Too Old to be so Girlish?

I've always kind of liked Sheryl Crow.

I mean, she goes on fun girls' trips with her cool friends like Jennifer Aniston  (I go on girls' trips yearly!), she likes to wear jeans most of the time (ditto!), loves horses (giddyup!) and she has adopted children (3 for me).

So imagine my surprise when I caught this recent photo of her (left, in the sundress) looking more like a shy 13-year-old than a kick-ass, almost 50-year-old.

Normally, I'd just let it slide, but I've seen this type of thing before where an aging celebrity seems to be somewhat uncomfortable in her youthful get-up. I've seen it with Madonna's slouch  and Heather Locklear's meekly clasped hands.

So is it the discomfort of dressing somewhat young for your age that makes you adopt a youthful stance or is it feeling young that makes you strike a youthful pose?

Taken separately, the components of Sheryl Crow's look are fine, if somewhat youthful: long hair, fit-n-flare sundress (the kind Michelle Obama pulls off with ease), funky young bracelets and awesome shoes. I kept looking at these elements individually to find fault, when suddenly it dawned on me: it's her posture that's killing it.

There stands the world's coolest teacher-turned-rock-star and she's got a girlish pose with turned in toes and clasped hands. She's just a pair of pigtails and knee socks away from looking like a shy sixth-grader.

Was Sheryl's posture always this girlish? I browsed a zillion online pics to find more examples, and found photo after photo of a strong, confident woman (usually with her hand on her hip like the photo, right, where she's wearing a very grown-up draped goddess-like dress.)

Which leads me to believe that Sheryl Crow's goofy stance was enhanced by her youthful clothes. Dress like a girl and you feel like a girl. Dress like a woman, and you feel like a woman.

Maybe I'm just playing armchair anthropologist, but it seems like women over 40 who dress young for their age – then feel somewhat mortified about it – tend to adopt a girlish posture to boot. And that bad teenage posture just kills the entire look.

The verdict on dressing young? If you're going to rock a miniskirt after 40, at least stand up straight.

More Too Old to Wear Its:

• Too Old to Wear Retro Looks?
• Too Old to Show Cleavage?
• Too Old for Tank Tops?
• Too Old to Get a Tattoo?