Dressing Your Age??? or How full is the ironing basket?

Notes on dressing like a clown:
I have been guilty of dressing like a clown.  Sorry to all those people that had to look at me...so, so sorry.  See I don't like to iron, not even a little bit.  I will let the ironing stack up to three foot high before I can make myself touch it.  My husband does not let me have his clothes after they are washed because he knows he may never see them again.

As a result I find myself dressing like a clown. If I have a red t-shirt and a turquoise pair of pants clean I will put them on.  When I dress in the morning I am not in the mood to be stylish!  I went on a short trip back to my summer home one winter and forgot to take enough clothes. It seems that in my minds eye my closet was full of clothes so why bother packing.  When I arrived home I found a pair of crop pants, cowboy boots  and a sweat shirt. True the long winter coats were hanging in the closet but really, I knew I would need to take the coat off sooner or later.  My secret clown attire was not a secret for very long.

Occasionally I see something on someone else that appeals to me and I will try wearing pink or turquoise with a yellow scarf and a turban. When I saw that on someone else it was very nice...but on me...the circus people were calling me on the phone.

Is my style changing as I age?
I has occurred to me that my style will never change.  I am a Oregonian born and bred. It is not sunny nor is it warm in western Oregon. We all dress in dark heat absorbing colors the year around. If it gets hot, we wear short black and burgundy. If it is damp and rainy, we wear long black and burgundy.  When I wear bright colors in the city, I feel like a misfit. People stare and not in a good way.  Actually, if I were in NYC, I would wear the same classic, tailored clothes I wear in Portland. That is my comfort zone.

Am I dressing my age...could I even pull off another style of dress? I don't think so.The only thing that has changed in the last sixty-nine years is how much of my legs and arms I want to show. The change is so subtle I don't think anyone even considers my age.  In fact, I think there is no such thing as "dressing your age". There is only good taste.

Even though I talk about dressing like a clown I really am very proud. I care what my husband thinks and I dress appropriately for each day.  I do not wear clothes from my teens even though they may be back in style.  I think that doing that ages us faster than anything. Even though the style may be back, the fabric and accessories change. I warned my husband on the day he retired 15 years ago that he would not be wearing the clothes he owned when he retired for the rest of his life. He didn't like it much but we both know that we look younger because we keep our wardrobe up to date.

Dressing my age...maybe so but that does not mean dressing old!  Not ever.

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