https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Fri, 08 May 2026 18:04:22 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928967 Thu, 09 May 2013 20:42:58 +0000 Mia 928967@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I am older than 45 and I have been eying up the fedoras. &nbsp;No frumpy sun hats for me! &nbsp;Mind you I will not be pairing mine with a tank top and short shorts....<br /><br /><br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928958 Thu, 09 May 2013 20:34:57 +0000 unfrumped 928958@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ krish, that sounds right--if it were the hat for you, maybe you'd feel comfortable. So keep looking! OTOH you might have some should/should not&nbsp;worries that are&nbsp;holding you back and no one else sees. If you find something, maybe you could post photos. &nbsp; https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928925 Thu, 09 May 2013 19:58:59 +0000 krishnidoux 928925@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Unfrumped, it's really just the fedora itself... I wear other hats, especially to protect myself from the sun. Everytime I have tried a fedora in a store so far, I have always thought I look like I'm trying too much. Maybe I haven't found THE one. <br /><br />Thank you everyone for your encouragement!<br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928849 Thu, 09 May 2013 17:51:49 +0000 DonnaF 928849@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I don't think one EVER gets too old to wear a fedora!&nbsp; I doubt that many teens or twenty-somethings have the panache to pull off the look, however.&nbsp; <br /><br />If I were teaching young people, I wouldn't wear anything purchased at Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, or other teen store where a student might show up wearing the same thing.&nbsp; Besides, the quality at teen fast fashion places is so dismal that many things show the lumps and bumps.&nbsp; And no ear gauges and/or piercings in tongue or eyebrow or other *coffee shop* styles; that IMHO would look like one is trying too hard.<br /><br />I am 300% positive you would never veer into Inappropriate Land, so relax and enjoy yourself!<br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928823 Thu, 09 May 2013 17:33:21 +0000 unfrumped 928823@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I would use more of the universal principles of proportion and outfit-appropriate-ness (a wide target) at any age.<br />Do you want a fedora-only , or could it be one of several hat styles? Or could you find that certain outfits are &nbsp;fedora-worthy but others aren't.<br />Do you look good in a fedora vs. another style? And what variation in size and shape, color or depth of tone.<br />That sort of thing. https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928805 Thu, 09 May 2013 17:11:05 +0000 Mo 928805@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I wore mine 2 weeks ago, just shy of 43. &nbsp;And an older man (senior for sure) walked up and&nbsp;complimented me on it at the WWII museum! https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928787 Thu, 09 May 2013 16:53:23 +0000 rachylou 928787@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ There's one restriction, but not age related: No more than one person in any given crowd can be wearing a mini fedora (like the one pictured). Otherwise, it's a hipster riot and the police will have to break y'all up... ;&gt;<br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928777 Thu, 09 May 2013 16:43:32 +0000 Day Vies 928777@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Never too old! A&nbsp;Fedora is classic and most "kids" don't have the sophistication or "swag" to pull it off. It's the kind of situation where I see where they want to go but they don't have&nbsp;enough self-awareness to pull it off convincingly.&nbsp; https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928758 Thu, 09 May 2013 16:18:33 +0000 rae 928758@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Yep, I just saw a much older woman in Beverly Hills rock rock rocking a dressy fedora with trousers and a structured cardigan. No limits! https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928752 Thu, 09 May 2013 16:13:40 +0000 shoegirl 928752@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Gosh, re the teacher and students issue, I must admit that if I were a teacher of teenagers (as opposed to young adults) I might be too terrified to risk trying anything new. I deeply admire you if you have the courage, and totally understand why you might think twice!&nbsp;<br /><br />On the subject of wearing things that are marketed at the young currently, which is a different issue from the one above (for me at least), if we all rigidly stick to what we think 'the rules' are for our age group, how will fashion and style ever evolve? SOMEONE has to have a new idea or try something new of else the whole thing grinds to a halt. Change is an essential feature of fashion.<br /><br />Whilst there is a definite grain of truth in the idea that young people can wear just about anything and not look ridiculous, whereas older women trying to wear various things can easily look ridiculous to current eyes, the more older women actually wear things they like even if some people will think they look ridiculous (because no matter how boringly you dress, someone will always think that you look ridiculous), the more everyone will adapt to the idea of older women having fun with fashion, and the less ridiculous we will look. <br /><br />Ideally, at least in my view (and as I said, I would be too terrified to even think of wearing anything interesting to work&nbsp;were I a teacher of individuals under the age of 18!)&nbsp;alleged age appropriateness should be very low down on the list of criteria by which we judge our outfits, because age is not in itself about the individual person. Even climate has an element of choice for those of us in the Western world, but age does not.&nbsp;Many individuals would change their age if they could, or at least undo age-related physical damage, and many individuals do not feel like a&nbsp;different person when they are older, so if you want to dress in a way that feels authentic for you as an individual, and you, that individual, feel pretty much the same as you did when you were younger, then dressing putatively age appropriately is likely to cause you to be dressing inauthentically for what really matters: you, the individual, the person, with your own unique personality, values and&nbsp;ideas. <br /><br />What you wear is about how you present yourself to the world as well as how it feels to you, and if you dress according to allegedly age appropriate guidelines, what you are communicating is your age rather than about you, the individual. What is the value in communicating an accident of birth that you have no choice about? I don't want to suggest that we can completely disregard age -- we live in a society and that has implications and effects -- but I do think it is worth asking ourselves whether such-and-such age-appropriate 'rule' or 'guideline' is something we want to follow or break. The more 'age-appropriate dressing'&nbsp;rules and guidelines&nbsp;I read about or hear, the more arbitrary and ridiculous many of them seem to me.<br /><br />Whether you choose to follow them or not depends on how invisible you want to be, as much as anything else. Those who enjoy invisibility will want to adhere to all the rules. (You still have to keep up to date though, because they change over time no matter how much people think they don't.)&nbsp;Those for whom invisibility is not one of their style aims may want to experiment with breaking the 'rules', especially in cases in which they have a hankering to wear a particular thing, as in this case of the fedora.<br /><br />Oops, sorry. Got carried away there! (It's my age you know.)<br /><br />Have fun, however you handle the 'age-appropriate guidelines' issue. https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928546 Thu, 09 May 2013 13:29:26 +0000 Angie 928546@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I see 90 year old men wear fedoras with panache. No age restrictions what so ever :)<br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928534 Thu, 09 May 2013 13:14:29 +0000 ClaraT 928534@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Not at all age-inappropriate. If I'm trying out a new style, I will wear it somewhere other than work or around town to allow me to get used to the feel/look. For example, I might wear it to a museum or a movie. When I feel more comfortable, I will introduce it in 'real life.' If it is a new or unusual-for-you style, there might be a few comments (but hopefully they will be positive).</p> <p>It is funny how we are afraid of appearing to 'try too hard.' (I am, anyhow.) I appreciate your desire to take a risk. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928532 Thu, 09 May 2013 13:11:53 +0000 Anonymous 928532@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ You can totally embrace youthful looks if you balance it. I think a fedora would look excellent on you, and not that you are trying too hard. I think fedora + crop top + whatever else the young things are wearing would be trying too hard, but blending in some youthful elements to your style is the way to go. I think of that too, that in order to effect change, we have to be the people doing it and providing models!<br /> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928523 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:39:04 +0000 Ingunn 928523@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ You have a point, for sure. Some of my younger colleagues have actually told me that after going out with me&nbsp;(and my husband), they felt more confident in going into raising a family - it seems that I made them see that there is a life after having kids and getting older, too:) It's a misconception to become conservative and stiff if you actually enjoy adventure and are curious about new things. https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928522 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:33:50 +0000 krishnidoux 928522@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Exactly. But then try to remember "cool" teachers when we were students... they dressed in a more youthful way, as opposed to the stiff conservative idea of a "teacher", or the other type, the ones&nbsp;"stuck in disco era".&nbsp;<br /><br />I find myself working in a very young environment, and most of my colleagues are in their 20s. We had an office conversation the other day where they told me how afraid they were to age. As a confident 45 yr old, it suddenly&nbsp;occurred&nbsp;to me that I too, can be a model for them and show them fashion after&nbsp;forty&nbsp;is not only possible, but alive and&nbsp;fun! That it's not all in the body, in other words.&nbsp; https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928519 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:26:13 +0000 Ingunn 928519@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Krish - that is why I'm hesitant, too. As a teacher, I'm all too aware of all the gossip going on about us among the students. I wouldn't want to fuel that, or make them think that I'm trying too hard to be "cool". https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928518 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:19:04 +0000 krishnidoux 928518@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Shoegirl, what a clever perspective! And so true.&nbsp;I will certainly follow your advice. I am lucky enough right now to be working in an environment where experimentation is possible. My issue with "age&nbsp;appropriateness" here is that I am a teacher to young adults, so this makes me extra aware not to look like I am trying to be like them.<br /><br />However, I really like your strategy of forcing yourself out of your comfort zone. I am ready to risk a Fedora for it! https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928515 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:16:35 +0000 deb 928515@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I hope not. I wear mine all of the time and I am 59. https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928513 Thu, 09 May 2013 12:01:31 +0000 shoegirl 928513@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ This makes me so sad. Of course you can wear a fedora! Why not? I personally think it a real shame to allow this idea that they are currently and in this culture most commonly worn by young women to stop you wearing one. And yes, you might feel a bit self conscious the first time you wear one, but I do not believe that that should automatically make you desist from doing so. Sometimes, doing something we truly want to do, and that has real value, is uncomfortable or starts off uncomfortable but then as we do it more it becomes comfortable. I personally make a point of wearing things that initially make me feel uncomfortably self conscious if I have a hankering to wear that item. When you do that, sometimes it remains uncomfortable and then you stop wanting to wear that thing, but other times it&nbsp;starts feeling completely normal very quickly. Either way you learn something and your style evolves. For me, that is fun and interesting.<br /><br />On the contrary, if you never risk trying wearing something -- experimenting -- then you may well&nbsp;retain a hankering to wear the item and never discover whether it could work for you or not.<br /><br />No doubt many would prefer to feel that slight dissatisfaction than suffer the temporary embarrassment of a potential failed experiment of this sort. If you are such a person, ignore this post. This is not for everyone, I know.&nbsp;But in case you might not be such a person, for what it's worth my experience of doing this makes me more bold -- more willing to try whatever style idea I have --&nbsp;the more I do it.<br /><br />Carpe diem! https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928504 Thu, 09 May 2013 11:52:19 +0000 Jaime 928504@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I plan to continue to wear my fedoras at 47 with short grey hair - why should Bogie have all the fun? https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928503 Thu, 09 May 2013 11:49:47 +0000 Sveta 928503@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I think of fedora hat as a classic so I don't see why it should have a age limit. If it fits your style go for it!<br />Humphrey Boggart rocked it and he was far beyond 25, right? I think it would look great on you, just make sure you find one in a scale with your petite frame. https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928450 Thu, 09 May 2013 10:02:01 +0000 krishnidoux 928450@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Thanks for these quick replies!&nbsp;<br /><br />Ingunn, I get you. I have tried fedoras in stores (the kind of "cool boutique" I suspect is geared mostly to young college girls) and always rejected them because I felt too self-conscious, and also self-conscious that the face under the fedora is not 25 any more. Wearing it when&nbsp;travelling&nbsp; yes, and I have seen other women do this with style too.&nbsp;<br /><br />This said, I am tempted to try! It is a good alternative to golf caps under the sun.&nbsp;<br /><br />Diane, thank you for the encouragement!&nbsp; https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928443 Thu, 09 May 2013 09:51:24 +0000 Anonymous 928443@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ I don't see why not. As long as everything in the outfit all looks stylishly put together then it would be a fab finishing touch. It's been said before, the devil is in the details and if the whole look gels then there's no reason why you shouldn't wear at 45. https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928442 Thu, 09 May 2013 09:50:44 +0000 Ingunn 928442@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ Interesting question! I think it depends more on your personal style than your age. It also depends on your regular environment.&nbsp;I agree that it looks awesome in Angie's example. Personally, I would prefer to wear a hat when I'm traveling, because so few wear it around here - young or old. Wearing a fedora in the suburbs would make me feel too self conscious, whereas in a city, I would be completely at ease.&nbsp;It wouldn't make me feel like trying too hard, not in this particular mix.&nbsp; https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/age-appropriate-question#post-928438 Thu, 09 May 2013 09:43:27 +0000 krishnidoux 928438@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ When are we too old to wear a fedora?&nbsp;<br /><br />For example, I was looking at these <br /><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.polyvore.com/pairing_striped_tops_with_unexpected/set?id=62141907">http://www.polyvore.com/pairin.....d=62141907</a><br />and I think that Angie's finishing touch with a fedora would look awesome. But is it acceptable at 45? Or just plain "am trying too much"?