The Golden Years : Fashion Sense Vs. Fashion Sensibility

A continuing series on aging. Page 9: Looking to my future ~ Old Lady Fashion

I am trying to still care how I dress. I remember ten years ago being out with my same aged forty something friend. We were at a play at a local theater and all the stylish older ladies were out in full force. I whispered over to my friend before the show started “that will be us when we are old, dressed to the nines and hob knobbing”

My hob knobbing desires are still strong but my fashion sense is beginning to lose its fight to fashion sensibility aka as dressing for comfort and practicality.

Sunday I went out in a black sweater and black (stretch) slacks. The stretch slacks are not my greatest crime; I can easily justify them for a Sunday afternoon at the community theater. It was the shoes and the jacket that flew in the face of every stylish notion I ever held. The sweater has thin horizontal lines of gold running through it so I paired it with brown eye liner, brown/gold jewelry. I did all this because I wanted to wear these little comfy easy to slide on brown boots rather than the black patent leather pair I have to struggle to get on but are much more fashionable. I might have pulled it off to if I didn’t then throw on a black cape with silver specks. The cape was perfect for the weather and I knew there was no coat check so I wouldn’t have to deal with the bulk. Lazy? Practical? Unfashionable? Yes. Yes. And yes.

I went out like that.

I did it again today. I have these slacks (OMG..I just realized they too are stretch pants…sigh). Anyway, they shrunk sometime this winter. I must have put them in the dryer. So now they are too short. But I wanted to wear them (with my comfy easy to slide on brown boots). Now these boots are ankle high so they are perfect for stuffing your slacks into and hitting the town. The problem is that the slacks are too short to stuff. It was actually warm enough for sandals today but they are too short for that also.

So here is what I did. I took two large rubber bands and wrapped them around my pants and ankles and then pulled my comfy easy to slide on brown boots over the scrunched up mess. I’m not even sure if it looked good or if it looked like M.C. Hammer in pajama pants.

All I know is an hour and a half in and I pulled my car over and took those rubber bands off!

Just as quickly I pulled into a small shopping mall to check out a friend’s wares. I got out of my car and looked down. My too short stretch pants were now hanging just above my boots and they were wrinkled. “Damn” I forgot about my pants” I said aloud and looked up to see a young man smiling at the crazy lady talking to her feet in the parking lot. I’ve been reduced to that.

Pulling out of the lot I noticed a woman talking to a friend. She seemed to be about ten years older than me. She was wearing a light green sweat shirt, purple sweat pants, pink socks, and sandals. She looked really comfortable.