I saw this article recently and now Charles has commented on it and posted a picture of a certain 66-year-old who dresses as she damn well pleases.

The article cites a survey (Why do they never ask me?) in which 2000 women said that at a certain age you should stop wearing lots of makeup, high heels, tight clothes, etc.

Women shouldn’t wear baseball caps or apply a fake tan after age 40, respondents said. Miniskirts and leather pants are off the rack at 41, knee-high boots and even conservative tight tops should be retired by age 45. And tattoos start to look bad by the mid-50s.

Every woman has had her own moments of confronting age in fashion and beauty trends. We’d say that some looks expire much earlier than 40—such as braids (only in your earlier 20s), maxi skirts, pants that say “pink,” or anything, for that matter, on the butt, certain light, short, flimsy dresses as the upper thighs…change…with age, and so on.

I have mixed feelings about this. I would like to see everyone at every age dressing appropriately, but at the same time, I think it’s nobody’s business what other people wear. (so long as all the naughty bits are well covered, of course) And, I sincerely think women like this are delightful. Why should older women simply disappear into the background? I think, in the final decades of your life you have the right to enjoy yourself a little as long as you’re not hurting anyone, and how can the clothes a person chooses to wear possibly hurt anyone?

I don’t think anyone of any age should wear pants with a word printed across the butt. No matter what the word is they all say the same thing: “Look at my butt!” If you are three years old and you’re wearing pants with a word on the butt someone should slap your parents. In this case forget what I said about it being nobody’s business what you wear. No words on your butt! But some of the items mentioned in the article are just plain silly. No braids after your early 20′s? Why? I don’t get it. No baseball caps after age 40? I don’t like baseball caps myself but I don’t see how age has anything to do with the wearing of one. Maxi skirts? That one is just completely puzzling. I can understand the objection to mini-skirts after a certain age but maxi-skirts? Weird. (And by the way, can we please stop calling them maxi-skirts now? That term is so 70′s.)

Appropriate dress is not solely dependent on age. We don’t all age the same. I would say that every woman should be aware of what looks good on her and what doesn’t but naturally opinions on what looks good will vary greatly. So, bottom line, wear whatever you like but be aware that, while you do have the right to wear whatever you like, other people have opinions about what you choose to wear in public and that is a right too.