Youthful or Too Young?

I'm still waiting for the manual to arrive for this midlife thing. You know, the instruction book that tells me whether or not it's OK to hum that catchy/offensive Cee Lo song or wear purple toenail polish (and FWIW, I'm doing both.)

In the meantime, I think I've got the how to dress for middle age thing down pretty well. And then along comes the likes of Susan Sarandon – wearing a seemingly too-young look – that makes me reassess everything I think I know about dressing in middle age.

Unlike some fashion pros, I have always thought the line between youthful and too young was very fluid. Instead of outlawing everything fun and young after 40 (like the ridiculous "rule" that you can't have long hair over 40), I've always thought that most looks can work as long as a) you aren't obviously trying to look girlish and b) you aren't showing a body part that should stay under wraps. For example: Pigtails? Too young. Ponytails? Just right. Above-the-knee pencil skirt? Perfect. Micro-miniskirt? Please don't.

Which brings me to the lovely and talented Susan Sarandon, a serial breaker-of-traditions (she dates younger men, still flashes cleavage and – dammit – never seems to age.) Here she's wearing what should be a total Don't: a hat, biker jacket, short skirt, heinous tights and tall boots. But, I've got to say, she looks kinda cute. Not like trying-to-look-25 cute, but 60-and-rocking-it cute.

I hate the hat. And the tights are just the worst. The biker jacket is a classic, but not with those tall boots. So why is this outfit merely youthful and not too young? I think the outfit passes muster merely on the strength of Susan Sarandon's personality.  Would it be a Do for me on Sarah Palin  (or in the spirit of bipartisanship, Hillary Clinton?) Not so much.

Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion writer Robin Givhan said this about style and aging in the Daily Beast:

 If there's anything instructive left in the adage of dressing one's age, it's the hope that, by the time a certain birthday arrives, a woman's sense (sic) self is so clear and true that she no longer needs her clothes to illuminate her personality.

In the case of Susan Sarandon, she's turned the tables and she's letting her personality illuminate her fashion choices. Now that's something to aspire to.