How To Dress Your Age
It is and it isn't a thing.
The other day, someone asked me who my readership is for Earl Earl - Substack only gives me so much data, so I’m not sure (or maybe they do and I’m not sure how to find it) - and I guessed the age range is mostly 33+ with a large concentration between 35 - 50. Anecdotally that seems right too, I get a lot of feedback from women 40+ who read the NL, and then requests from women in their 60s about things to try. And to me, this is great. Most of us don’t discover the power of real style over fashion until later in life, and forget about figuring out the real you-ness in your closet and presentation to the world before then. I talked to my mom about this (my fancy mom) and she highlighted something that I hadn’t thought about. “There’s a problem where you see something and you think That’s my style! I know that would look amazing on me! (Because it USED to be true!) Then you try it on and experience the biggest, most humbling feeling. The skin on your arms sags a bit, the skin on your chest isn’t buttery and flawless anymore, your neck looks saggy and wrinkly, so you don’t want to show those parts of your body as much. What was your “style” becomes a set of limitations that are hard to comply with and still come out with something that looks reasonably interesting.”
I believe that trends have a shelf life but real style is timeless and ageless, and I don’t buy into rules like after x age you should stop wearing short shorts. You don’t HAVE to wear daisy dukes forever, but if you want to, I see no reason not to go ahead. (Related, but not the same thing, read this essay by my friend Alison Syrett Cleary for Your Mom on dressing sexy when you’re a young mother.)
But ok, this letter isn’t really about that - the should’s and should not’s, it’s more about how to wear some specific ~of the moment~ pieces in ways that hopefully won’t make you feel stupid if you’re older than 22. This might not work or make sense, but maybe it will! Let’s see!
THE CAMP POLO
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