Please what is a skater (English is not my native language) ?

This thread is very interesting to me. I am a teacher to young adults, and had intuitively been noticing that somehow, this summer, my capri/clam diggers and cropped pants suddenly seemed to cast me in an "older woman" catergory. As well as some cotton round knee-length skirts. Not that it is bad, after all, that's what I am (46), but that there was indeed a big divide. I don't like divides like this, it's much better when differences are more subtle.

I think a skater is a very short, flared skirt, krishnidoux!
This thread is giving me a bit of anxiety. I am 39, I always worry that my casual clothes make me look younger, and I constantly wear dresses in the summer. I am wearing one right night, it is a linen midi with bright poppies and I love it. I never thought of dresses like this as "young" before. If they are, what about my new short jumpsuit?

Una said: "I associate capri looks with a certain "I may garden any minute" attitude - implying that practical no-nonsense comfort means abandoning any sense of style. I KNOW it is possible to wear capris (or whatever is in between shorts and pants) and look killer, but I can't say I ever see it outside of YLF."

This is exactly the way I feel. I've come around to the ankle crops, but capris/clams remain a poison eye for me outside of the fab styling seen here on YLF.

This is a really interesting thread. I'll have to look around; I haven't really noticed the yt dress thing except for lots of shapeless, quite unattractive patterned maxis that don't actually look good on anyone and some bad juniors dresses worn with tasteless high platform sandals. Except for those wearing typical "edgy" looks, most young ladies I notice are "fashion behind" compared to the ladies on YLF. I'll have to keep my eye peeled.

What I wore recently on a hot day was a tube-type midi, gray tee, and dark metallic Birkis. As a 50-year-old who just will not brook frump if I think I can help it, I now feel fortunate that I think my petite stature has kept me away from crops. I don't own a single pair. Phew!

Catching up on this thread, I have to say it's really bothering me how many here who are younger than me are worried about their triceps and legs etc.

OMG! Please get over that, and fast!!!!

I do remember going through that stage myself in my 30s, but something changed once I hit and slid past my 40s: it hit me that no matter what, today, this moment, right now, is the best my skin/body etc is going to look. It is all downhill from here on out. That wasn't a depressing thought. It was a moment of clarity, which made me LOL... like the Buddha laughed...

And it wasn't too long after that when I began to appreciate dresses -- for the first time in my life!

Dresses weren't something I embraced in my younger days because I thought I wasn't thin & toned enough. And I can assure you I was way more thin & toned then, than I am now!!!!

I remember when I first joined YLF that Angie helped me get over this idea I had that my arms were too fat and flabby to bare. She and this forum helped me re-train my eye to realize that sleeveless is actually a lot more flattering than short sleeves. What a revelation. NOBODY is looking at your flabby untoned arms. They just aren't.

One thing I dislike about current fashions is that I see way too many short sleeve tops and dresses. Those are unflattering and frumpy on me . As are ankle length/cropped pants, unless worn with a heel and rolled and styled VERY specifically... which honestly is too much work. Give me full length pants, or clams at the knee.

Or a dress that hits at the knee, a little above, or a little below....

It is exactly a month and one year before I hit the big 5-0.

You look stunning in your emerald dress Shiny, and I had the same light-bulb moment myself in my late 40's!
Seize the day I say and wear dresses at any age

Wow -- I don't claim to speak for the young set at 39 yrs, but I do feel I am on the bubble. Before this summer I can definitely tell you when summer comes I am looking for ANY excuse to wear a sundress, dress up a sundress or buy a new sundress. I forgot who pointed it out on this thread but dresses are so EASY. Just add a bag shoes and jewelry and done. I also like the fact that dresses provide the same level of coverage as shorts but look more polished. As far as wearing crops/ capris I have noticed the preference more experienced women have for them in the summer. They seem to stand in for shorts, skirts and dresses. I personally don't care how light weight they are they just look like instant sweat to me.

Gaylene: Rachylou, I think it's that giddiness and aura of potential that
imbues even the strangest of outfits with such charm when worn by a
young woman. Maybe, as older woman, we ought to love that about them
instead of trying to emulate or re-capture it?

I can try, but love is a tall order. Lol. Youth strikes me as a wretched affliction.

This feeling may be, come to think, a reflection of Asian genes. I got mistaken for high school well into my 30s. It's a big creep out when larval high school boys ask you out. Giant, six-foot larvae... eeww