.: Sage Vita - Living Longer, Living Wel :.

As we age, some take to wearing “comfortable” clothing more often – exercise suits and the like. For some, this becomes more frequent until it is their “outfit”. Men burn their ties and tight collars. Women do the same with encumbering clothes. Hair gets short shrift and attention to complexion, nails and jewellery wanes.
I could cite studies about the nefarious effects of letting your appearance drift into disregard, but I know that all of us appreciate the importance of how we look; both for ourselves and for how we see ourselves in the eyes of others.

There is nothing more important than taking care and pride in how you look, what you wear and how it makes you feel. Each of us has acquired a mental wardrobe that evolves with time and fashion, a model in our own minds of how we look and how we want to appear to others.

This was too important when you were sixteen and blushing, convinced your nose or teeth or ears were too big. It is always important because it is an element of your personality, of who you are. That truth is as resonant at 65 or 80 as it was at any age. To deny it is to do yourself some harm, denting your own morale and sense of self-worth, sometimes inadvertently.

I won’t prescribe how you should dress, use makeup, the shoes to wear and what is “appropriate” for your age. It is up to each of us to take responsibility for that aspect of our lives, as with any other important facet of living well and being well – “bien dans sa peau” as the French say, of people who are comfortable with themselves.

© Copyright 2009 Sage Vita