Comfy Shoes

Now if that headline doesn't pull in the crowds, I'll sack my podiatrist. That's Not My Age loves a mum shoe and I'm delighted to hear that fashionable young celebrities, like Maggie Gyllenhaal, have taken to wearing orthpaedic footwear. Forget grey hair that's for old folks, it's woo hoo for Worishofers! Going one step further Clarks Originals autumn/winter collection has some fully remastered, 1950s sheepskin-lined granny boots:



Yes. When summer ends and the mum shoes are packed away, That's Not My Age will be going back to my roots. Zipping up my granny boots. In fact, I'm so enamoured, I might even buy both colourways. Because as we all know camel is 'it' this season.



And there's an Igloo shoe too. This cute lace-up comes in camel (of course) and a lovely indigo blue. Which, to coin my favourite phrase, ever, will look good with jeans.



So, how to wear granny boots:

1. Make sure the rest of the outfit is super-sharp. A pair of neatly tailored slim pants, ladylike blouse or masculine jacket juxtapose the footwear's casual nature. Trousers should be slim enough to tuck in or a 7/8 length that ends just above the top of the boot.



2. Hair & make-up should be sleek and sophisticated (if ever there was a case of do as I say, not as I do - this is it!) Looking like you've just escaped from a care home/walked off a Guardian All Ages photo shoot/work from home and don't give a damn is not the image we're after here.



3. Don't be afraid to get you legs out. Granny boots look fab with black opaques. Just add a stunning dress and military jacket to avoid looking like a real-life octagenarian.




Granny boots, how would you wear them?


Photos

Fred Astaire: Martin Munkasci
Catwalk: style.com

Young Fogeys

That's Not My Age was gnawing on a posh pizza at Latitude Festival last week, when along came a bunch of dandy young men. It was Noah & The Whale. How nice to see the young fogey look back in fashion I thought to myself. I do like a pair of smart trousers, a cravat - even a waistcoat has its place in a modern gentleman's wardrobe. So imagine my horror when I opened up the Guardian Weekend magazine this morning and was confronted by this:



A lovely older model wearing what appears to be grandad's knitted waistcoat. Now, I've made my feelings known about the All Ages line up before and I have to admit that recently there has been an improvement in the styling of older models. More attention has been paid to hair & make-up, and sometimes the clothes actually fit. Come to think of it last week's line-up wasn't great. Young models wearing summer clothes, older models covered up in heavy black peacoats. Unfortunately, you'll have to take my word for that, still traumatized by the Great Tent Debacle, I left the magazine in a field in Suffolk.

Since when did Clive Dunn become a style icon for older women? Forget Grey Gardens, Last of the Summer Wine is the designer's tele-visual inspiration for autumn/winter 2010:





Oh please. Young or old, male or female nobody wants to look like an old fogey.


Photos
Noah & the Whale: Virgin Media
Clive Dunn: last.fm
Last of the Summer Wine: BBC