GREAT READS → LIFETAKES Issue 1037 · November 20, 2024

Adolescence in Reverse

These days, as a grandma many times over, I often find myself second-guessing what to wear

Adolescence in Reverse

No, I thought. Just: No. A woman that age has no business dressing like that.

The image stuck with me because these days, as a grandma many times over, I often find myself second-guessing what to wear. I’m like an adolescent trying to figure out (or arguing with her mother about) whether she’s old enough to wear high heels and makeup. Except now, at the other end of the cycle, I’m trying to figure out what not to wear. Like maybe not stilettos or puffy skirts. On the other hand, I still crave a little pizzazz! I don’t want to be totally out of the style loop, even if I’ve forsaken high heels at simchahs.

What to wear? When you’re a teenager, your body keeps reinventing itself, so you’re never sure what the mirror is going to tell you next. All of a sudden, your clothes don’t fit. And your skin has an appalling tendency to break out at the worst times. You and your friends eye each other to see who’s looking the most mature. (Ever been to a seventh-grade play? Half the class look like women and the other half look like little girls.)

Then you grow up and your body (relatively) stabilizes for a few decades, until middle age sets in. Again you stop recognizing the person in the mirror! Now you and your peers glance at each other to see who is getting wrinkled and who has put on the most middle-aged spread. It takes more and more makeup to look less and less beautiful!

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