“I Am Determined To Age Like This”: People Online Are Applauding This Woman For Going Against The Current And Redefining How Women In Their 50s Should Look
It is sad to see your favorite celebrities, elementary school teachers and parents get old because you realize that nothing that matters in this life is permanent. On the other hand, people can make a big deal of something that is really not that bad.
For example, people make it seem that living half a century is a lot, and that is when your life ends, so the rest of the time, you’re just waiting for the inevitable end. But most people in their 50s and above are still healthy, active and able-minded people. Reaching your 50s is as big of a deal as reaching any other birthday in your life.
Luisa Dunn would tell you the same thing because she doesn’t allow her age to define her. She is a model and a photographer and she is also a fashion inspiration to many as her TikTok has become her outfit diary.
More info: TikTok
Some people dread their 50s as it marks half of a century, but others, like Luisa Dunn, are still enjoying life, sharing the wisdom accumulated through the years
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Luisa Dunn is 52 years old and is working as a model and photographer. She has 457k followers on Instagram and over 200k on TikTok. On her social media platform, Luisa advocates for age visibility and positive ageing.
The woman’s modeling career is not a typical story of teenagers taking advantage of their young years and retiring in time to go to college. Luisa started at 31 and for about 10 years, worked in print and TV campaigns.
Luisa Dunn is a model, a former photographer and positive ageing advocate
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
At 41, she decided to start her newborn photography business, because with two young children, she couldn’t make time for both. In 2020, Luisa took another big step and slowed down her business, but started an Instagram account.
On Instagram you can find some of Luisa’s modeling looks, but on TikTok, she has an interesting series going on. She shares her everyday outfits that should serve as inspiration to others, but she specifically targets her own age group.
She is currently 52 years old and embraces her age and experiences that come with it
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
It isn’t a fashion style that you often see mature women wearing. Maybe you don’t even consider women in their 50s to even have a style. But Luisa has a distinct fashion sense, which could be characterized by color, flattering silhouettes and trends.
When she spoke with Now To Love she described it as ‘having fun with fashion’: “I’m drawn to color – as much and as often as possible. I mix palettes and textures, old and new, elegant and casual. I’m a mood and moment dresser.”
However, she rejects the image that society has of how a woman in her 50s is supposed to look
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Another not very typical thing that you immediately see is that Luisa is allowing her hair to grow in its natural color. Just a few years ago, she was still dyeing it, but she confessed to Homebodii, “My journey started not unlike many, by coming to the realization that coloring my hair/roots every 14 days was simply not a source of joy in my life anymore. In fact, it was quite the opposite.”
Despite hair coloring becoming an unpleasant chore, it wasn’t easy to transition to having silver hair. She described how she felt in the process: “The most challenging part mentally was to actively seek a positive balance to counter the negative anti-ageing and ‘grey equals old’ messages that many of us are exposed to every single day, often without being aware of their long-term impact.”
On top of the mental challenges, the actual physical transitioning was not that smooth either. “The difficulty practically is that there is no easy or short path to growing out your natural hair, especially if you prefer a longer length and value healthy hair. The process is long and requires a lot of patience, especially if you choose to embrace it cold turkey.”
On her TikTok, Luisa shares colorful, bold and trendy outfits that make her look youthful and full of vitality
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
However, now that she finally embraces her hair, Luisa is happy with it and is actually glad that it allows her to experiment with more color in her outfits. “I’m also loving exploring how being ‘silver’ has given me an entirely new perspective on being creative with both color matching and contrasting – I can re-wear forgotten gems with a completely different sense of style.”
Although the woman is now an inspiration to others, she still looks up to others to form her own image: “Exceptionally talented stylists and creatives have now also become the sine qua non for fashion trendsetting and inspiration, so following them rather than simply the individuals and celebrities they dress probably gets you better bang for your buck in time spent.”
Luisa considers dressing up an art and adds that she enjoys putting together outfits as much as wearing them and showing them off.
Not only does Luisa have a distinct style, but she is not afraid of her gray hair that others would associate with old age
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
It seems that Luisa was always a confident woman, but she confessed to Brave And True that it was not always the case and actually, she now feels more confident than when she was 31 at the start of her modeling career.
Also, now she has a bigger purpose. “I was really inspired by their age-positive mission and felt drawn to be part of the pro-age movement. I believe age diversity, visibility and inclusion are paramount to helping disrupt the negative ageing narrative we have in our society and to help shine a light on the importance of fighting against ageism.”
But the model thinks that it’s just part of her and wishes she would have stopped dyeing it earlier
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Image credits: @thesilverlining_1970
Luisa’s followers love her message and the outfits she puts together. It’s also reassuring to see a person who has lived half of their life already still trying something new and being passionate about a subject.
What was your impression of Luisa? Would you dare to dress like her? Do you think people should dress to their age accordingly after all? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
People in the comments loved Luisa’s style and how she doesn’t hide her age which actually makes her seem more youthful
Well, she is really gorgeous. She looks like a 30 year old with purposely dyed grey hair. And a very fit 30 year old. I would rather see a regular looking 50 yo rocking it
I think this is a good point. This woman is absolutely beautiful, but keep in mind she is also A MODEL, slender and conventionally attractive. Of course clothes will look good on her body, honestly they’re made for her body type. I love how inspirational this post is and I’m glad I saw it, seeing such a gorgeous and confident older woman looking incredible and very classy in clothes normally sectioned for younger people is such a f-yeah-feeling! But! Now let’s see some average non-model 52-year-olds rocking this same style too :)
Load More Replies...I must have missed the memo on how 50+ people are supposed to dress.... I still dress the same as I did in the 80s.... Band shirts, jeans, doc martens....
Some people think that if you're above 50 you have to dress like your grandparents. It's kinda dumb
Load More Replies...Well, she is really gorgeous. She looks like a 30 year old with purposely dyed grey hair. And a very fit 30 year old. I would rather see a regular looking 50 yo rocking it
I think this is a good point. This woman is absolutely beautiful, but keep in mind she is also A MODEL, slender and conventionally attractive. Of course clothes will look good on her body, honestly they’re made for her body type. I love how inspirational this post is and I’m glad I saw it, seeing such a gorgeous and confident older woman looking incredible and very classy in clothes normally sectioned for younger people is such a f-yeah-feeling! But! Now let’s see some average non-model 52-year-olds rocking this same style too :)
Load More Replies...I must have missed the memo on how 50+ people are supposed to dress.... I still dress the same as I did in the 80s.... Band shirts, jeans, doc martens....
Some people think that if you're above 50 you have to dress like your grandparents. It's kinda dumb
Load More Replies...
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