Hemlines and age?

[ladyfydiana]

Do you think that at a certain age,lets say 40.;) If I decide to wear a short skirt would it be wrong?If so how short is short,what or who decides that?Or is it looking younger than you are or having the legs to show it? :)
I have researched fashion and hemline/age through the decades and hemlines along with everything we wear has changed.

So whats your opinion?

Diana :)

[Lauren_T]

I dunno, Diana, it would seem to me to be a balance of both factors - if you've got the legs, then by all means... Yet, speaking as a 51 year old fool, no matter how good my legs might be, age-appropriateness would, at least for me, set the limits...:o

[ambower]

The show "What not to wear" says no miniskirts after age 35! For your consideration...

[GypsyKaren]

I'm 52 and I wear short skirts from time to time, and I see nothing wrong in it. They're a lot of fun, and I've got the legs for them.

GypsyKaren

[Lauren_T]

The show "What not to wear" says no miniskirts after age 35! For your consideration...If you care for such... I - personally, mind you - don't put much credence in fashion 'authorities.' After all, one size never 'fits all,' and people do not come out of cookie cutters.

I have seen with mine own two eyes far too many women of 40, even 45 and over, who are genuinely beautiful and youthful - so their chronological age is utterly irrelevant. Likewise there's no shortage of under-35s who should never wear a mini - or numerous other pieces of revealing clothing!

Fashion is an industry that uses peoples' insecurities to get them to keep spending their money - style is a personal awareness of what best suits you as the individual you are. Fashion is mindless; style is timeless.

...or mayhap it's all a load of rubbish...who knows? :confused: :eek: ;)

[Jenny Beth]

I have a couple of skirts that are way too short for someone my age but I don't care what the fashion guru's say. I'd never wear them out but they are fun to wear around the house once in a while.

[tifftg]

If I am going to a club with lots of other t-girls then I am showing off my legs with a short skirt. If I am shopping and trying to blend in, then it is pants and low heels or femme tennis shoes. I have some longer skirts that I wear with knee high boots, I love that look as well. I am reliving my teen years so sometimes I get crazy.:)
Tiff

[Lauren_T]

...were I to go out in public wearing my favorite crushed black velvet tube top or a shimmery baby-T or my DKNY LBD......:eek: :o :p

[windycissy]

If you are trying to pass, follow the fashion rules that real women follow: mature women look lovely in knee-length skirts if they have the legs for them, but in miniskirts they look ridiculous. If you are just hanging around the house or clubbing with other tgirls, then wear whatever you want, but if your goal is to present yourself as a real woman, wear what a woman your age would be seen in.

[Rachel_740]

Diana,

If you see a GG aged 60/65 wearing a skirt so short she's showing her knickers you're going to look - and for different reasons than if you see a 16 year old GG wearing the same. We have to be even more careful to avoid attracting attention

Listen to Windy here, she sums it up very well. At your age (and mine) you don't want to go much above the knee. I wear a lot of skirts that almost drag the floor because I like long, I think it looks elegant. I don't have any skirts that show anything higher than my knee caps.

Remember too, that when you sit the skirt rises to show more.

Anne

[Phillis]

I agree with some of the threads. Age does not matter to me. If you have the legs go for it. I usually wear skirts that come down to the knees, but I have a few mini skirts that I like to wear during hot weather. These are the type that just barely cover to behind and love wearing them around the house. I feel I have th legs for short skirts, especially aftr you shave them real close.

[Wendy me]

ok my turn after 40 no minis???? girlfreind ok look at 40 something years old now yes i have a lot of short , short skirts... and for a old girl i have ok legs...
my thoughts on this are quite simple wear what you want ...but if your going out and want to blend in you still can show off them leggs and look like a laddy... so ok don't bag and toss that short skirt just because your over 40....
if it looks good or feels good wear it ... and no bs abought "we are trying to coppy the gg's and it gives the wrong imp........." put the rest of your outfit together to pull off the short skirt and enjoy it........after all there's a fine line between trashy and classey ............what's next no cleaveage???

[ladyfydiana]

From the answers I got some of you feel that you can wear short skirts if...
1. You have the legs for them
2.You only wear them at home.
3.If you do wear them out dont try to "pass" with them.
4. Wear them and dont worry about it.

I guess I will go with #4.;)


Diana

[obsessedwithpantyhose]

im 42 and my legs r my best feature:D ,,,ALL my hemlines r "cheek-a-boo":D

i ONLY wear pantyhose,,,,

i DONT own any panties of anykind

[Phoebe Reece]

According to the folks from the "What Not To Wear" television show, an age appropriate skirt length for a middle-aged lady would be from an inch or two below the knee to an inch or two above the knee. Sometimes my wife will critique any outfit I have that may be a little on the short side with a raised eyebrow and a "You're not going to wear that out are you." (statement more than question) And she is usually right. If you go out wearing something a bit short, just be prepared for the attention you may get (good or bad or both).

[Colleen Boucher]

I think that if you are a serious crossdresser and that are are trying to fit in society as a woman..then dress your age...anyway that is what I do. I dress that way and never get any adverse remarks or looks and can go anyway safely and with confidence. Very few pick me as a crossdresser/Tgirl, even though deep down I am Colleen.

Looking great and sexy at any age is not a matter of showing a bit of leg...it is how you present overall, and it takes time and practice...learning about how women of your own age dress for effect and the occasion in hand...then again not all get it right either...the 'LOOK' takes an effort, from make up, right hairdo, clothes, shoes, stockings and jewellery. It takes a lot of study to get it right. It is not only the hemline that must be right for the look.

In some countries and states the law is not on the side of a transgenedered person, so why put yourself at odds with the poloice if that is an issue.

I often see 50 year old Tgirls who try to look like teenagers and they look plain ridiculous.

However, if you want to look like mutton done up as lamb...that's fine as long as you want to get odd stares from people and odd comments, even from kids who can tell your a guy in a frock. Plus in many situations you will just look silly.

Show me any real sophisticated and serious woman who is over 30 years of age that wears a mini skirt shopping regardless of whether she has great legs or not.

A GG might get away with it say to 35 years of age...then over that age...and I do not wish to offend here...but it's called the ****ty look. Not good my darlings. You'll see it on dark street corners at night and most will know what I'm referring to here.

If you get invited to a CD/TG '****ty Look Party" great...and go along and have fun but I think you should leave it at that.

Cheers

Colleen

[Rachel_740]

In some countries and states the law is not on the side of a transgenedered person, so why put yourself at odds with the poloice if that is an issue.

I'm so glad I live in a relatively free country:)

Anne

[Raychel]

If you ask me, I think that you should be able to wear whatever you want at whatever age you are. For me it is long dresses, for two reasons. First of all that is what I prefer and second, they cover my hairy legs.

So if it feels good DO IT!;)

[heathr1]

But I had to laugh.

My mother is in her 60s and until recently wore a leather miniskirt.

[Lauren_T]

In my rôle as born diplomat I just want to mention here, in passing (pun not intended), that you will notice that, as always, we have two main groups of CDs that probably account for 85-90% of us; in the CD typology I'm personally developing in my spare time, I designate them as 'externally motivated' vs. 'internally motivated.'

The 'externals' are those whose goal is to be as authentically female as possible, and of course following the fashion do and don'ts of GGs will best serve their desire to pass. Then we have the 'internals', those driven by the need for self-expression, who have relatively little concern whether their appearance is 'authentic' or not...

As a 50+ guy, I know that dressing like a mall-rat is going to make me look absurd, but that's only me; others don't care a fig, they want to be true to their feelings - and we have to respect that as well, wouldn't you agree? :)

[Cora]

In my rôle as born diplomat I just want to mention here, in passing (pun not intended), that you will notice that, as always, we have two main groups of CDs that probably account for 85-90% of us; in the CD typology I'm personally developing in my spare time, I designate them as 'externally motivated' vs. 'internally motivated.'

The 'externals' are those whose goal is to be as authentically female as possible, and of course following the fashion do and don'ts of GGs will best serve their desire to pass. Then we have the 'internals', those driven by the need for self-expression, who have relatively little concern whether their appearance is 'authentic' or not...

As a 50+ guy, I know that dressing like a mall-rat is going to make me look absurd, but that's only me; others don't care a fig, they want to be true to their feelings - and we have to respect that as well, wouldn't you agree? :)


I agree with this. I think that some of us are very concerned with appearing as a natural female and others with appearing as their view of the female. Both are fine with me but there is a definite difference.

[Phoebe Reece]

Lauren,

I'm not sure I understand your reference to "dressing like a mall-rat". Most GG's in the malls around here are dressed in a loose t-shirt (or sweatshirt) and jeans. I'm not sure what the look is that you feel would make you "look absurd". When I go to the mall, I am wearing a skirt & top, hose, and flats or low heel shoes or maybe boots in cold weather. I do stand out in the crowd, but I believe in a good way. I think I am internally motivated, but have careful concern for the externals as well. I'm not going to go out in public in something that is inappropriate. I think I either fit into both of your categories - or maybe neither one.
This kind of spills over into the discussions on "passing". Passing to me is kind of like applause from an audience for an actor. When everyone applauds it's fantastic. But if a good percentage of the audience applauds, that's pretty good too. The important thing is how you feel about your own performance.

[Lauren_T]

Mall-rats are those 12-15 year old girls who hang around the shopping malls in gaggles, usually wearing skimpy adolescent attire, such as cropped Ts, super low-rise pants, & cetera.

They're very often cute, but their mode is unmistakably adolescent, and usually abandoned by high school.

I, like a number of others here, just love wearing those sort of things (at home, me), since we never got to be teenage girls, but they are ludicrously age-inappropriate...

[kymmieLorain]

The show "What not to wear" says no miniskirts after age 35! For your consideration...

who cares what the fashion experts say. They are the ones who says you must look anorexic(sp) to be beautiful. screw them where what you want and don't worry about it.

Kymmie

[Phoebe Reece]

Thanks for the clarification Lauren. I agree with you completely about the "mall-rat" look being highly inappropriate for public wear by middle-aged CD's. I've already gotten rid of anything in my closet that looks like that.

[JoannaDees]

Ahh, here we go again with the age appropriate mantra. How did women get conditioned for this? Self imposed? I guess I'll never know nor understand, and the GG's will have to comment on this. I don't dress age appropriate as a guy or a gal. I would say I dress "venue" appropriate. Actually .... shhhhhhhhhh ... I don't even dress "gender" appropriate ... shhhh. These rules that are bandied about by CDers on dressing are just an extension of those rules they also lament about. You know, the poor me and society is against us, and GG's have all the fun. :angel: