When I turned 50 years old, I wondered if I would still be femulating when I retired. I assumed that when I reached retirement age, I would look so old and unattractive that I would not want anyone (including myself) to see me en femme.
This June, I will have been retired seven years and I am still femulating no matter how old and unattractive I have become. Old lady is better than no lady and I look forward to continue femulating just like the gentle men in the image above.
Back in the 1960s, my grandparents were all spending their seventh decade on the planet Earth. My grandmothers dressed like most of the other women their age, that is, they dressed like “old ladies.” Fashion-wise, they made no attempt to compete with the younger generations. Their fashion sense reminded me of a line from the Saturday Night Live advertisement parody for Mom Jeans, “Get her something that says, ’I'm not a woman anymore, I’m a Mom!’”
Things changed and by the time my mother reached her seventh decade in the late 1970s, 60-year-old women were dressing more stylishly than their mothers had in their seventh decade... stylish enough that this girl was still borrowing stuff from Mom’s wardrobe when her Social Security checks began showing up.
Things kept changing and today, 60 is the new 40, 70 the new 50. People are living healthier and thus, longer lives. Reaching retirement age today does not have the same connotations as it did in the 1960s. I recall that American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) commercial about a woman of a certain age who knows her way around miniskirts and can run in high heels.
Admittedly, not everyone my age fits that description... not even me. I seldom run even in flats, but I typically walk wearing heels, my hemlines seldom gets acquainted with my knees and I plan to dress my “age” for the rest of my life.
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| Wearing Ann Taylor |
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| Harvey Korman femulating on television’s The Carol Burnett Show. |
I have felt the same way - even though my f emulation is much less sophisticated and less frequent than yours.
ReplyDeleteI attend a support group dinner every so often and I do try to ensure my ensemble is not dowdy - the other girls - generally about my vintage - are so glamorous,,
To paraphrase a business axiom, "don't dress for the age you have. Dress for the age you want."
ReplyDeleteLife is process. We learn, we grow, share burdens, reformulate/REFEMULATE ideas, and restructure our values. Every change we make alters the steps we take, altering in turn someone else's movements, too. (borrowed and altered from Casey/Vanceberg--Promise of a new day)
ReplyDeleteMy grandmothers were born in 1881 and 1888 and immigrated to the USA circa 1914. By that time they were indoctrinated with the dress mode of the day and conformed to societal norms and expectations. It was another decade before women got the right to vote. Employment was limited. I'm hitting 77 this year; my wife 73. Aging women do not hide anymore. I have not seen the style of dresses my grandmothers wore; maybe, a props for a play based at the turn of the 20th century. Unfortunately, both me and women, have let their bodies go to heck. My elder generation of women all checked out between 91 and 103. If I live that long I will still be wearing a pretty dress, hosiery and heels.
ReplyDeleteYou are very pretty and stylish. Well done. You set the bar,High. Great site. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank-YOU for the compliment.
DeleteI agree with the anonymous comment. Stana sets the bar for aging gracefully and beautifully. "If you've got it, flaunt it." And Stana, you've certainly got the legs to not allow your hemline to ever get to know your knees!
ReplyDeleteElise, thank you for the very kind words!
DeleteHere is a question, what would you do in a senior living community? Would you still crossdress? Those who have transitioned have you ever thought of that?
ReplyDeleteThat is a big question I’m thinking about as I get older. How about you all?
My mother was a chief nurse in a wide range of elder care facilities in five states (MN, IA,IL,IN,KY) spanning more than sixty years. Some guy femulating would be a pretty tame part of the mix that she often described. As long as patients are not a nuisance or a danger, they can mind their own business in peace in senior living these days, even in shared rooms. After all, people are expected to be a little bit eccentric in a care facility. As people lose their faculties, they can be noisy but one making the noise is considered to be crazy or demented, not the person they are annoying. They graduate to skilled care quickly. The amount of space for clothes may be tight depending on wardrobe size and room space.
DeleteInteresting that "the one making the noise is considered to be crazy and demented." I know of an elderly gentlemen who is like that!
Delete“never, never never, give up!” Winston Churchill, Paula G
ReplyDelete