I am only 36 but I will not wear a dress shorter than an inch or so above my knee, except with opaque tights. Some people (me) just do not have nice legs, and why would I deliberately show off the worst part of my body?!

I have been seeing a LOT of ladies around my office lately, age 50+, wearing dresses and skirts that fall 3-5 inches above the knee (or the opaque portion of the skirt ends there, with a see-through lace/chiffon falling lower). It looks AWFUL. I have also seen younger women doing this; they tend to look much better in the leg department, but still completely inapproprate for the office IMHO. My take on short skirts for people over, say, 40 (or at the office in general) is: just DON'T.

JMO.

ETA: me in a dress. I will not go any shorter without opaque tights!

After a while, all of this discussion makes me want to show my unattractive 50-year-old knees, just to be rebellious. My husband loves my legs (weird guy ;-)) and encourages me to wear shorts -- who are we to decide whether some other woman is allowed to bare her knees?

Just had to get on the soapbox and be contrary for a moment.

I have had another thought... I agree about Duchess Kate's short skirts and my delight when I heard the Queen told her to lengthen her hems! Lol. Ok, but the thing is... this is my thought... Duchess Kate is a conservative, classic dresser as needs must (not that she has no sass or kickiness, but still...). Her conservative classic clothes look funny short. I think if she was Tilda Swinton avant garde, it would be another story...

We are all free to wear what we want, sure. But why wear something that doesn't look nice, when better looking options exist? Of course there are plenty of people out there who go out in pajamas or sweats and obviously don't care at all how they look, so obviously not everyone is going to agree on this subject, lol!

Here is my take on what makes an outfit appropriate, or not: clothes, just like body language, tattoos, etc, are a form of non-verbal communication; what a person should wear depends on what they want to communicate. That's why it is appropriate (just for example) to wear a sexy outfit on a date or to the club; if you are trying to attract a mate (or if you just want to fit in with all the other ladies who are trying to attract dates), a sexy look is totally appropriate. Wearing the same outfit to the office would be inappropriate, because you (generally) don't want your coworkers to think of you in a sexual way. To take another (non-sexist) example, think of a guy in full leather motorcycle gear; if he is with his motorcycle club, he is wearing appropriate gear (leather is safer for a bike, makes you look tough around the other men, etc); however, this would be inappropriate for the office because, at the office, you are probably not trying to communicate a tough-guy image. Just like a woman at the office is (hopefully) not trying to communicate a "sexy" image. That's how I look at it, anyway.

You go, Janet! And I'll be right behind, on my bike, with my bumpy knees on display in my shorts.

Seriously, though, isn't this whole "who should bare what" discussion really about how age and experience ought to give a woman confidence into what is right for HER in a particular situation. A decision to conceal or reveal might be based on ideas of flattery or convention, but it could just as easily be based on a desire to stand out or to be comfortable. By the time we reach the mid-point of our lives, the answer to "what to bare" ought to come from inside us, not from an external "rule".

High five, Gaylene.

Marley's gallery made me laugh. Let's celebrate ALL knees.

Jokes aside, it is our right to expose and conceal our bodies as we see fit. And in the big scheme of things, others aren't all that concerned with what your knees look like anyway. It's YOU who has to be comfortable with the exposure and proportions.

Janet, why wouldn't Jamie love your legs? He should!

I'll add my spider veins and back knee view for good measure - plus a whole slew of knee dimples. Clearly my 45 year old knees are smiling and happy.

I am feeling rebellious, too, Janet -- wearing shorts today on my 50 something legs.

petitesanonymous -- I think your legs and knees look great and would never hesitate to bare them. But as you say, it's up to each person.

Gaylene, what a lovely post. It deserves to be taped onto mirrors everywhere. You're so right.

Knees are one of those body parts that start looking odder the longer you stare at them. Maybe that's what they're so far down our legs? At the end of the day, it's about being glad they work.

Marlene's pictures are too funny. I relate the most to #7.

Marley, where did you get that picture of my knees?
Proportion-wise, I like a skirt just above the knees, but at 66, I feel it's only fair that I have to wear opaque stockings with it.