Welcome, Toni, you've found the right place to be. Where else can you get professional advice from a talented stylist like Angie together with feedback from those of us in our 50s and 60s in the same thread as wisdom from students like ALeigh?

Wear what makes you feel good. I see plenty of women my age (mid 50s like you) in distressed jeans. As others said, it's all about what you pair it with.

Maybe tell your daughter you want a shopping trip just for you. Ask her to act like your stylist and sit back and see what she chooses. It's a great way to get a read on how she perceives you. Then, if there's anything she picks that you like, buy it. If she picks out things you don't like, explain why. If it's too dowdy, let her know you don't want to feel that way.

I'm grateful that I have extremely stylish young MEN in my life who love to shop and are the best fashion advisors.

Thank you all for your kindness. I'm really going to enjoy this site.

Well, I went shopping by myself yesterday and bought 3 new outfits. The sales clerk was awesome ( early to mid 20's). And i also bought my first pair of destressed boyfriend jeans, who knew they were so comfortable? After I got home I sent pictures to my daughter. I also told her that her comment hurt my feeling.
This is a first ever.... I got a call from her within seconds with her apologizing to me before I could even say hello. ( im sorry to say we have always had a somewhat rocky relationship). Then told me she really liked what I bought ( thank you sales clerk at Maurices). Then she informed me she had also had bought one of the same blouses I bought.
I think shopping by myself was the best thing I could have ever done and will be doing it more often when shopping for me.

Oh Toni! That is so sweet of your daughter to call you up like that.
And so great that you were able to find a few things that you really like.
And also great that you found a helpful sales clerk (Isn't that the best? It just makes shopping so much fun and easier.)

That was very sweet of her to apologize.

I wonder if the issue is less about clothing than about you appearing to break out of a "Mom" box that she has of you: heavier weight, "older" dressing. I've have seen adult children become uneasy when their mothers adopt changes that--how to put this--make them appear as sexual beings, or enhance their sexuality. Dropping excess weight, feeling better in your skin, and wear clothes that reflect this confidence make you more attractive. When your kids aren't used to seeing you as anything other than "Mom," it can be disconcerting. But that's just my pop psych guess.

Good for shopping by yourself! And it's good to know that your DD apologized.

A happy ending, Toni -- great news.

And even though I said earlier that I sometimes have to tell him to mind his business, I do send my son pictures of any sneakers I'm thinking of buying for his opinion, because somehow the kids have a whole grammar attached to the kind of sneakers people wear, and on my own I am completely deaf to it.

I can show him two pairs of sneakers that to me look identical, and he'll say something like, "Mom, Pair A is only for middle-schoolers, and Pair B is only for drug dealers." Seriously. Identical shoes.

I take his word because what's the alternative? I don't speak sneaker.

Well done Kids are funny. I'll never forget when dd was 8 and telling me about HER generation's music (rap). And I was like, that's my generation selling you that stuff. Lol.

Toni - I'm so pleased to hear that this ended up so well with your daughter!!