Isme: Beauty and Fashion

"The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years"

When it comes to a question of age are you more likely to be identified as growing old gracefully or seen with the stigma of being a sight for sore eyes? Perhaps as far as you’re concerned age really is only a number and dressing in an age-appropriate manner or behaving accordingly is a worry not worth wasting your time over?

As is often the case when matters are open to debate, it’s often the extremes at both ends of the scale that spring to mind. Images of mini-skirted women in their mid-life come to the fore, along with too much flesh on display and an irascible inclination for hitting the nightlife hotspots. Similarly, at the other end of the scale sits the stereotype of a woman who is past her prime, invisible in elasticated waists, sporting the statutory shampoo and set. Being perceived as one of life’s Peter Pans is viewed with as much disdain as being an old has-been.

Men can quite often get away with so much more than women and are judged far less on their appearance. Inappropriate behaviour is excused more readily, irrespective of age, and the assertion that men generally age better than women is practically a self-perpetuating myth.

Perhaps this is because men tend to have thicker skin than women in more ways than one. Collagen production drops dramatically during the menopause and this, combined with the fact that a man’s skin contains more collagen than a woman’s in the first place, tends to mean that the signs of ageing are accelerated in a woman when compared with those of a man.

Generally speaking, men also seem programmed to care an awful lot less when it comes to their appearance. They tend not to trouble themselves with the trivia that women do. Looking to the catwalk to work out what style is in fashion this season and dashing to the shops to get the latest dresses with sleeves are considerations that barely register on the masculine radar.

Age, although merely a number, can bring with it a certain amount of wisdom. Appearance is ephemeral and the earlier we learn to recognize that fact, the better. Sadly, it seems that it’s only as we get older that we appreciate the obvious. Life is all about spirit and character, the captivating factors of an individual’s personality that make them the interesting and appealing person they are. “Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” -We want Sleeves