Me, circa 2000 at 20.
Oh how I miss the 90s! Silver tab Levis, velvet chokers, dark lipstick, overplucked eyebrows, Doc Maartens...and who can forget those rubber Steve Madden platform sandals that smelled like a locker room by the end of the summer?
I was a 90's teen. I often long for the time before cell phones and social media, when the only acronyms I knew were TLC, SWV and NSYNC. You couldn't reach someone whenever you wanted to, and if it was an emergency or you wanted them to call you, you paged them. Having a pager was the "cool" thing; I remember having a pink, pellucid one.
Me and my friends spent our summers cliff jumping, driving around on back roads, exploring new places, swimming in creeks, sunbathing at local parks and - wait for it - talking. Yes, we talked to each other! Face to face! When we were together we looked at each other, we didn't stare at our phones. We connected.
I recently read an article called "50 Things No Woman Over 40 Should Own". On that list? Uggs (you will have to pry my Uggs out of my cold, dead hands), Harem pants, a magnifying mirror (because we're so old and ugly why would we want to look at ourselves up close?), headbands, scrunchies, sweatsuits, peasant blouses, choker necklaces, sequined anything, sparkly eye makeup, leather mini skirts, ("it's short, it's tight, just a no") and bomber jackets. There were more items on that list, but these are the ones that annoyed me the most. The message I got? If you're over 40 you are no longer allowed to wear anything fun, trendy or cute. Cover yourself up and make sure you don't sparkle. Don't look in that magnifying mirror because you will not like what you see close up. Don't wear anything short or tight because there's no way you have the body to rock something like that if you're over 40. Chokers? Why would you want to draw attention to your neck?
The most frustrating and often said thing to me by women when I show them something to try on is, "not at my age". Why? Why not at your age? Why can't you rock a mini skirt or a dress with spaghetti straps? Those wide leg pants with flowers on them? They look beautiful on you. As women get older, we have a tendency to shy away from anything that makes us stand out. We don't want to be noticed.
Wear whatever the fuck you want.
DRESSING THEIR AGE
