suppose women too (but ye seem to know all about fashion stuff and whatnot) start to dress more conservatively, or should we ever?

Early thirties is the best time to dress like a scruffy student so go for it OP:-P

woodoo

Here you go

http://www.myfashionlife.com/archives/2008/05/28/summer-buys-old-man-cardigans/

RikkFlair

The tracksuit, combover and medallion look is BIG this year.

franktheplank

I'm getting mixed messages here but so far I think there's a certain consensus that it's still ok to dress scruffy/very casually at my age.

At what point does this change? At what point does it just become trying to look young and cool, or looking like neglect?

Does loosing one's hair or developing middle aged spread affect this?

NegativeCreep

Depends on what you look like and what job you have I suppose.

krudler

Daddy jeans with tucked in shirt and brown shoes for you now.

maccored

im an old man and frankly I dont give a toss how I dress. then again, when I was a young man I didnt care then either.

Czarcasm

It's completely down to the individual. I've seen some young guys that are fashion disasters, middle aged and old guys the same. Then there are some like myself that fashion just doesn't interest them, nor does the scruffy look. I'm good with just looking clean and respectable

Scruffles

dress for own comfort and interest,not for what anyone else may think-after all its not them that has got to be stuck in them all day,unless its something that does actualy require a dress code.
clothing is only there to avoid hypothermia and indecent exposure,bras are the only clothing with real practical purpose-tit scaffolding to avoid bad back.

Czarcasm

Scruffles wrote: »

dress for own comfort and interest,not for what anyone else may think-after all its not them that has got to be stuck in them all day,unless its something that does actualy require a dress code.
clothing is only there to avoid hypothermia and indecent exposure,bras are the only clothing with real practical purpose-tit scaffolding to avoid bad back.

Jocks too serve a similar practical purpose in fairness- they keep your balls from dangling about the place and keep your shaft somewhat restrained!

Fizzlesque

franktheplank wrote: »

I'm getting mixed messages here but so far I think there's a certain consensus that it's still ok to dress scruffy/very casually at my age.

At what point does this change? At what point does it just become trying to look young and cool, or looking like neglect?

Does loosing one's hair or developing middle aged spread affect this?

Stay scruffy, if scruffy is what you like. Scruffy (but clean) can look good - neglect is a different story though.

When I was a kid, in the seventies, I dreaded the day I'd be old and have to dress in the doddery style most older women seemed to be dressing in - thanks be to ever changing times, elasticated trousers, made of dubious material, dull colours and middle aged hairstyles were no longer an inescapable fate.

Wear what you like, I reckon.

donegal_man

Dress how you like, I have at least ten years on you and still wear jeans and tee shirts when I'm not in work. To paraphrase Don Williams

I got my first guitar when I was fourteen,
Now I'm over forty and still wearing jeans

steddyeddy

Theres a girl doing a degree in college and a few of us had cause to visit at her house. She was dressed in a short leather mini skirt and low cut top (we loved that girl :P) anyway her mother who was in her mid forties comes down stairs wearing the exact same outfit give or take. Everytime I saw her mother it was the same, she always dressed like a 17 year old girl!

There's afew girls in college whose mother dresses like them and flirts with her daughters friends!

Doc Ruby

steddyeddy wrote: »

There's afew girls in college whose mother dresses like them and flirts with her daughters friends!

Fair play to them.

There's clothes that look good on every age group, I swear by a sports jacket and blue jeans as a rule, you can mix that up with anything and it will look fine, even saving the day for the jumper/shirt combo sadly popular in some circles.

steddyeddy

Doc Ruby wrote: »

Fair play to them.

There's clothes that look good on every age group, I swear by a sports jacket and blue jeans as a rule, you can mix that up with anything and it will look fine, even saving the day for the jumper/shirt combo sadly popular in some circles.

Yea I sort of agree. I wasn't slagging the mothers. They cleary felt confident dressing like that and fair play to them I say.

Galwayguy35

franktheplank wrote: »

Ok, I'm early thirties and I'm starting to think my days of dressing like a scruffy student should be coming to an end. Is this true?

Should I be moving more towards middle aged man threads, or can I pull off this look for a few more years?

At what point should men and I suppose women too (but ye seem to know all about fashion stuff and whatnot) start to dress more conservatively, or should we ever?

What exactly is the "scruffy student" look?

I'm older than you at 38 and going to work and at home during the week I wear hoodies and jeans.

crowdcontrol

Mans love of Tshirts make dressing grown up a dying tradition...

Ruudi_Mentari

Wear what you like. Has a blazer / shirt not occured to you? Hoodies are toddler wear to me, like a big soft safety blanket.. even a wifebeater vest will reveal the man ahead of that stuff

Ruudi_Mentari

don't beat your wife however. nothing manly about that

so remember: vest / shirt / blazer. tracksuit bottoms.

Bad Santa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5olnQKXxlU

DonLimon

Yes, dress your age, it doesn't depend on anything and it certainly doesn't make you look all cool and nonchalant.

suicide_circus

Pffft, student look? Come back to me when you've got the paraphilic infantilism thing down.

conorhal

franktheplank wrote: »

I'm getting mixed messages here but so far I think there's a certain consensus that it's still ok to dress scruffy/very casually at my age.

At what point does this change? At what point does it just become trying to look young and cool, or looking like neglect?

Does loosing one's hair or developing middle aged spread affect this?

It does I'm afraid, just add an unshaven demeanor and at a certian point you will begin to look like a homless person or heroin addict that has dressed in whatever they have managed to fish out of one of those clothes banks.

Stood there in your 'Alice in Chains T-Shirt with your arse hanging out of your baggy jeans, the look completed by a beat up pair of Converse will only suggest that you never managed to grow, or become a happier or better person then you were in your 20's. Do you really want to end up looking like some haggard, fossilized spectral version of the youth you no longer are or posess. Don't become Brendan Kilkenney. *shiver*

imitation

Hoodies Jeans work right up until 60s - 70s imo. Wear it away I say, just not too a wedding. I find it weird when fellas do meet a girl and she resolves to sort her man out and he starts wearing wool coats, scarfs and pink shirts out of nowhere having worn hoodies all his life, kinda like mutton dressed as lamb !

beks101

Get yerself a few decent blazers, well fitted jeans, smart shoes, a good sharp suit, nice winter coat & a few nice t shirts.

No excuse to be walking around like a scruffy student beyond being a scruffy student tbh and yes, it matters. People judge as they rightly should. Dressing well is a sign of self respect & just generally giving a ****.

While I think dress as you like is good advice, there is a point when some combinations look less that well on a man. The vast majority of men could wear jean at any age but tracksuit are not a good look for men after a certain age.

Its rude and disrespectful to go to a wedding or a funeral in casual clothes ( unless it is specifically a casual occasion ).

A lot of this is about body shape ( not weight ) which changes as you get older.

anncoates

Overtly fashionable clothes can look a bit silly on a guy when they hit the end of their 30s and onwards but you can still look good without having to dress like an aul fella.

Just stick to the classics.

Formal: good quality overcoat or sports/suit jacket, fitted jeans (no flares or skinny jeans), plain jumpers/shirts and decent shoes.

Less formal: stuff like polo shirt, plain t-shirts/jumpers, fitted jeans and understated trainers like plimsolls or stuff like retro Adidas

Just avoid trendy, fad or especially ill-fitting clothes.

Bad Santa

beks101 wrote: »

Get yerself a few decent blazers, well fitted jeans, smart shoes, a good sharp suit, nice winter coat & a few nice t shirts.

Other than the sharp suit, that sounds like Jeremy Clarkson's wardrobe. Blazers, really?

During the day just wear some snickers, cat boots and a tool belt. Ladies will swoon over you thinking you have a job, never fails. At night wear white socks and black slip ons. Showing such obvious disdain from what's fashionable will make you irresistible. Paisley shirts are a must as also is a cravat. Some Mr Sheen under the arms and you're set. Women will want you, men want to be you.

dr strangelove

wear something slutty - low neckline, high hemline - always a winner

Irish Guitarist

Just pull the waist of your trousers up as high as you possibly can.

Staff Infection

To be honest just wear whatever makes you feel happy and confident. As long as the clothes fit you and sit well on you (i.e now stuck to you and not swimming on you either) then you're grand.
I never "dressed my age" when I was younger and always wore suit jackets with slacks, chinos and jeans while my friends wore hoodies and it never did me any harm so relax and wear what you like.

Irish Guitarist

Dress whatever way makes you comfortable.

I have loads of clothes that don't fit me very well. Cheap t-shirts are too loose. Expensive, fashionable t-shirts are made for anorexic men. At this stage I've given up looking for clothes and just make do with what I have, which is a lot of ill-fitting clothes. I've just accepted the fact that clothes manufacturers don't make decent clothes for men with my build. It doesn't bother me anymore and I've given up on the idea of getting a decent t-shirt. I've also given up on my quest for nice new jeans that aren't covered in holes and yellow marks.

If anyone has a problem with the way I dress they can feel free to buy me some new clothes. Otherwise they can piss off.

beks101 wrote: »

Get yerself a few decent blazers, well fitted jeans, smart shoes, a good sharp suit, nice winter coat & a few nice t shirts.

No excuse to be walking around like a scruffy student beyond being a scruffy student tbh and yes, it matters. People judge as they rightly should. Dressing well is a sign of self respect & just generally giving a ****.

A blazer is just a jacket without the benefits of an actual jacket. Not particularly warm or waterproof and with no hood. I'd prefer to spend my money on a decent waterproof jacket to protect myself from the elements rather than on some overpriced piece of tat that serves no real purpose apart from impressing people who I don't actually want to impress.

Black Leather

For me, its leather and denim all the time - full black leather during the winter months, with a combination of leather and denim during the rest of the year. Nothing beats a well fitted biker jacket - warm and waterproof or a slim fitting denim jacket with matching jeans. I have no intention of ever ' dressing my age ' and would not be seen dead in a suit!

RainMaker

beks101 wrote: »

Get yerself a few decent blazers, well fitted jeans, smart shoes, a good sharp suit, nice winter coat & a few nice t shirts.

No excuse to be walking around like a scruffy student beyond being a scruffy student tbh and yes, it matters. People judge as they rightly should. Dressing well is a sign of self respect & just generally giving a ****.

Yes, those bankers and politicians, all wonderfully dressed... a$$holes
Seriously they've all been shown to be nothing more than glorified conmen and the notion that they can look respectable just by putting on a suit is laughable!

So maybe a "good sharp suit" will make you look better, but just remember the state the country is in and all the well dressed people who got us here!

To OP, seriously, just wear what you are comfortable with, unless you are trying to impress somebody what do you care what they think - and styles evolve... if you go to an old man's pub, they'll be mostly be wearing suits, but that's what they've always worn! It's not like they got to 70 and suddenly started wearing suits to fit in with the other old folks

IK09

So what ye are saying is....its hip to be square?

Irish Guitarist

'Dressing your age' changes all they time by the way. When I was younger I didn't know anyone my age who would be caught dead in a cardigan, now Jack and Jones are making them with the aim of selling them to lads in their twenties. For instance this is the type of thing my father would have worn when he was in his sixties - http://nelly.com/eu/mens-fashion/clothing/jumpers-cardigans/jack-jones-633/ted-cardigan-633687-12/

gobnaitolunacy

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

'Dressing your age' changes all they time by the way. When I was younger I didn't know anyone my age who would be caught dead in a cardigan, now Jack and Jones are making them with the aim of selling them to lads in their twenties. For instance this is the type of thing my father would have worn when he was in his sixties - http://nelly.com/eu/mens-fashion/clothing/jumpers-cardigans/jack-jones-633/ted-cardigan-633687-12/

Is it me or do the jeans models look like they're either in pain or have done a doody?

bodice ripper

**** dressing your age.

the main reason you can tell a woman is middle-age is that she got the haircut and uniform at 35 on the dot.


oh, better dress your age! it matters, because otherwise you look like you don't give a ****... heaven forfend...

Madam_X

"Dressing your age" is how you dress anyway. Not too many 31-year-old guys dressing like fellas twice their age.

Doc Ruby

Madam_X wrote: »

"Dressing your age" is how you dress anyway. Not too many 31-year-old guys dressing like fellas twice their age.

Paddy caps are the height of sartorial elegance these days I'll have you know! Although I got my father who will never see 80 again a beret when I was in France (shockingly hard to find them there) and he hasn't taken it off since, to the best of my knowledge.

blacklilly

Irish Guitarist wrote: »

'- http://nelly.com/eu/mens-fashion/clothing/jumpers-cardigans/jack-jones-633/ted-cardigan-633687-12/

He looks like an angry ken doll.

0ph0rce0

Just dont wear one of these

http://s3.grouponcdn.com/images/site_images/2619/6789/IMAGE_Kenneth-Cole-Men-s-Wool-Jackets_1_wide.jpg

They drive me mad, every knob that works in an office seems to think you have to have one of these.

BUMDERS