So, what does that mean to someone who is about to hit
the half century mark?
I was told over the weekend that I am acting and dressing
too old for my age. Hmmm. Really? Granted, I was told this by a sales associate
at the Gap who was trying to sell me “skinny” jeans. She said this to me after
I told her that I didn’t think that Gap was making clothing for women my age
anymore. This opened a real can of worms!
The sales associate (her name was Charlotte) was a sassy,
middle-aged woman of color. (I mean ‘sassy’ in a good way). She looked at me
and said, “Girl, just how old are
you? I bet I’m older than you and look at me - everything I’m wearing except
for my shoes - I bought here!” It turns out that she is 54. She was a full figured gal, even more so than
me, and was wearing black Gap jeans and a nice blouse. She turned me around and
looked at my backside (I told you she was sassy!) and went on and on about how
I should be wearing more form fitting clothes. When I told her that I will be
50 in a couple of months and was too old and heavy for ‘skinny’ jeans she
laughed and told me that I was too young to be dressing in loose-fitting
clothes. She went on and on until I tried on some ‘curvy’ jeans and some
‘skinny’ jeans. She made me laugh, but
she also made me think.
I have been acting like a grown up since long before I
actually was one. I am the eldest of my siblings and was often left ‘in charge’
of them and the house from the time I was 12 years old – this is something that
I took very seriously. I didn’t quite learn to let my hair down in college – I was
even an RA (at Ball State the RAs were called Student Staff). In my work life, I have been working with
older adults since 1994. I have never felt more comfortable than I do working
with this population. Maybe I am an old soul.
As for my fashion sense, well, I really don’t have any. I
have always been fairly conservative with my clothing - pretty much a Plain
Jane. It’s hard to get me out of my turtleneck sweaters and scarves – my comfort
zone. If I ever do have a midlife crisis, maybe I will take Charlotte’s advice
and start wearing some more form fitting clothing. I did tell her that I would
go back and see her in April for my birthday and let her help me dress up a bit.
But geez, it’s not like I dress in burlap bags or muumuus.
For the record, I did leave the Gap with a bag. Nope, I
didn’t buy the jeans – neither curvy nor skinny. I do have a very lovely new scarf,
though!
