continued from Women Over Fifty...
So
I stopped shopping at Nordstroms and started shopping at much less expensive stores since everyone could plainly
see I wore a size 14 anyway and men had now started looking through me, not at me. Besides, I was saving hundreds
of dollars on my wardrobe. Practicality was becoming more and more important as I started to age. At least that was what I
told myself.
Then, when I was somewhere in my mid 50's, my husband made a comment one day. We were shopping
at a big box store and he spotted a woman who was overweight and probably in her late 40's to early 50's.
"She shouldn't be wearing shorts and a top like that. It looks terrible," he said, forehead pinched. I
cringed (knowing I was overweight too) but I agreed with him. I mean face it, loose skin, plump arms and baggy
knees are not attractive in today's skinny bitch tight ass world.
The following morning, I sucked in
a breath of resignation, gathered up all of my shorts, mini skirts and capped sleeve tops, placed them
in a black garbage bag (very appropriate for the occasion) and with great solemnity dropped
them off at the thrift shop.
But it begged the question. Why should only young, tight skinned slender
women wear shorts? If women over fifty (or forty) shouldn't wear shorts because men don't think
we look attractive in them, young women shouldnl't wear them because they look like an advertising billboard for sex.
.
Is that what it's all about? Sex? You can only wear short skirts, shorts, tight pants,
spaghetti straps and form-fitting dresses if you are young and attractive to men? Should we, after our child-bearing
years, change our wardrobe from sexy to drab now that we don't fit the "sex kitten" stereotype anymore?
.
I have to say, if the only women who should wear shorts and tight clothes are women who
are advertising sex, frankly that disturbs me. And on sooo many levels.
.
These are real issues for women no matter what our age because sooner or later
this will affect all of us. Are we going to slink off in a corner once our bodies start to bulge (or shrivel) and
sag with age? Or will we choose to change the perception of attractive to include mature women who have maybe gained
some weight and whose arms flap in the wind a bit as we wave good-bye?
I say go ahead and wear shorts,
bathing suits, tight pants and spaghetti strap dresses if we want to wear them. We probably aren't trying
to sell anything. We're just freakin' hot. But what if we do still want to feel sexy and desireable in
those tight pants, above the knee dresses and spaghetti strap summer dresses? Is that a crime?
.
As for me, I still won't be putting on that
cool pair of shorts I saw at the department store last week because frankly I just don't look good in them
anymore. I'm too self-conscious to prance around in them, flacid thighs clapping against each other softly with
every step. I won't wear them because someone might give me "the look". No matter the reason, the time
isn't right yet for me even though secretly I'd love to. Perhaps I'll don a pair when I'm seventy and don't give a rat's behind
about what any man thinks. Or woman for that matter.
.
My parents
had a friend who was a lot more than ten pounds overweight when I was growing up who always left her house
coiffed, and dressed to the nines and guess what...she looked fabulous! Is that the key? As we age, and our bodies change
should we make modifications on our clothing? A filmy cover over spaghetti strap tops, shorts that are just a little
longer with a flattering cut? Or am I still missing the point? here? I
see overweight young women every day in shorts, skin-tight tops and spaghetti strap dresses. They don't seem to have a hang-up
about it. Why should women over fifty?
.
By the way, my husband is 60 now and he had on a pair of shorts last weekend. He
looked good...for his age. But I think someone needs to tell all those old men over 50 that they don't
really look good in shorts either. Neither do the thirty plus guys with beer guts riding around in trucks and cars
with bumper stickers that say "No Fat Chicks". But that's another article.
.
