Clothes for older people

luxor4t

Errata wrote: »

Wondering what age elderly or older person starts, I had a google and found this WHO definition

"Most developed world countries have accepted the chronological age of 65 years as a definition of 'elderly' or older person,"

AT 65 nobody can get away any longer with calling themselves young or middle aged. .......

Yet I'll be 67 before I can claim my old age pension -so by that definition, I'll still be working age AND elderly at the same time :rotfl:

Torry_Quine

The care home my great aunt was in had someone come in every few months with clothes for sale which many residents and families found very helpful. She was there for over seven years but never bought any clothes as the clothes she had were good enough to last!

margaretclare

whitesatin wrote: »

The care home where my 95 year old mother lives, often requests clothes for special occasions, e.g. birthday, Christmas and even New Year outfits have to be provided. My mum was never into clothes at all and now she is dressed up to the nines as they want their "clients" to look good for one reason or another. She doesn't even look like my mum on occasions. She never was a twinset and pearls lady now she looks like the queen.

As per previous discussion, different people have their own ideas of their own personal style and why should someone conform to the ideas of care home managers as to how they should dress?

I like twinsets for some of the time, but I don't wear one when I'm just 'dossing around' at home. I've never worn pearls! I would probably still wear a twinset and skirt if I was still doing office work.

Well, as per this discussion, I'm now officially designated as 'elderly', having passed the magic 65 some years ago now. I was even elderly - as was DH - on our wedding day, and that will be 11 years ago come January. The trouble with that is - I don't feel elderly!

Savvy_Sue

Errata wrote: »

AT 65 nobody can get away any longer with calling themselves young or middle aged.

Just watch me ... :rotfl: Radio 4 definition of middle aged the other day: "10 years older than you are!" I've held to that all my life.

I still don't describe myself as middle aged. All the time I had young children I was a young Mum. Then I was a Teenage Mum. Sadly those days are over, but I've still got a couple of years of Student Mum ahead.

Although I will admit to being both the longest serving and the oldest member of staff at work - the good news is that we have quite a few volunteers who are older than I am, which helps.

7roland8

If he happens to be not around I've discovered a way of doing it up at the front and then wriggling it around. I'm afraid I'd be too uncomfortable to do without one. The difficulty comes with loss of muscle in the upper arms leading to difficulty in doing up bra at the back.

Thats how I have always done it Margaret!

Regarding M&S - I'm sure the returns are free as I sent back some jeans a while ago so must have had a returns label n parcel.

Errata

margaretclare wrote: »

The trouble with that is - I don't feel elderly!

What do you think feeling elderly feels like? I haven't a clue if I do or not.

seven-day-weekend

Ny mum always used to look immaculate too (unlike me!) and would have been mortified if she wasn't looking smart and with her lipstick on.

My siter bought her clothes for her, the same sort she'd always worn, from places like Marks & Spencer. She wasn't confined to a wheelchair so could still wear th type of dresses she always had.

Agree absolutely with Margaret, she was still the same person and it wasn't her fault she could no longer physically go out and buy her own clothes.

margaretclare

Errata wrote: »

What do you think feeling elderly feels like? I haven't a clue if I do or not.

I don't know. Just that there are stereotypes, as evinced by this discussion, that there are 'clothes for elderly people'. Often in the media whenever there is any topic about 'older people', they still use an outdated image of pensions being collected by pension book at the post office counter - how many years is it since that happened? Or people sitting over a pile of bills looking miserable, or hands held out to an electric fire looking miserable.

Just occasionally you see news items that are truly inspirational. Like the woman in her 90s on 'Countryfile' on Sunday who is a lifelong member of the Highland Ladies Climbing Club and although she no longer actually climbs, she was out there in her climbing clothes explaining how it all started. Or 'The One Show' on Monday, where women were shown being presented with their degrees from Cambridge - some had waited 60/70 years for their degree ceremony after being denied that privilege when they originally graduated. Why were they denied it? Just because they were women!

I think what has helped to keep me young-at-heart was falling in love all over again aged 62, and being happily married these 10 years. Without that, who knows, I might have sunk into that lonely miserable old age as in the stereotypes.

Percybridge

I think whatever our age whether we like it or not, we fit into stereotypes for our age to a large extent.
My parent's generation viewed sex before marriage as wrong, and I think alot of this still persisits.
My generation, think there is nothing wrong with that but most don't agree with children before marriage.
The generation below me think there is nothing wrong with either. And so it goes on
Whether we like it or not we all grow old and we are, to a degree representative of our own generation.
In the GPs surgury where I work I find quite a lot of older people, particularly the lesser educated ones quite racist. (I am talking about over 80s here when I use the word "older" here) About 90% of them will not see an Asian GP, despite knowing that all of them speak impeccable English. This is not generally the case with younger people who seem to be more accepting of differences in culture etc.
Younger people however, don't seem quite as accepting about how you look. They seem to be more judgemental about appearance then my own, or older generations than me.
And so it goes on.

margaretclare wrote: »

Often in the media whenever there is any topic about 'older people', they still use an outdated image of pensions being collected by pension book at the post office counter - how many years is it since that happened? Or people sitting over a pile of bills looking miserable, or hands held out to an electric fire looking miserable.

I don't find this at all.
But you could say that about teenagers. I think it is teenagers who get stereotyped more often.

We all like to think we are young at heart. But how many people younger than us would say that about us as individuals?
I think I am young at heart and my nephews and nieces think I behave younger than their parents, but I think that is just because I don't have to deal with them day in, day out, like their parents. I wasn't up half the night when they were coughing as babies, I wasn't waiting in for them because they had had their first night out with their boyfriend. I saw them as a visitor or baby sitter and found their "jokes" amusing because I hadn't heard them 100 times like their parents.
However, I am under no illusion that I do behave like my age, just like everyone else.

Errata

margaretclare wrote: »

I don't know. Just that there are stereotypes, as evinced by this discussion, that there are 'clothes for elderly people'. Often in the media whenever there is any topic about 'older people', they still use an outdated image of pensions being collected by pension book at the post office counter - how many years is it since that happened? Or people sitting over a pile of bills looking miserable, or hands held out to an electric fire looking miserable.

Just occasionally you see news items that are truly inspirational. Like the woman in her 90s on 'Countryfile' on Sunday who is a lifelong member of the Highland Ladies Climbing Club and although she no longer actually climbs, she was out there in her climbing clothes explaining how it all started. Or 'The One Show' on Monday, where women were shown being presented with their degrees from Cambridge - some had waited 60/70 years for their degree ceremony after being denied that privilege when they originally graduated. Why were they denied it? Just because they were women!

I think what has helped to keep me young-at-heart was falling in love all over again aged 62, and being happily married these 10 years. Without that, who knows, I might have sunk into that lonely miserable old age as in the stereotypes.

But the climbing woman and the women with degrees are exceptional, just as yuounger people climbing Everest and with Phd's are exceptional and outside the norrm
I can't comment on coillecting pensions as I don't recollect seeing that, but I certainly look at my bills and look and feel very miserable and we need to remember that some pensioners do struggle to keep themselves warm.
What you call sterotypes I see as simply typcal representations of a great many pensioners. You and I see the world through very different eyes I think