Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Busy being inappropriate

...I have this shirt, Cowboy found it for me, which according to everyone except Cowboy--is age-inappropriate. It's black and it's got a cup o'noodles logo on the front. It's been my user name for years--I like it.

I like to think--and yeah, maybe it's wishful thinking--that I don't look like I'm in my late forties. I don't act like someone's mom, and I'm not touchie-feelie, but my kid told me the shirt is horrible, "it's a young person's shirt, mom. Only people in their twenties should wear it."

If my daughter doesn't care, it's obviously a perception issue. So, I ignored him. But today, my mom told me the shirt was inappropriate. And I started wondering if there was some kind of label that said--"hey, you're over forty, and that means a nice washed floral three quarter sleeve t-shirt, you know the kind, Jodi? With the fake antique-y logo of a flower shop, and little bits of glitter?"

It's like when I first dyed my hair. I went auburn, everyone went auburn--it was the color-choice, and still is, of forty-somethings everywhere. You know someone is "of a certain age" when they do the blood-scarlet hair dye from L'oreal Feria.

The day I realized it, I went to a hair saloon and said, "I want highlights!" They said ok, and gave me polite lil' old lady highlights. Very subtle and understated. I said, "Uhm? I can't "see" them", and they said, "don't worry, when you get out in the sun, it'll be obvious."

So I went out in the sun and said, "wow, I look...very age appropriate." Two weeks later, I bought some colorist and went dark caramel with fat chunky blonde highlights as wide as my fist.

Not that I'm trying to maintain eighteen, but--I'm not trying to define my age. Sure I'm old. But on the inside, I'm still me, and "me" has chunky highlights and a closet full of t-shirts. They're not tight, and they don't show skin.

If externals are indicative of my internal worth, maybe I should go back to windshield sized trifocals.

7 comments:

Kaige said...

Bah! You're only as old as you think you are. I was going to say as old as you feel, but ugh, I don't wanna be that old today. LOL!

I think it's an awesome t-shirt!

Unhinged said...

You know who we really dress to impress is?

Number One.

Anything outside of you is either icing or a bug on the cake. And it's up to you to decide if you're going to eat the icing, push it aside, or flick the bug away.

It's hard, we all go through this second-guessing about our shells and the superficial, but the face in the mirror is really the only one who counts.

Seriously.

deanna said...

The weird thing is (and my mom's told me this for years) we don't feel "our age." I try to make myself feel the way I think might be appropriate to feel at 48, because that's, you know, so ancient, and to see myself in the mirror as ancient. But I guess we're not ancient, we're just not crazy young either.

My daughter urged me to buy the t-shirt with Snoopy dancing on the front, that I mainly wear when I know I won't go out that day. But it's fun, even if people see me. :o)

Anonymous said...

You mess with your hair? Me, I try really hard not to. It's a waste of time.

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

I don't buy that Age Inappropriate garbage for clothes. My mom pulled it on me, too. I told her I'd been waiting my whole life for her to stop being so damn negative about my wardrobe, so I can dress how I want to.

She didn't get the point.

Anonymous said...

Moms will be moms. I'd complain, but I do it too.

Unknown said...

lol, Alice--I tried the gray with dignity thing, but--hey, it was just gray. So I settle for highly colored for most of two months and indifferent for another two, then I go back to being all spiffy.

(lol, my daughter wants a lip ring. I'm trying not to be my mom, but it's hard.)

Hi Susan, welcome to my blog. :)

Deanna, we're in the same ballpark--I like snoopy shirts. I love snoopy as the WWl flying ace :)