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At the risk of sounding old, which I am compared to all the other students in college, ripped jeans is nothing new. Teenagers ripped their own in the 1990s, usually at the knee, but often at the back just below the seat, so that you caught a glimpse of derriere.
I wore jeans in my youth, but they were less comfortable then, until stretch fabrics were developed years later. Therefore, the garment of choice for every fashionable girl was the mini dress and miniskirt. My favourite was a purple, suede leather, hipster miniskirt with a broad silver buckle belt, knee-high boots teamed with a tight-fitting skinny rib jumper with my long hair worn loose.
If my father complained my skirt was too short before I left the house, I knew I had hit the fashion nail on the head.
In addition to jeans, the mini (the skirt not the car, though it was cool too in the 1960s) was a fashion statement uniform for students, complete with flesh coloured tights. Black tights or stockings was what nurses and old ladies wore.
Lulu and Twiggy, 1960s fashion icons, sported the look which everyone copied. A year or two older than me, both these women are accomplished singers and actresses still working today. Twiggy, real name Lesley Lawson, models for Marks & Spencer.
When I was a teenager, there was a trend in lipstick colours for pale pinks, lilacs and peaches, the paler the better, including white. I now prefer the rich, dark plum reds of today.
I admire the make-up and hair styles, works of art, that I see on many of the girls around college. I assume some of them must be studying make-up, beauty therapy and hairdressing judging by the obvious skill evident from their appearance. During the interminably long wait for the lifts, I occasionally feel tempted to ask them for tips on how to achieve their stunning look.
Years ago, I barely had ten minutes to slap on make-up in the mornings, if at all, before doing the school run then rushing to work. Now I apply make-up to help to disguise, as best I can, the wrinkles I have acquired over the years and can do nothing about. I decided a while ago that botox is not for me. While I have always been interested in fashion, one of my hobbies being dressmaking, I have discovered that with age comes acceptance of how I look. Having good health matters more.
As for hair, that definitely looses lustre, thickness and bounce with age. For older women in particular, it becomes harder to have a hairstyle that flatters your face, doesn’t scream “old lady”, or the reverse, tries to look like Beyonce or Cheryl when the rest of your body does not match up.
