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Don't we women have enough problems without being catty about our hair and fashions?
Have we learned nothing from the struggles of the women who came before us who fought to be accepted for themselves, their minds, and their actions, and not what they looked like?
Oy ...
And OP - shame on you. Any post that starts out "this is not to bash ... " is doing just that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gypsychic
Quite frankly, even some of the very young women in the past looked "frumpy and older" due to fashions and hairstyles of the time. Just watch some old movies from the 1950s.
You just think they look "frumpy and older" because you're judging them on their fashions and hairstyles, which, I assure you, were not considered "frumpy" by any means in their day. Women often tend to wear the same hairstyles over the decades; you see a hairstyle in the photograph of a younger woman that you associate with older women because you're used to seeing that style on older women in real life, and you think that young woman is "frumpy", but she is following the style of her day.
As for the 80s clothing depicted above - I'm waiting for big shoulder pads to come back in style. I loved them, and 80s fashion. We rocked back then!
He's not bashing anyone. Read again, he says women are still very attractive when we're older, including his wife, but when he looks at pics from back in the day, older women looked older. He is definitely right. The fashions, hair styles and makeup advice for older women DID tend to make them look their age or older.
He is asking what people think it was, whether the fashion, hair-dos or whatever, that kept older women from looking as hot as we do now...hardly an insult. He's not talking about celebs, but average women. When I was growing up, all the 50+ women in my family anyway looked the older housewife part. My mom wore aprons around the house, for God's sake, lol. It's not the same now and OP is just asking about the fashion trends that changed. That's why he's asking on the Fashion forum.
Really beautiful clothes designed for older women are relatively recent, just like really beautiful clothes for plus size people are relatively recent. The choices back then were reflective of what society thought of older women and beauty then.
I think Weezy made a good point. My mom's hair was set in giant rollers and piled on top of her head, then glued in place with half a can of Aqua Net.
Exactly. You look at say from the late 90s to today it's been a complete 180. Women in their 40s and up wear clothes that are sexy, hot etc. and really fit their figure and have all kinds of nice hairstyles and such. Which, correct me if I'm wrong, but definitely wasn't really widespread in the past. Heck, many movies now have a trope of the "hot sexy older woman" lol. But say growing up that didn't seem to be the case, how many movies I watched as a kid where you saw a woman with about a dozen hairroller things in their hair and frumpy/matronly clothes lol. It's not about dressing like they're 20 but not dressing and looking like they're in their 60s/70s lol.
My wife for example always wears really nice and pretty dresses/skirts, exercises and eats right and has a great body and can definitely look way better than plenty of much younger women. Now my post was how in the past it seems as if few women that age would do any of that, even though they could have still looked great. And again, I realize it was different then. Like I could be wrong but if my wife were to go back to the 50s/60s/70s etc. she'd probably get a lot of shocked looks. Not that she dresses slutty or very revealing or anything, just keeps in good shape, wears some dresses/skirts/tops etc. that may have a bit of cleavage and shows her "assets" but nothing crazy. She also has long hair which again, correct me if I am wrong but wasn't common for women 40+ to have back then either.
To start, this is NOT to bash older women, 40+ isn't even close to "old", heck, my wife is 43 lol. What I am curious about is looking at pictures/watching movies from much more in the past it always seemed as if women that were 40+ the kind of fashion was always horrible, pretty much made to make them look way older than they were; from their hair, to makeup, to clothes etc. Nowadays it's quite common to see women that age (including my wife, shameless plug lol) look very attractive, hot, cute, sexy you name it.
Obviously that kind of horrible fashion has gone out the window and of course I am happy. And of course I realize that in the past women of a certain age was not supposed to look as so many do now. But my question is, when it comes to clothes/makeup/hairstyle etc. etc. that women in that age range would typically have from the past, what was it in particular that made them look so much older/unattractive? Again, not saying they themselves were, just it all seemed to colmulate in the exact opposite of attractive. Like, even an otherwise model 20-something couldn't wear the clothes and do their hair and makeup in the same way and still look good lol.
Just kind of curious from an old obsolete fashion standpoint, as obviously biologically nothing has changed with women since yet clearly in the past a woman my wifes age (I, myself am 30).
Your first paragraph makes an interesting point. This must be where the young guys who come on here (or used to come here) to troll about women being over the hill at 25, and 40 being bag-lady age, and all that kind of stuff, get their impressions about what 40+ aged women look like. Because they sure aren't getting their impressions from the 40-somethings around them!
RE: fuddy-duddy fashion making people look older: remember Ward Cleaver, Cary Grant, Bogie, etc? Men in the movies and TV have changed, too. Men IRL have changed radically. Nowadays, 40+ guys are still in T-shirts and jeans, or skater baggy shorts, carrying a skateboard around.
What era from the past have you been watching, btw? Way back when, it was the thing for women in their 20's, to try to look like their mothers. One WANTED to look older, for credibility, I gather. The matronly look was the thing, once women graduated from college. That must be what you're seeing. (See old college yearbooks from back then.) That changed completely, after the late 60's youth culture revolution, which made it ok for everyone to "let their hair down", so to say, and be more casual about everything.
I'm 41, and I think the problem during my childhood ('80s) was a combination of BIG shoulder-pads, bad hair dyes that only came in a few colors, and women figuring out "work professional" wear after we started becoming executives, etc. The businesswomen of that era were trying to look "hard" and almost manly, wearing these awful pants/skirt-suits that did ZERO for their figures. I guess they thought if they appeared too feminine and/or sexy, they wouldn't be taken seriously? Think Melanie Griffith in "Working Girl," or that woman from "Secret of My Success." This was what they had to deal with, and yes, it made women over 30 look MUCH older.
Here's what I'm talking about:
The "men's wear" look was big back then, I remember that. And it was purely an American thing. I remember going to a conference in Europe in the early 90's, and the American women wore skirt-suits of drab, men's suiting (think--lawyerly stuff), with very long suit-jackets and skirts below the knee, while the European women wore short, tight brightly-colored skirts and jackets--almost neon colors. They were exact opposites of the American women, who looked like they'd come from some Bizarro-world.
Part of the idea behind women's business fashion at the time was, as I recall, deterring sexual harassment. Hence the drab colors, the exaggeratedly long lengths, and the shapelessness of the clothes. The business fashion in Europe at the time was quite the opposite. It invited being gawked at.
Or women need to look "hot and sexy for me" thread?
Or "Suddenly when turning 40, women looked old" thread?
I have no idea what you're talking about.
Not sure you do either except to say...you hate older fashion even though you weren't born then?
Because the theory I think you're espousing is inaccurate.
You think Beyonce looks "young"? And she's only 36.
OH snap, no - you're right. There WERE no sexy hot women in the 70's-80's who "aged well"...might wanna tell Madonna that. Raquel Welch. Jane Seymour. Farrah Fawcett, Naomi Campbell. Cher. Cindy Lauper. Christy Brinkley. Cindy Crawford. Iman. Debbie Harry. Michelle Pfeiffer. Lisa Bonet. Kim Basinger. Tina Turner. Elle MacPherson and every other Sports Illustrated cover? Lauren Hutton. Cybill Shepard. Beverly Johnson.Cheryl Tiegs
Tell Christina Aquilera she didn't have to work so hard to look like Betty Grable.
You're 30?
The human brain doesn't even mature until age 26 so it's hard to take it seriously when someone your age decides to completely trash any women not of your "era".
BTW please tell the current day "sexy hot women" to stop going out in filthy pajamas and slippers.
The worst part is, you're implying that all previous generations of women were stupid for looking that way.
Which is always the case when the current generation of experts re-examine women or fashion of the past.
Also hilarious you apparently think MEN of past eras looked "young". Or something.
Also, hate to tell ya but Megan Markle looks 45. And she looked ridiculous in that gown for her engagement photo.
ETA: Oh hell, I just spent all this time answering the OP and all your posts are about MILFS and your wife going "commando", granny panties etc.
I'm a 44 year old woman and I know exactly what the OP was talking about. Thinking about my mom, and especially my grandma, they've looked "old" for as long as I can remember. I think it was mostly the short haircuts. Why did everyone over 40 feel the need to cut and perm their hair? Thinking back about some of the clothing styles of the 80's, even some worn by young people were old lady-ish (long skirts with blouses). The only think I found slightly off-putting about the OP was the insistence that he wasn't calling 40 old.
Rue McClanahan was 51 when she was on the Golden Girls. That's the hair I'm talking about.
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They're still good at marketing, I guess.
I'm a 44 year old woman and I know exactly what the OP was talking about. Thinking about my mom, and especially my grandma, they've looked "old" for as long as I can remember. I think it was mostly the short haircuts. Why did everyone over 40 feel the need to cut and perm their hair? Thinking back about some of the clothing styles of the 80's, even some worn by young people were old lady-ish (long skirts with blouses). The only think I found slightly off-putting about the OP was the insistence that he wasn't calling 40 old.
