<p>I bought a really pretty , simple black dress online at Banana Republic. It was the kind of cut that would have looked great on me even ten years ago. Not sure if I can pull it off anymore. Maybe with the right undergarments :(</p>
<p>The most appalling thing was when I was looking at myself in the mirror with it on I saw this saggy little, I don’t know what to call it, area? on the inside of my elbows. They looked like my grandmother’s arms. God help me.</p>
<p>Panhandlegal, they told me my eyelid surgery would have been about $1200 without insurance.</p>
<p>musicmom
I’m with you! And congrats on finding jeans for $21.</p>
<p>Aside from the fact that I am using a walker-;), I am much more fit than my mother or my grandmother was at my age. I also am counting on being able to ditch the walker in a few weeks.
( Ive been wearing dresses and skirts, much easier to put on with a swollen knee)</p>
<p>EPTR, I can sympathize about those little ugly areas. I’ve been shocked, too. Michelle Obama should publish her workout regimen. As far as I can tell, she has no flab.</p>
<p>The thing that has been driving me crazy for the last year or so is that the texture of my hair seems to have changed. Although it is healthy and I do not have broken ends, I constantly have “the frizzies” because the shorter, newer hairs choose to flip out rather than staying straight, the way they used to.</p>
<p>I’m getting to the point of thinking about keratin, even though it is ridiculously expensive. My hairdresser says I would only have to do it twice a year.</p>
<p>(This is fascinating for a thirty-something lurker - old enough for not-insubstantial grey hair, but very few wrinkles. Knowing that it’s all downhill from here is the tough part.)</p>
<p>Waving hands!!! It is NOT all downhill from here! </p>
<p>I am in better shape in MANY ways than when I was 37 (the year I had my third child). I eat better. I exercise more. I have a little more time and a lot more initiative to take care of myself. Menopause was a non issue for me. 3 out of 4 of those things are my own doing. So much is controllable depending how you decide to live and take care of yourself!</p>
<p>Grey hair can be colored.
Wrinkles - not the end of the world. </p>
<p>Work to have a healthy glow, keep a smile on face even at the risk of developing laugh lines!</p>
<p>Youth is in the eyes of the beholder. Yes? No?</p>
<p>I liked the eagles lyric:
City girls just seem to find out early
How to open doors with just a smile </p>
<p>Never could do that when I was younger, definitely improved with age.
Age comes with confidence and knowing how to present your self!</p>
<p>Loving 50’s - (excepts a few aches in the morning)</p>
<p>I agree, abasket and Python20!</p>
<p>I keep exercising like I should (well, most days) and my thyroid levels are good so I don’t feel tired like I did in my 40s. Now in my upper 50s I still weigh what I did in my 20s (though it’s a lot flabbier and more wrinkled.) Interestingly, my hair looks better as I know what the best cut is for me and keep it that way, and it looks shiny & healthy because I eat right. (I presume that is why! Maybe just good genes in that dept.) </p>
<p>So yeah, most days I can ignore the little aches & pains and just be happy to wake up, considering some of my friends have succumbed to the big C or are just not looking so good any more. Some of them look BETTER due to plastic surgery or botox, but I was never one to go that route.</p>
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<p>The truth is, while almost every here a) claims to look and feel better than ever, and b) claims to have aged well…</p>
<p>People (women in particular) do become significantly less attractive as they age, and chances are, you look worse than ever. Rather than trying to cling to one’s youth, it would be wiser to simply face the facts and accept the inevitable. Life is a slow decline for everyone.</p>
<p>Speak for yourself, JamesMadison!</p>
<p>JamesMadison, just thanks. How old are you?</p>
<p>Lots of older men deny their weight gain, paunchy bellies, loss of hair, while women tend to be too critical of themselves.</p>
<p>Ok, JM, how about,
“I look better compared to other women my age than I did when I was younger” </p>
<p>I may not have the youthful looks of a 20 year old, but I am doing better than many others I see ;)</p>
<p>JM is clearly jealous.</p>
<p>Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Apparently, you are not a beholder.</p>
<p>JM - take a look at a 30yr college reunion picture and tell me who looks better in comparison to 30yrs before. I think most people will say the women. Most guys have put on weight and are grey or bald. Women typically have kept their bodies in better shape (& we had the kids) and color their hair.</p>
<p>I am amazed at the pictures of my male college classmates on facebook. I went to a service academy and these guys were good physical specimens. Now, they look like your average 52yo guy with a beer gut. I’m the same weight I was when I graduated college.</p>
<p>Really JamesMadison, that was just a mean post.</p>
<p>NYMom,
My closet Tea Partier sister says that Michelle Obama does NOT have toned arms. Apparently we liberals are just deluding ourselves about that.</p>
<p>I am sexier than (imo)I was when I was younger, because I am more comfortable in my own skin.
I also dress better suited to my style & body type.
I embrace who I am, and that is more attractive than not knowing who I am and trying to make myself into something I am not.
I dont color my hair, cause I dont want to have to patrol the regrowth and my hair is just strawberry blonde, not gray or white.
The lighter color hair, lets me get away with barely any makeup, and since I workout 4x a week, my color is good.</p>
<p>Nj2011 very good points on comparison of how we age.
I attended my 35th high school reunion a few years ago.
The women for the most part looked great, many very similar to what they looked like in high school, save for a change in hair style and wardrobe.
For the men however, I would have had no idea who many of them were except for their nametags.
They lost hair on their heads, and gained hair on their faces, some gained a lot of weight around their middle as well and took up unusual styles of dress.( more than a few, had shaved heads with bike leathers, and a couple now live in Florida, & wore pastel suits)</p>
<p>I was tickled to see that a high school boyfriend who treated me badly was definitely balding* much more* than H, and it was also amusing to see the numbers of women who swore they remembered H from high school. ( he is several years older than me & attended school in a different city)- but it kept him busy while they tried to find him in the yearbooks, so I could catch up with those I wanted to catch up with.</p>
<p>I expect that by the time James Madison is old enough to attend his 10th college reunion, and he has been in the real world for a while, he will be able to see beyond superficial characteristics and appreciate. beauty that is longer lasting than what comes out of a tube or a brush.</p>
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<p>That is exaggerated. Most people agree Paris Hilton is more beautiful than Rosie O’Donnell. Now, when someone is comparing two supermodels they may have a preference and exaggerate this preference for the sake of argument, but not everyone can be beautiful. </p>
<p>I know its more comforting to think “everyone is beautiful in their own way” blah blah. </p>
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<p>Well, the men never look that good to begin with lol. Aging is probably more a problem for women because they are judged more on their appearance. Men, on their wallet. </p>
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<p>Sorry for not telling you what you wanted to hear- that women become more and more beautiful every year, aging like fine wine. But we have to be honest with ourselves- both men and women become tremendously ugly as they age. </p>
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<p>Do you have any objective evidence which supports your theory? It may be healthier to simply accept the inevitable. </p>
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<p>I never said that physical beauty is the most important trait of a human being. I’m simply stating that people become MUCH less attractive as they get older. The best way to deal with this is to accept it and move on, rather than telling yourself you’re more beautiful than ever.</p>