Stop Telling Women Over 40 What They Should (Or Shouldn't) Wear

The other day while scrolling through Facebook, the same damn article kept showing up in my feed. As a writer, I try to be objective, but I could tell by the title I was going to give this damn list of 50 Things No Woman Over 40 Should Own the middle finger.

First of all, as a woman who is in my 40s and knows lots of women in their 40s, they say this is the decade everything comes together, you finally stop giving fucks and do what you what. And I can honestly say every bit of that is true. Of course, we are still human and get offended by things like people telling us we are too old to rock a certain look. It’s as annoying as fuck, yes, but does it stop us from doing what we want anyway?

That would be a nope.

Some of the things the article claimed women over 40 should give up are: wearing cheap jewelry, miniskirts, ripped jeans, sweats (seriously, fuck off), bomber jackets, and sequins.

I mean, have you seen what a 40-year-old’s legs look like in a miniskirt? Come to mama.

And hello, my favorite outfit happens to be a sequin top and a pair of ripped jeans, and I’ll wear it until I’m 80 thankyouverymuch.

I am so sick of seeing articles like this telling women who are a certain age what they should and shouldn’t put on their bodies. It implies they have an expiration date, and just because they hit the big 4-0, certain things are off limits when, in fact, most of us feel just the opposite.

The way I see it, all women have earned the right to wear whatever the hell they want, whenever the hell they want to wear it. But women who have survived four decades, are raising children, have been married, and may have been through a divorce, lost a parent, had a health scare, or been through any other life-chaging event literally don’t care if it’s “right” or “wrong” to wear certain things.

They’ve learned the best things in life are the simple pleasures like feeling really good in a short skirt, and trying on the bomber jacket and buying it because it’s nostalgic or flattering or they just fucking dig it. And most of all, there are many times when comfort rules the day, and I don’t know one woman who would agree giving up their sweatpants is a good idea.

Most of my friends and I will be in our mid-40s this year, and you know what we like to do? Wear what makes us happy, comfortable, and feel alive. Just like we did in our 20s and 30s. We certainly don’t think we’re too old to rock our favorite sweat suit, or cubic zirconia earrings just because we’ve been on this earth for over four decades. Who comes up with this stuff?

I’ve never been a lover of fashion rules — they are too constricting and there are enough rules in life we have to abide by. No one needs to be told what they should and shouldn’t wear. Dressing yourself is a form of self-expression. No one else can do you as well as you can.

Telling someone they shouldn’t wear something because of their age isn’t only offensive because you are saying they can’t pull it off because of their age, it’s offensive because it’s no one’s business what you put on your body. Comments on this subject should be off limits.

Just because your body has changed — and I think sometimes people forget our body can change for the better in our 40s — doesn’t mean certain things should be off limits. After all, there isn’t a limit to feeling fabulous or ordering something fun like over the knee boots, or putting different colors streaks in your hair.

I’ll wear a tiara and my bathrobe to the grocery store if I damn well please. I’ve earned it, and so have you.