Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think they worked much harder than what people generally do today, plus now we have face lifts,
lipo, collagen injections, spend billions on cosmetics - but then again we have tanning beds,
a faster paced lifestyle, etc.....but I do agree looking in pictures people aged quicker, of course they usually started families much younger.
WTH - I thought I already posted in this thread. I guess not. Maybe I'm just getting Alzheimers at an early age! Anyway ... yes, people looked older. When I look through my mom and dad's highschool yearbooks the kids in those books who are probably no more than 17 or 18 years old, and some younger - especially the ones wearing glasses - look like they're in their 50's!!! It was the hairstyles and the funky cat eye glasses (for the ladies) and huge, thick, black rimmed glasses (for the guys). ....... and Brylcreme!!!
From old pictures I've seen of people particularly from the 1940s-1960s era, people looked about 10 years older than their actual age. Teenagers aged 16-19 looked to be in their 20s. People in their early and mid 20s looked to be in their early and mid 30s. Late 20s-early 30s people looked to be almost 40.
I even saw this with Beaver's teacher from Leave it to Beaver. She was actually around 24 years old but I estimated her to be in her mid 30s.
I suppose it's due to the way people dressed then. Plus women fixed up their hair like the way many elderly women do now.
Of course they do, they busted their booties and actually WORKED manual labor instead of ; ya know what nevermind.....
Anyway, back in the day there was no botox, no plastic surgery, none of that; people actually SURPRISE SURPRISE aged!!!
I don't believe it's the "healthier diets"--people were much thinner back then (at least people in high school and in their 20s). We seem to eat a lot more than they did, and when I was a kid, going to a "fast food" place was a 2x a year occurence.
My mom looked "old" in her wedding pic at the ripe old age of 19. The hair was harsh, short and severely styled with a lot of hair spray!
A lot of the women wore dark lipstick which also ages.
The fashions at the time made women and men look more mature for their age. Women didn't wear pink bubblegum sweatpants with "juicy" written on the butt. And men wore hats.
I think it might possibly coincide with the rising obesity rates. I went back to my old high school in December and noticed that a lot of the guys there were larger than me. I'm almost 27,around 6ft, 160 lbs and people usually think I'm no older than 21. When I shave the beard, people usually guess I'm around 18 or 19. Upon my visit, I noticed a lot of "huge" guys with full beards. I don't remember too many students during my time there that fit that description. When I was exiting the school, I was actually accosted by an administrator who accused me of "trying to skip school."
I don't know, it's kind of hard to answer the question. As an undergrad, I briefly worked at a service station and I saw a lot of people, male and female that looked well over 21, but they were 18 or 19.
It's hard for me to guess younger people's ages anymore. They look like they are either 12 or 22.
I volunteered at my daughter's high school a few months ago, administering EKG tests to check for rare heart conditions. I was on break and wandered to an area where there were drinks and snacks for the volunteers. A teacher approached me and started asking odd questions about whether I was done and why I was drinking water--was I okay? It finally dawned on me that she thought I was a loitering high school student. Uhhhh, no, lady, I am 38. I look a little young for my age, but there is no way in hell that I look like I am 18 or younger. The lady who questioned me was older (60s?), so maybe "young'uns" always do look ambiguously younger the older one gets.
As an old girl i must say something, in the early 50's there was no such thing as teen clothes we had to wear grown up stuff we had the bodies and face of the young but the dresses were two sizes to big for us. Make-up was thought to be tarty we just wore a bit of lipstick, mid 50's saw the word Teen ager being used to describe us, all those beautiful full dresses with petticoats and pencil slim skirts, we were it. 60's of course came the mini, its just the fashion of the day
I think they did. I remember my grandmothers when they were my age, and they looked old. I think that women of a certain age in the 50's and 60's just fell into a pattern of dress and hairstyles, etc which were appropriate to their age.
I am almost 64, but I look and dress about 50, and I feel about 40. I think the women of my generation are generally much younger at heart than other generations. We are open to all the activities that we are physically capable of.
WTH - I thought I already posted in this thread. I guess not. Maybe I'm just getting Alzheimers at an early age! Anyway ... yes, people looked older. When I look through my mom and dad's highschool yearbooks the kids in those books who are probably no more than 17 or 18 years old, and some younger - especially the ones wearing glasses - look like they're in their 50's!!! It was the hairstyles and the funky cat eye glasses (for the ladies) and huge, thick, black rimmed glasses (for the guys). ....... and Brylcreme!!!
I actually thought something was wrong with me too but I remember posting on this too.
If you look at pictures of the wealthy back then their faces look younger than the ones who did hard labor.
I think the rising obesity rates have something to do with looking younger. In addition to fashion,it seems fat faces fill out wrinkles.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Anyway ... yes, people looked older. When I look through my mom and dad's highschool yearbooks the kids in those books who are probably no more than 17 or 18 years old, and some younger - especially the ones wearing glasses - look like they're in their 50's!!! 
It was the hairstyles and the funky cat eye glasses (for the ladies) and huge, thick, black rimmed glasses (for the guys). 
....... and Brylcreme!!! 
