Do YOU need to start acting your age? Queen of etiquette LAURA WINDSOR reveals exactly when to give up every youthful habit
Mutton dressed like lamb. No spring chicken. Don’t try too hard.
These are all definitions that no middle-aged person wants to hear, especially when doubts start to arise about the length of your skirt or the appropriateness of drinking a pre-mixed cocktail on the train.
While some habits from your teens and 20s can be excused as teenage crazes, there comes a point when you start to worry that trying a new piercing or wearing a bikini isn’t educational at all.
Now Laura Windsor, the ‘Etiquette Queen’ who advised Bridgerton on the social niceties of the Regency era, has revealed her ultimate guide to the age when certain habits go from acceptable to inappropriate.
The good news is, according to Laura, you’re never too old for a casual getaway.
But wearing bikinis and skinnies also has an expiration date. jeans or using your hair for a long time.
Read on to find out whether you should start acting your age and the fashions and habits you can safely continue in the years to come.
Wearing a bikini is usually no easy feat for people in their twenties, but once you reach a certain age ‘Etiquette Queen’ Laura Windsor thinks one should think twice (stock image)
‘Etiquette Queen’ Laura Windsor (pictured) reveals her verdict on the ages when she believes people should stop doing things
Drink a pre-mixed cocktail
Laura: ‘By the time you’re 25 you should have moved on to the refined world of hand-shaken mixology, which is more about the experience than the convenience of a pre-mixed cocktail that’s full of preservatives and tastes rather flat and sweet.’
Age limit: 25
Use text to speech
Laura: ‘You are now an adult and old enough to vote, sign contracts, and make life-changing decisions. So why are you texting weirdly?
‘At some point ‘u’ needs to be written as ‘you’ and ‘through’ as ’through’. You’ve practiced texting enough to know that your phone can easily adapt to typing in proper English.’
Age limit: 18
wear a bikini
Laura: When the skin starts to feel more ‘relaxed’ than before, it’s time to ditch the bikinis and low-cut tops and opt for a more subtle approach to gravity.’
Age limit: 50
Wear tight jeans
Laura: ‘At 45, if you can still wear skinny jeans, you should wear them. But there is a limit.
‘Normally if they were pressed I would say you have them. Of course, style is about wearing something that reflects who you are, but mirrors can be misleading and sometimes what you see isn’t confidence; It is just a dream dressed up as before.
‘If your jeans are cutting off oxygen to your lower half or causing cardiovascular collapse, I’d ditch the skinny jeans and prioritize comfort over poor circulation.’
Age limit: 45, but tread carefully
Take a casual getaway
Laura: ‘As far as I know, being human has no expiration date. So the expiration date is the date you expire.
‘If you’re two adults and everyone agrees, it’s just another way of saying you’re still curious at best, still alive and maybe still a little bit wild.’
Age limit: No age limit
you have long hair
Laura: ‘There was a time when hitting your 40s meant it was a time of serious downtime. We’ve since moved on and generally look younger than our mothers did when they were in their 40s.
‘Expiration date? 50. Long hair, especially gray hair, can add years to a person, and there is no excuse to think that it adds character.’
Age limit: 50
smoke a drunken cigarette
Laura: ‘It’s less about the cigarette and more about the situation you’re in when you reach for it.
‘Whether you’re fully present, semi-present or far away, the bar counter providing more support than you do, it’s a rude combination and a bad look at any age.’
Age limit: Not at any age
Be a picky eater
Laura: ‘Picky eaters have never been crowned with the life and soul of a dinner party. There’s only so much you can say, ‘No herbs, no sauce, no peas’ before you become a social nuisance.
By 30 it’s no longer about cooking preferences and more about social survival and diplomacy.’
Age limit: 30
Post a selfie
Laura: ‘If your heart is still beating, your dentures are in place, and you’re not tethered to anything dramatic other than a phone charger and Wi-Fi, you’re good to go. Bonus added if you subscribe to capcut for editing.’
Age limit: No limit
Get a new piercing
Laura: ‘By the time you’re 30, you should have closed the chapter on body piercing and moved on to the exciting world of sensible decisions.
‘It’s time to treat your body like a temple and imagine yourself 20 years from now slowly nodding to your past self.’
Age limit: 30
