Aging with Grace

Not too long ago, I was in the big city visiting my freshman roommate, Y. She turns twenty-four the month before I do, so we spent a lot of time teasing each other about the rather advanced state of our years. During my stay we visited Urban Outfitters. As we walked through the store, Y would point out things that she thought were cute and that she would like to buy when she started her job after graduation. I walked along saying, "Hmm," and pursing my lips a lot. After a while she looked at me and asked me if she had bad taste and if the things she liked weren't cute. I thought about it for a bit, because I myself had been trying to pinpoint the problem as well. Then it came to me: We were too old for a lot of their clothes and about to be too old for the rest of them. After I had that little epiphany, I felt a little embarrassed even standing in the store. I shared my feelings on the matter with Y, and we made a pact that such attire would be retired promptly on our twenty-fifth birthdays (but glitter eyeliner could stay maybe til twenty-six...)

Just now I was watching Million Dollar Listings, on Bravo. I don't know if you have seen this, but the woman pictured above is one of the main characters on the new reality show. I recommend that you Google around a bit and find some clearer pictures of her to fully appreciate what I am about to tell you. After selling a house, this woman Dia and her husband Ray went shopping at Urban Outfitters. She started trying on shoes and clothes. Some of these clothes were even glittery. And she bought things. Ray paid for them. She will wear them in public.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no.