Low Rise Jeans… High Marks to Defy Age

August 07, 2002

I am in dire need of expert fashion advice. I am 36 years old with two young children under 10. Am I too old to wear ultra low-rise jeans and/or smart, casual ultra low rise pants?

I am very thin with very good abdominals. The low cut fits well and my husband and I think they look very good, but is this style simply reserved for young women?

Also, I bought my very first pair of open toed shoes. They are silver high heel dress shoes. My husband thinks they look like something a "Hoochie Mama" would wear. I don't even know how to wear them-period! What color clothing can I wear with silver shoes? Thanks in advance for the advice- I REALLY appreciate it!!!(Pickering, Ontario)

When it comes to super low-rise pants, it's a case of beauty before age! If you expose skin, particularly somewhere that begs for attention, the flesh you bare better be lean and tone. Just because you're young, doesn't give you the go-ahead to walk around advertising more rolls than Kaiser protruding over your pants!
Being in your thirties is by no means old. Think Elizabeth Hurley, Pamela Anderson, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker, and the cast of Friends. These babelicious beauties have no problem looking hot. And, if you think that once you become a mom, you suddenly turn into a frump, you are in for one very dull ride.

If you look great in these pants, wear them. Have fun, that's what fashion is all about. Once you start taking clothing too seriously, you lose all sense of style and become a tired, old fashion victim. If you're not totally at-ease with this hipbone-bearing trend, try wearing a longer top at first.

As far as your new silver sandals go, could there be more understated chic than to wear a pair of faded, low rise jeans with a crisp white,deep cuffed shirt and the unexpected glamour of silver shoes?

I'd rather be a Hoochie Mama than a gloomy stick in the mud, anytime. You go, girl!

--August 7, 2002

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