Age and appearance

[klmama]

If people think you look older than you really are, did that same thing happen when you were a teen or young adult?  If people think you look younger than you are, did they think the same when you were a teen or young adult? 

 

 

[VaKim]

I am only 5 ft. tall, and people have always thought I was younger than I am. I think my size had a lot to do with it. Now that I am 49, nobody thinks I am extremely younger, but usually guess about 39, so I figure they really think I look lower 40s. 

I remember when I was pregnant with my first at 28, getting dirty looks from old ladies. I even heard one saying to another as they passed me one day, something about all these "young girls" getting pregnant these days, lol.

[gardenmom5]

when I was a teen - people thought I was older.  I think it's because I was never a stereotypical teen girl.

 

 

Now - people think I'm younger.  I'm 50something.  I do color my hair.

[Cinder]

As a kid people always thought I was older. When I was 10-12yo a lot of people thought I was a teen. I think it's because I was always tall. As an older teen people thought mom and I were sisters. I don't have her skin, though, so now that I'm older people think I'm my actual age--not younger or older.

 

[The Girls' Mom]

Up until recently, I looked much younger than my age.  I'm catching up.  

 

I hit puberty pretty early and looked grown by 12 or 13.  Everyone thought I was 16 or 17.  But then I continued to look 16 or 17 well into my late 20s/early 30s.  I had people give me a hard time constantly because they thought I was a teen mom with three kids.  (I was 20 when I had my oldest).  

 

I still don't really look like I'll be 40 next year in my face.  My gray hair is a giveaway though.  I'm also starting to wrinkle around my eyes quite a bit, but my glasses hide that.  

[Lady Florida.]

I always looked young for my age. It was frustrating when I was very young, flattering as I got older, and now it's just what it is.

 

People are surprised when they find out how old I am, but I think the distance between my actual age and how old people think I look has been getting shorter.  :lol:

[MEmama]

I've always looked young. I probably shouldn't complain since its better than the alternative, but it's definitely annoying to not be taken seriously as a result.

 

When I was 22 and flying across country to plan my wedding, the flight attendant asked me if I was 15 yet--the minimum age required to be sitting in an emergency exit row. I was mortified. I mean, seriously? I'm 42 and only recently have stopped getting carded everywhere I go. Recently I was dismissively referred to as a young girl while at a fitting for a friend's wedding dress. I am older than the bride and have been married for 20 years; I am hardly a young girl, thank you very much.

 

Also, since when is it okay to come out and ask a stranger's age? No one seems to think it's rude to demand that I tell them when confronted. Grrr.

[SKL]

I looked young for my age when I was much younger.  Now, I think I look my age, but I'm a little surprised nobody has accused me of being a grandma yet.  (I am 40 years older than my kids.)

[LucyStoner]

People usually think I am younger. But I am only 34 so we will see of that holds.

[regentrude]

Looking younger as an adult, but looked older as a preteen/teen

[PrincessMommy]

when I was a teen - people thought I was older.  I think it's because I was never a stereotypical teen girl.

 

 

Now - people think I'm younger.  I'm 50something.  I do color my hair.

 

This is me also.  I wasn't too stereotypical as a teen either... I was also very tall for my age and often hung out with older peers... so people assumed I was older.  Now, people seem to think I'm younger.  I've been asked on several occasions about my "children" who are actually my grandchildren.  I'm 51 and color my hair.

[laughing lioness]

I've always been thought younger than I am. When I was graduating from college, people thought I was graduating from high school. People still act like they don't believe me when I tell them my age, but I am feeling it. I'm tall, too and way overweight. I think I'd look a lot younger if I could lose some weight but I keep having these hip/knee injuries and end up sitting for months- no fun! 

 

[LucyStoner]

I looked young for my age when I was much younger. Now, I think I look my age, but I'm a little surprised nobody has accused me of being a grandma yet. (I am 40 years older than my kids.)

.

 

40ish new moms are common enough around here that people know better than to assume that a mid to late 40ish or early 50ish woman with young kids is the grandma.

 

In fact they might be shocked if a 40ish woman was a grandma and not a mother. I was just weeks shy of 23 when my older son was born and in our new parent group, save one other couple who was early 30s, all of the couples were generally men 2x my age and women with a minimum of 15, if not closer to 20 years on me.

[Southern Ivy]

I got older in high school/college and I get younger now. 
I'm 34, but I guess I just naturally look 27? haha

[AmandaVT]

I've always looked young. I probably shouldn't complain since its better than the alternative, but it's definitely annoying to not be taken seriously as a result.

 

When I was 22 and flying across country to plan my wedding, the flight attendant asked me if I was 15 yet--the minimum age required to be sitting in an emergency exit row. I was mortified. I mean, seriously? I'm 42 and only recently have stopped getting carded everywhere I go. Recently I was dismissively referred to as a young girl while at a fitting for a friend's wedding dress. I am older than the bride and have been married for 20 years; I am hardly a young girl, thank you very much.

 

Also, since when is it okay to come out and ask a stranger's age? No one seems to think it's rude to demand that I tell them when confronted. Grrr.

 

This. I've always looked younger, but as someone else posted, the older I get, the more that gap shrinks. I remember getting my tonsils out at about 22 and the nurse asked me, very concerned, where my mommy and daddy were. Um....what? 

 

DH has also been referred to as my father once or twice which was mortifying for both of us. Thankfully not in a few years though! 

 

I think it's at least partially because I'm short and have a round shaped face. 

[Crimson Wife]

I looked young for my age up until I hit my mid-30's. I feel like I've aged about 15 years in the past 4 since my little one's diagnosis. I know there are far more important things for me to worry about, but a part of me is bummed about the toll that all the stress has taken on my appearance.

[trulycrabby]

Last appointment, my gynecologist mentioned that I looked much younger than 52; I stammered and tried not to say something idiotic because frankly I wasn't sure what part of my body she was referring to... :o :o :o

[redsquirrel]

I looked very young for a long time. When I was 30 a high school boy tried to ask me out, lol. He was being all smooth and clearly thought I was a college student (we have lot of them in town) and thought he was convincing me he was also a college student. I was soooo not fooled into believing that he was a junior in college but I played along and then gently turned him down. I didn't want to scar the poor boy for life by telling him I was old enough to be his mother.

 

My friends didn't let me live that one down for a long time.

 

When I had ds1 I was 33 and I frequently got asked if I was the nanny. A couple women even tried to hire me to work for them, again thinking I was a local college student looking for work. I was 'just so good with that little boy", lol.

 

Now I am in my late 40s and I have no idea what people think, but people express surprise when I tell them my age.

 

I've kept out of the sun my whole life so I don't have many lines on my face and my skin hasn't got darker or spotted. I think that makes a difference.

[lllll]

..

[VeganCupcake]

When I was a teen and young adult, people thought I was older--I think because I was significantly overweight and had bad hair. LOL

 

Now I'm told I seem somewhat younger. I suspect it's because I am a normal weight, I have always worn sunscreen, and I have very young children.

[Tohru]

I wonder if it is a cultural thing in America? People from different backgrounds age differently so "looking one's age" expectation is different depending on where you live.

[Jenny in Florida]

People always thought I was older when  I was a teen. I assume it was because I was a bit overweight and also "developed" early. My other used to criticize my clothing choices by telling me I dressed too "matronly" for my age. So, it was probably a combination of factors.

 

Then something shifted and people assumed I was younger until well into my adulthood. I never wore a lot of make-up and kept my hair in a very simple way, and I was told more than once that I had great skin. There were a few years when I was at my most slender when people sometimes pegged me as a teen even when I was in my 30s and early 40s.

 

But my appearance seems to have caught up and perhaps scooted right by my chronological age in the last several years. I feel older than 50, and I think I look it, too. I've had a few experiences that back up that suspicion. I don't care all that much, but it is an odd place to be after so many years of being thought younger.

[Paige]

When I was 13, people routinely thought I was 16. I was extremely flattered. When I was 16, people routinely thought I was 13. I was frustrated. I'm not really sure what happened. Maybe I lost some baby fat and looked less developed as I thinned out?

 

As a young adult and younger mother, people usually thought I was late teens until I was in my 30s. I was carded for an R-rated movie in my late 20s! I am 36 now and I have no idea if people think I'm older or younger. From the behind, I look younger because I'm about the size of the average 6th grader, but I think my face has aged over the past few years. We've had a lot of stress! People don't ask me my age much anymore so I guess I look old enough that they feel asking is now rude. I don't drink or smoke so there's no opportunity to be carded. 

[Joyofsixreboot]

People often assume I'm younger than my age because I still have a 7 yo. I also work out which helps I think. As a teen I looked older because bOOks.

[Wheres Toto]

When I was a teenager, everyone thought I was older than I was.  I could easily pass for 18 or older from the time I was 15.

 

From around 25 to 35, everyone always thought I was younger than I actually was, often up to 10 years younger when I was in my 30's.

 

Now, the last two kids have really worn me out so I think I pretty much look my age.  :tongue_smilie:

[Wheres Toto]

Last appointment, my gynecologist mentioned that I looked much younger than 52; I stammered and tried not to say something idiotic because frankly I wasn't sure what part of my body she was referring to... :o :o :o

 

When I went for my Stage 2 ultrasound while pregnant with my youngest, the technician told me I had the ovaries of a much younger woman.   :lol:

[T'smom]

I don't really k ow how people perceive me now, but as a high schooler, I was often offered a kids menu and when I started teaching, I was asked out by more than one high school kid! (At different schools....I was the cheer leading sponsor for the middle school, so it was usually at away games) I would have tried to turn them down gently, but there was always a cheerleader near enough to start screeching "she's a teacher!"

[Ottakee]

When I went for my Stage 2 ultrasound while pregnant with my youngest, the technician told me I had the ovaries of a much younger woman.   :lol:

Now THAT is not something all of us can claim :-)

[Reefgazer]

People have always thought I looked 10 years younger than I really am, since I was in my 20s.  Fat fills out wrinkles really well!

[tabinfl]

Since I was a teen, people thought I looked younger - often much younger - than I was (unless I was very dressed up w/heavy makeup).

 

Older women used to tell me I would appreciate it later... They were SO RIGHT! :D

[AnnE-girl]

I've always looked young. I was the shortest kid in my grade school class and as an adult I'm only 4'11". In college a liquor store owner laughed at me when a friend and I went to buy the keg for our roommate's 21st birthday party until I showed him my obviously real ID. Last year I was at the wine-tasting counter at our Trader Joe's, another shopper told me, "There's no way you're 21." I told her it had been 12 years since I was that young. The sample lady who had carded me once several years ago didn't bother asking me again even to make the other shopper feel better :-)

 

My mom and my grandmother have always looked young, so I'm hoping the good aging genes keep up their work for a few more decades.

[SparklyUnicorn]

When I was 18 the waitress at Friendly's gave me the 12 and under menu.  So...guess I looked younger.  I'm short so that's probably part of it.

 

Now I still get carded all the time and I'm 40.  I do think I look my age though.  And people don't generally dare try to assume stuff when you get around that age so I wouldn't know what people think in that department.

 

 

[Janie Grace]

I've always looked younger. I was a late bloomer (period at 16) and short. I'm 40 now and get carded. I don't have any grey hair and thanks to a fast metabolism, I've stayed close to my 20's weight. I can tell people think I must have been a teen mom (I have a 15yo dd). Whatever.

[LisaKinVA]

I looked older...now look younger. Although, I think the person at church asking me what grade I was in, when I was 23, based her assumption that I must be young on the fact I was standing next to my much younger brother he was 13 at the time and not 5' tall. When I was 30 and pregnant, people thought I had just graduated college. At 40, people thought I was in my early 30s. Today, I can pass for 40, and my mom can pass for my sister. If I would exercise more, wear my contacts, and make up, I could probably pass for mid-thirties.

[Spryte]

I'm short. I've always been thought younger. Another later to mothering woman here.

 

And agreeing that around here there's nothing unusual about 40ish new moms, but there is something unusual about a 40ish new grandmother in our area. Must be regional.

[Halcyon]

If people think you look older than you really are, did that same thing happen when you were a teen or young adult?  If people think you look younger than you are, did they think the same when you were a teen or young adult? 

 

as a younger person, i was always thought to be much younger than i am. today, I am 45 and most people who don't know (well, the few who have offered opinions) think I am around 35 or 36. I'll take it.

[Tsuga]

If people think you look older than you really are, did that same thing happen when you were a teen or young adult?  If people think you look younger than you are, did they think the same when you were a teen or young adult? 

 

Looked young my whole life, still do, as did my parents.

 

Though, it caught up with my mom after decades of smoking and sunning.

[Danestress]

Younger until I was mid thirties. Now they think I am older (evidenced by things like being offered a senior discount several times lately, in my 40s!). I think it is because of the grey hair, and also being on the thin side. I don't care really. I enjoy the many benefits of looking older.

[Pegs]

I used to be mistaken for a young mum when out and about with my little brother, though there are only five years between us. I took him to a 10yo's birthday party when he was the same age, and even school mums thought I was his mother! We used to get a lot of comments on the street, too. And people doing surveys and soliciting donations on the street used to stop me a lot, even though they weren't legally permitted to take details from anyone under 21. They always seemed surprised when I said I was 13/14.

 

Now I have a 5yo, and people tell me I don't look old enough to have a kid. A couple of strangers in a shop actually assumed I was a young man, babysitting my little sister. I guess we don't perform gender norms to the satisfaction of the general public?

[OneStepAtATime]

Up until I had cancer everyone assumed I was MUCH younger than I am.  Sometimes 15+ years younger.  When I was getting married (at 30) the hairdresser assumed I was 18 and tried to suggest I might want to wait a few years to make such a leap.  I was still getting carded at 35.  Even though DH is younger by 5 years many people for years assumed I was younger.  

 

After cancer I noticed I was getting comments that seemed to indicate people were assuming I was closer to my real age.  This year I was buying a bunch of stuff for our big Easter bash with all the cousins.  The cashier asked if I had a lot of grand kids.  I was a bit taken aback since my oldest is 14.  Guess I'm looking older by the minute....