Do you ever watch that program on TLC called What Not to Wear? I tune in occasionally when they feature someone who is, shall we say, mature. Every once in a while I learn something that is helpful in dressing this aging body of mine.A few days ago they featured a woman of about sixty years of age. She dressed flamboyantly with lots of glitter and her hair was blonde and big. She was a divorced mom who dressed, acted, and enjoyed dancing and partying with her daughter.
I couldn't really relate to where she was coming from but I watched it anyway. Turned out that I found it to be one of the most melancholy programs I've ever seen.
The program hosts always deal with clothes first. In this case, she was ready to tone down the glitter and got some really nice outfits that were more appropriate to her age - yet still fun.
Hair was next, and that's where it all fell apart. Her long, big, blonde hair was transformed to a shorter, more classic, cut. The peroxide blonde was toned down to a share more honey colored. No more teased hair, just a classy style more age appropriate. I loved it! She hated it.
The show might as well have stopped right then, because she was no longer with the program. She couldn't accept her new hair style. The comment that continues to stick with me is when she said "guys won't like it".
I wanted to reach through the TV screen and give her a hug and tell her that it doesn't matter if guys don't like it; it doesn't even matter if girls don't like it; it's about what you like and what makes you feel good. I guess in this case, her previous style did make her feel good, but I can't help think that it was for the wrong reasons. She was a soft-spoken woman who dressed in such a way a to draw attention to herself and to please others she felt she had to. My heart went out to her as I sensed that she hadn't yet experienced the peace of accepting herself for the wonderful person she was created to be.
One of the best things about growing older is that we lose the desire to please everyone else and we become more comfortable with showing the world who we really are. I want to look nice and presentable but I have no desire to look twenty again. I'm fifty and proud of it!
6 comments:
I am with you on that one! Poor woman!
Me too! And I love that show cause I can use those tips too. My greatest fear is I will become a frumpy old lady:))
Absolutely! I've started to learn that at just 30. And by 60, that wisdom should have taken root. Just maybe, though, she'll find it's not too late to change her way of thinking.
Just finished whining to my husband that I'm sick and tired of watching those shows, the ads, the tv programs, etc. that tell you that you're not acceptable unless you look a certain way. I've bought into to it for years, but now, at 63 years old, I'm going to wear whatever I want (as long as I'm decent and legal! LOL!) and enjoy it! Maybe a tattoo? A necklace with huge rainbow colored stones? Bright pink sneakers? A flower in my hair? Who knows? Who cares, but me?! As long as it makes me feel good and is an expression of the fun and "colorful" person I am!!
I'm with Terri on the frumpy thing. It's so true that as you get older, you stop caring so much what others think. It's very freeing! It's too bad this lady still lives through what others think of her. Especially since you can't please everyone anyway. Really sad.
Bravo! Well said, Linda. I'm not twenty, and it's silly for me to pretend I am. The classic, professional look is more my style.
Blessings,
Susan
BTW, I found you on Terri's blogroll. :)
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