Short silver grey hair. Bold glasses (own and wear them in a variety of colours). Midi skirts. Long toppers. Round-neck tops. Ballet flats. Shawl/scarf/necklace. At least one non-neutral colour in every outfit.

Proud member of Team Color and Team Matchy-Match. They both feel very much like me, and I feel less pressure now to try to do as others do than when I was younger.

Sartorial preferences for half a century:
straight-legged pants, neutrals, low heels, pants instead of skirts, dark denim, polished boots, sweaters instead of shirts, scarves instead of necklaces, minimal jewelry, solids instead of patterns, shoulder bags, and always a mariner (or two or three!)

What made me bookmark YLF years ago, Angie, was a post you wrote in which you described how, at a major Fashion event you refused to go along with stiletto-loving crowd and continued to wear your low heels. I loved your message that we don’t have to follow the crowd to be stylish!

This is fun! I am enjoying the comments.
Even as I evolve to a more casual style for work, I always choose to be tidy and polished. Accessories are a must. Jewelry may as well be vital organs. I wear rings, earrings and a stack of bracelets daily and really only remove when showering or gardening.
In clothing I frequently like to wear a slim fitting (but not tight) column of color with either a big scarf or some kind of topper. I choose to mix high end and less expensive items. Wearing head to toe of one or the other makes me feel uncomfortable. I enjoy bold prints and statement pieces. Small, but mighty, I am not afraid to stand out.
Large handbags are very much me, even though much of the world may wonder what in the world I am lugging around.
My most recent choice is owning my gray hair. The more silver and icy white hairs that show up, the happier I am.

Great post. I have always loved high waisted wide legged pants and preferred them cropped. I wear them even if they are not trending. I always wore flat chunky footwear. I have always worn earth tones.

YAY TO EVERYONE. You are wise and wonderful, and I'm proud of your sartorial choices with you. LOVED reading this.

Gaylene, thank you for the shout-out. And today, I'd probably wear flats to the major Fashion event.....

ROCK ON LADIES.

I love this thread!! I am "conservative" in my dress (so says DH), tend towards understatement, and am unlikely to turn heads because my outfit is so interesting, and that is 100% right for me. I've always kept my hair dark (even though I'm asked why I've never gone blond, as if that's a requirement in life) and never (as yet) tried to lighten it or highlight it. I also embrace my pale Irish skin and don't worry that I disappear right into the white sand at the beach Spray tans are just too much work for me!

Team Color, Polish and Magpie.

I took it as a compliment a few years ago when DD’s friend asked “does your mom not own a pair of yoga pants?” (I absolutely do...for yoga, not for running around town!)

Find me in clothes/shoes/accessories that are colorful, with some extra detail, and something sparkly — everything I need so I can bring sunshine to the people I meet.

Reporting for duty on Team Tomboy with Runcarla! Plus flat/low shoes, little to no makeup, natural hair colour (first greys showed up more than a decade ago right after I'd finished undergrad!) and short-to-very-short hairstyles. I guess that's all part of the tomboy package.

Other than that, though, pretty much anything is fair game!

This is such a fun thread. I really, really enjoy reading everyone's comments. It has also forced me to get my thinking cap on as I usually don't spend a lot of time thinking deeply about this stuff. I just wing it or go with my emotions. That said a few things have stayed with me since childhood;
Blazers - in high school I wore them to school (not in style at the time) and wanted a job "where I take people out to lunch" so I could wear said blazers - hahahha

Trousers with a color or print blouse: kinda a "uniform" for me. As a child I will never forget my father trying to bribe me with $$ to wear a dress. I never wore dresses or skirts until college, hahah

Sheath dresses and pencil skirts - they suit and flatter my figure best. A uniform for me.

Lastly my entire family knows my favorite colors: White, Red and anything animal print melts me.

What a great thread!

The first thing that comes to mind is the decision in my early 50’s to stop coloring my hair and let it turn silver.

I also love and enjoy color—in my clothes, home, and garden. I recently added fuchsia pants to my wardrobe and have enjoyed wearing such a bright color, especially during dreary winter. I love florals, and they are well-represented in my wardrobe. And I have a bit of a magpie gene—currently I’m wanting summer sandals with a bit of shiny as well as comfort.

Crazy shoes. I remember in 8th grade I had a pair of red faux crocodile embossed oxfords ('80s style); I felt amazing wearing those shoes. I've maintained a collection of unusual shoes ever since. They're not always sophisticated or high fashion, but they're always eye-catching and unusual in some way.

That and dressing mostly in black. Yes, I get that a lot of people associate it with teenaged rebellion, but it is comfortable for me, including black tights. I generally try to incorporate some sort of interesting texture or detail (grommets, pearl buttons, a sparkly brooch, scarves), but black is more than a foundation for me. Plus, it is like Garanimals for adults (for those unfamiliar, Garanimals was originally designed so if you matched the animals on the tags, you knew the clothing would match, making it easy for children to choose their own clothing without clashing) - anything goes with black!

My preferences: neutral colors, though never black. I love the cheeriness of bright colors but they usually feel overwhelming to me even when others have told me to wear more color and have complimented me on the rare occasions I wear it. I don’t feel my best in any bold colors. I wear them in patterns or small doses. YLF has helped me figure out ways to enjoy color and be happy with looking great in navy, grays, tan, white and light blue. I’m definitely team silhouette vs. team color.

I also prefer loose, relaxed fits, clothing with few embellishments, and tomboy looks, and again, YLF has given me a lot of inspiration on how to do this in ways that make me feel chic, interesting, and not sloppy.

My almost-4 year old daughter is a vehement girly-girl who hates wearing pants and wants everything in bows and ruffles. I love that she loves clothes. I am determined to encourage her to develop her own style (but sometimes I do have to explain to her that girls are allowed to wear pants...)

In the last 10 years I bought 2 dresses and 0 skirts. Dresses were floor length, bought to attend weddings. I don’t like myself in dresses or skirts so I only wear pants. I have a couple of shorter dresses but I wear them over pants. I wear what I like and disregard suggestions to wear something that doesn’t feel like me.
I stopped coloring my hair against my friends and my hairdresser ‘s advice. Untreated fine hair is harder to style but I just keep fighting
I wear mostly fluid or oversized clothes despite being petite. And I finally feel free, no peer pressure at my age

I have an ongoing love for 70s looks, dresses and mid wash blue denim.

And wavy naturally styled hair.

Another member of team color reporting for duty. I love wearing colorful outfits (red and pink are my favorite colors), mostly dresses, colorful or metallic shoes, statement necklaces or scarves, and bright lipstick. These have been my preferences (minus the lipstick) since I was a child. Although I have received mostly positive comments about my choices, there was a time when I was in college in the early to mid 90s when some people in college told me I dressed somewhat "different", and my friends used to tell me I was so easy to find among a crowd because I was the only one wearing colorful dresses and heels to class.

Team Dressy and Team Talbots! I have worn Talbots since I was in my 20s, partly because I felt ladylike and elegant in their clothes, and partly because their clothes fit my short, curvyish self. Talbots is not afraid of color or whimsy. I have two tees with sequined pink flamingos on them: one mint from 2008 (?!) and a yellow one from 2018. And yes, some of my Talbots clothes last and last.

I am called dressy because I own no denim and only started wearing sneakers a couple years ago...and even then, sneakers are super casual for me. Loafers remain my preferred shoe. I also love dresses, jackets, and wider-legged pants...think Kate Hepburn.

Wonderful thread! Add me to the grey hair, short hair, flat shoes, vintage jacket and proud rally! My best is when people in second hand stores try to find the most outlandish things to show me, because they are "your style." And the many times younger women have told me they wish their mothers would let their hair go grey like mine!

I'm visiting my parents right now and was looking through some old dresses from my elementary school years.

1. Red flannel made by my grandma
2. Blue calico made by my mom
3. Green with attached apron, I remember buying this at a second hand store called The Thrifty Scotsman.

I feel sort of charmed (a kind of pride I guess?) by my past sartorial preferences. I think my style is still a bit old fashioned though I'll be sitting out the full-on prairie dress revival!

Fun thread!

For most of my life I have gravitated towards neutrals and earth tones. My mom, who really liked bright colors and patterns, would say to me wtih scorn, "You dress just like your dad--drab, dull, and conservative!" And I was fine with that, because that's what I like. I have added more color to my wardrobe over the past few years, but my outfits are always heavily grounded in neutrals.

I sometimes get told that I'm too dressed up, but I don't mind. I think that most people dress overly casually, so in my world, I'm just where I need to be dressy-wise. In fact, I know that by dressing differently, I bring joy to others I meet during the day. I have been told by people many times that they enjoy my outfits and that they look forward to see what I'll be wearing on a particular day.

CardiffGirl! Snap! Purple hair twins rock!

I will join team tomboy and RATE. Along with team short hair, low heels and neutrals! Oh and boots - is that a thing? I love my boots, have way too many and always feel just a little bit cooler in boots than my other shoes.

Angie, about the white footwear, I bet you do get comments! I wore my new off-white booties to a dance class Wednesday night and got comments - and they aren't even really white. I think people around here just expect footwear to be dark.

I am the Queen of Orange. It is my "happy" color and has been so since childhood. I always feel a little more confidently "badass" when I wear my orange faux leather moto jacket.

Lovely to read all your stories! I guess I categorise myself as "Refined Student" - jeans/geeky tee/hoodie, but always fitted/with heels/jewellery/make-up.
Having grown up on a farm, I like practical but polished - I can go to the pub or play on the floor with Child without changing anything!

Another one for team RATE and edgy
Slouchy tops, waist surrendering outfits and cut out shoes (for the warm months) are my things. When at an event everyone else is wearing pumps I'm wearing cut out low heels or shoe boots (depending on the occasion and the season). When all ladies are wearing form fitting cocktail frocks I'm usually in a waist surrendering dress with an edge. The best part is that dressed that way I don't feel different or excluded. I feel right where I belong, fabulous and pretty. On the contrary - if I try to fit in and put the traditional dress and heels, I would spend the whole time feeling awkward and uncomfortable, comparing myself to others and finding imperfections.

I made a point few years ago to find appropriate shoes for my taste for all occasions that I have - weekend, work, business trips and events, night outs and more formal like weddings. So I have caged sandals with low heels and in different type of dressiness for the summer, cut out low heels with more coverage for the spring/fall, low heel boots for the winter - both dressy and more casual. I can go to a wedding, not wear a heel and still look appropriate, interesting and dressy.
I do get comments about my slouchy outfits but I try to mostly turn them to jokes. If someone makes the effort to comment on my clothing my goal to look interesting is achieved, so I take it as a good thing and carry on. I'm not going to change an entire wardrobe build for years just because someone thinks that I should show my waist more, so why take such comments too seriously.

Oh how I've struggled with feeling proud and comfortable about my sartorial preferences! Now in early middle age I finally feel like I've got it. I like:

Conventionally flattering silhouettes, (waist definition, fit and flare dresses). Sheath and pencil skirts seem to tone down my curves and not in a good way- my waist looks bigger in proportion to a fitted style around my hips.

Minimal accessories. Things get too maximal for me real quick.

Feminine but not too girly. Collard shirts feel too masculine on me somehow. Ruffles and flounce are too far in the other direction. I wear dresses a lot.

Boots. I feel most like myself while wearing casual boots, both tall styles and ankle booties. I have a large collection and I miss them all summer!

My curly hair. I wore it naturally even when stick straight was all the range in the 90's early 2000's, and took some flack for it. A hairdresser acquaintance back then said he was dying to get me in his chair so he could make my hair "as straight as THIS" (smacked his palm hard on the wall for emphasis). I told him I liked it curly and he was aghast! I've worn it straight here and there but it makes me feel entirely unlike myself.

Gray hair. I've had silver streaks since my late 20's and stopped dying/lightening at 40. I love the way it looks and I often see women in my age group who appear to have made the same decision. I don't feel that it "ages" me. I think it suits me and I consider it part of my signature style..

I am in a (church) community where it is probably considered politically incorrect and frivolous to pay attention to style, so I am a bit of an anomaly and provide a bit of entertainment each Sunday by what I wear and the color of my nail polish. [Shrugs.] I used to dress inconspicuously like everyone else up until seven or so years ago when I found YLF and DD was about to leave for college so I no longer had to worry about causing her mortal embarrassment.

So I let my hair go gray (like most women at my church), started to paint my nails (in mostly non-pink or red colors), and bought fewer shoes that were black. Unless some miracle cure is found, my fingers will always be curled and my nails will be ridged and not the picture of health I never appreciated when I had it. So the colored nail thing is OWNING what I can't change.

I think due to sheer numbers of Baby Boomers, us senior women aren't as invisible or treated as invisible as in the past. So in my sixties, I am less hesitant about standing out and care far less about what other people think.

Waist length or longer curly hair--like KMM, never straightened it, not cutting it as I get older to be more "appropriate," long "midi" skirts and dresses, cotton and more cotton, and floral everything. (I used to love lace but find manufacturers are using such cheap fabrics, it tears almost instantly.)

Team slightly messy but happy

Colours, prints, varied silhouettes, topped with long messy hair. I've never been very polished (except maybe for work meetings), and love flowy but also slightly va-va-voom looks. But I think what I'm most particularly proud of is that after battling and for the most part overcoming my body image issues I always wear what feels right to me and not what was considered proper for certain body types here (at least until a few years ago).

I have to say Mumbai is such a melting pot of a city with a diverse populace and you see an immense variety in clothing and styles. It's one of the things I love about this city.