Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Forever Young

My friend and I are each other’s stylists. Every so often we scrutinize each other’s closets and force each other to get rid of the crap and help each other put together new outfits with what we have.

The other night it was my turn to do her closet, and she stepped out of the closet wearing a dress and asked, “What do you think of this?”

“You look great,” I said, “but it’s too…oh… I don’t know.”

“What!” she insisted.

“It’s kind of too young.”

It was the first time I consciously realized that I am too old to wear certain things. It felt so final; never would I be able to don another really short dress, knee socks, or belly shirt (because, you know, up until that moment, that was my standard outfit).

I don’t want to be one of those women who desperately clings to her youth:


And while we’re on the subject, there are a few common faux pas that make our writing look too immature. To make our writing look more age appropriate, we must do the following:

• Capitalize the word I.
• Add apostrophes in contractions (e.g., I’m, don’t, he’ll).
• Write out numbers one through ten.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I am looking forward to aging gracefully- if gracefully means I can dye my grays, spend my 401K on anti-aging products, and drink the blood of virgins to maintain a youthful glow.

14 comments:

Shannon said...

Uh oh. I often don't capitalize ANY of my letters when I'm typing in internet world.

(but i do it because i think it looks cute.)

Rachel said...

Thankfully, i do capitalize my letters. I believe you got that drinking-the-blood-of-virgins stuff from The Blood Countess book, right?

The Invisible Seductress said...

Hee hee...Poor Anna Nicole..no wait..Poor Paris..no wait..Poor Dolly Parton...oops...I mean Poor,, who is that???

Oh yes...Poor Pam Anderson....

Gorilla Bananas said...

For some reason, I thought it was one to nine that had to be written out. Don't forget to bathe in asses' milk!

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

Thankfully for me, i have a 13 year old that feels free to tell me when my clothes look too young, especially if they came out of her closet.

But yes, i know this feeling of loss. Even if you have no desire to ever don a belly shirt again, you want to have the option, dont ya? OMG, I sooooo dont wanna get old. Bottoms up.

Joanna St. James said...

what's wrong with Knee socks?

Tere Kirkland said...

LOL, I just went through and gave away a bunch of stuff that was too young or too tight. It was cathartic, actually.

Funny post!

Hart Johnson said...

I'm going to be an eccentric old bat. But until then, I've sort of given in. It is hard to give up the short t-shirt dresses, but mostly because short of nudity, there is nothing more comfortable. I'm trying very hard not to consider mumus as an appropriate replacement. I definitely need to go through the closet though... I think my hubby will thank you...

Talli Roland said...

I love how you've tied this in to the mutton as lamb concept! :)

Guinevere said...

I totally agree when it comes to the writing. But, I'm getting closer and closer to 30 and I haven't managed to shake my Aeropostale/American eagle wardrobe of jeans, minis and sweatshirts... and I feel I should probably loosen my grip on those clothes. I'm still wearing some things from when I was 15, and my style hasn't actually changed in the last 12 or so years. Oops!

Unknown said...

Very useful. At the age of 18, i still had yet to understand why whenever i had a single "I" in word, it was underlined with a red squiggle. Now, i realize the consistent (embarrassing) mistake Ive been perpetuating. Gracias.

Anonymous said...

Pam Anderson is a definite NO-NO. She looks like a wrinkled 20 year old.

notesfromnadir said...

I like how Word automatically capitalizes the letter I for me!

As for writing out numbers one through ten, I do that, but I've actually seen books where every single number has been written out. Why does four hundred and forty have to be written when 440 is so much faster & easier to read?

Theresa Milstein said...

I remember when I realized I couldn't wear every trend that came along. Come to think of it, I probably should've skipped a few trends in the 1980s. Maybe all of them.

You could've chosen any housewife of any county for a photo as well.

I take shortcuts for numbers on my blog because I think it's easier on the eye. But when I write seriously, I follow the 1-99 must be written out rule.