The Best Kept Secret Blog - Am I Too Old For This? - Part I

I have just bought a new dress and it has put me into a fit of despair. Okay, maybe despair is too strong but definitely a state of self-doubt.

Why? Because I bought it at The Gap - the store that teenagers, twenty-somethings and my tall ten year old shop at. Because maybe I'll wear it sometime and run into an eighteen year old with a nose ring and purple hair who is also wearing it and won't we look like a pair standing side by side. Because I've been shopping at The Gap for more than 20 years and maybe it's time to move on.

I keep turning around, getting both the front and back views. Leaning over. Sitting down. Imagining which shoes to wear it with. Telling myself that it's fine, it's a classic, I can accessorize.

I know, I know. Most of you are saying it doesn't matter. As long as it's not too short or too low cut it's fine. If I like it, wear it. And I would give all of you the same advice.

But lately I've been thinking about what we always read in magazines about our hair. You know what I mean - if you've had the same hair style since high school (or for the last 10 years) it's time for an update.

Well, doesn't that apply to clothes? My "look" for all of my adult life has been jeans, cute tops and shoe that make my heart sing.

I recently went to a movie with a dear friend who's around my age. She had on black slacks (isn't that a lovely, old fashioned word?), a black shirt and great accessories. I had on my "uniform". She looked great and I felt schleppy. I felt like a teenager wannabe and not a grown up woman.

So maybe it's time to re-think my look. I'll keep you posted.