We were at the Ear Inn, one of our favorite hangouts in NYC. The bartenders there have star presence (due to their experience, not their movie star looks). A shot of tequila on the house is not unheard of. The food is good, and the jazz trio is smooth.
So we were sitting next to some delightful, gorgeous 20-something women, having a cheery girls’ night out. One of them said to me, “We’re just saying we hope we look like you when we get older.” I said thanks, and she went on to say “You still look cool.”
So I was like all:
 |
| Oh, thanks. |
 |
| Always a lively crowd, of all ages. Source. |
I’m flattered to be not-invisible to the younger generation. But I am still struggling to believe I’m one of the “older women,” even though it’s undeniably true. Is that because I’m still so immature down deep?
See you at Visible Monday, and stay fabulous,
Not Dead Yet Style is a ShopStyle affiliate – please be aware that all links to these vendors are affiliate links. I do benefit from your purchases through the links on the blog.
Friendly reminder: Visible Monday starts Sunday at around 5PM. Be there for the best blogger party and the finest style on the webz!
What a beautiful compliment! It's so cool that you went to the Ear Inn!! The main character in this series of books I'm obsessed with (Repairman Jack series by F. Paul Wilson – they're excellent) goes there in one of the books. It's pretty awesome to know that it's a real place. I'm so glad you had a good time!! ♥
xo
Kym
bitty.and.bunny
I know the feeling. Indeed very well. There is only one thing to do: accept it.
Greetje
Love that close-up, you gorgeous woman and that bar sounds fantastic. Tequila on the house? Yes, please!
You're travelling, seeing the world and hanging out in bars keeps you young. I know plenty of 20 and 30-somethings who say they're are too old to have adventures or go out, that means that they are officially older than us. xxx
The selfie and the caption above and below have truly made my day! And I recommend clinging to your inside immaturity (speaking as I do from a temporal vantage point that far exceeds your own).
here it is: 326 Spring Street, right near the Holland Tunnel in Soho. Hope to see you there on our next trip. xox
When i started visiting New York regularly, and hanging out with the IF's, I noticed that young women would give us compliments like that a lot, and it took me a while to accept them for what they were – a genuine expression of appreciation of our style. I rarely get compliments from 20-somethings here at home, so i think New Yorkers are quite happy to pass on their opinions, good or bad. It is hard to accept that we are now considered "old" by some standards, especially, as it has been noted by several commenters that we still feel like our younger selves inside. You are cool, and stylish, and an interesting woman, so of course those young women would see you as a positive role model. They just didn't know a more appropriate way to express it.
You will have to pass on the address of The Ear to me for my next trip – it sounds like a great place to go.
I would love it! But we don't get there till around the 25th : <
Oh EAR!!! Used to play pool @ McGovern's and run to EAR for a beer and quiet between games. I'll be in NYC at the beginning of May also – attending Mimi's "Shop the Garment Center" 2-day Workshops – May 8-9. Maybe we can also meet up for a beer. Women our age can still party with the best of them :-}
thank you Curtise, you always have a way with a kind word. xox (I can be a bit immature, however, e.g. I squeal when Cillian Murphy comes on the screen).
It was clearly a well-intended compliment; the young women you met recognised how fabulous you look, Patti, but it's no surprise that in all their 20-something naïveté, they would consider you "older". Well, you ARE older than them, and you ARE cool, so they got that right! The comments are full of assumptions about ageing, of course, which we probably all made ourselves when we were young; that getting older usually means sacrificing our looks, our interest in clothes, our ability to be cool. Once we actually enter "older woman" territory, we understand the nonsense of all that, and by being as stylish and individual as we can, we embody a fantastic lesson to our younger sisters. Getting older is nothing to be feared, we just carry on being as fabulous and cool as we always were!
Love the selfie; you're not remotely immature, Patti, you just feel young, and that's great! xxxx
so true, about how we hang out in these odd aging bodies, while I still pine for 21 year old Paul McCartney in my mind. xox
let's hear it for immaturity!
oh man, sorry we didn't meet up! We'll be there in May – hope to buy you a beer.
The EAR! I was there on Halloween after the Parade. And in Summer the EAR is popular with bikers. I often hang out there.
I just wanted to say 'thank you' for all the info you share Patti. You have given me so many wonderful leads to our fav city in the world, NYC thru your incredible blog! As of this year we are bi-coastal, sharing time with Cali and NYC. Perhaps one day we will meet. Again, thank you, you are amazing.
Hee … you're so cute … love that selfie! And hey I would happily take that compliment! Maybe it's because I teach high school and I'm used to being considered "old" by a bunch of young knuckleheads! 😉
OXOX
Dawn Lucy
http://fashionshouldbefun.blogspot.com
If I couldn't be immature I'd be twice as old as I am now, which could vary anywhere from 12 to 150 years old. I like how those women spoke up to praise you. So, did they compliment you and then you went to the ladies room to take a wry smile selfie? It just proves again how cool you are.
I think that was really cool. I don't see it as a backhanded compliment at all. When I was in my early twenties, I adored women who were older than me and who seemed to me that they loved themselves and their look. For instance, one of my idols was and is Beatrice Wood.
Eek. That's oneof those "Thanks, I think" moments! You ARE SUPER COOL regardless of their/your age so take the compliment as I'm sure it was meant and continue on being your "bad" self.
Xo,
Alyssa
We are all our 20 year old selves hanging out in aging bodies. No one else around us realizes it…until they are living it.
#awkward
We all have choices as to how we react to any given situation. I say, enjoy the good that came out of this, and ignore the bad. The most important thing isn't that she called you old, (heck anyone over 30 would have been old to her!) it is that she called you cool!
bisous
Suzanne
Once I hit 20, I seemed to stay that way inside. (That was 37 years ago.) So I know what you mean. And once that young lady gets a little older, she will realize what an inadvertantly backhanded compliment that was, and probably go hot and cold with the embarrassment of having said it 🙂