When a grandmother proudly shared a video online, she had no idea the backlash she would soon face, but the criticisms were fast and fierce as her outfit was quickly dubbed “inappropriate.” Was it? You decide.
Candace Cima, a 76-year-old style influencer and content creator who lives in Ithaca, New York, is no stranger to online critics. However, one particular outfit that drew the ire of online viewers shocked the grandmother. The dress in question was a brown, knit, sleeveless, midi dress, which Candace wore during an “Amazon try-on” video, where she reviewed the outfit.
The clip was posted to several social media platforms, and it didn’t take long for viewers to react. Unfortunately, rather than focusing on the dress, it seemed naysayers were more focused on the model. Sadly, after posting the video of herself modeling the outfit, Candace was mercilessly mocked and body-shamed, much to her surprise.
“It’s not the first time this has happened, but this one surprised me,” Candace told TODAY. “People have such outdated notions about age-appropriate fashion, and that needs to change.”
In the clip, Candace is seen posing in the brown knit dress that exposes her bare arms. At one point, the grandma, who reportedly has 11 grandchildren, also showed how the sleeveless dress looks when it’s paired with a boxy sweater. Candace seemed content with the look in the clip, but sadly, the outfit triggered outrage from online viewers who didn’t hold back their disapproval.
While most found the dress itself to be just fine, comments flooded in criticizing the grandmother’s appearance in it, with most saying she was simply too old to be wearing such “inappropriate” attire.
“Great color and style; however, you must wear the sweater over it. The dress is not attractive on you without the sweater over it,” one person wrote.
“Not suitable for the arms after a certain age,” another wrote.
“For the sake of men who have to see you in public, know what dresses compliment you and which ones don’t. Body hugging form fitting dresses on a woman over… 50, is not visually appealing in any form,” yet another critic added.
Sadly, many seemed to agree with the hateful remarks, calling Candace “too old” for the dress, which they deemed “too young” for her since it was “not flattering on an older body.” Some even went so far as to remark on the damage gravity had done to Candace’s body over the years.
“No, older women should not wear form-fitting dresses like that. It shows off a sagging butt. Looser fitting would be much better. You’re very attractive but that dress is not for a sagging body or skin,” a brutal critic wrote.
Of course, there were also plenty of people who came to the grandma’s defense, but it didn’t seem to be needed. Candace Cima said she didn’t even give the nasty remarks a second thought.
“It’s perfectly appropriate to have wrinkled skin at 76, and I’m not ashamed of it,” Candace told TODAY. “Sometimes I want to respond, ‘Should I cover my face too, because I have wrinkles there?'”
Candace, who launched her style blog called “Life in My 70s” in 2019, has a valid point. Do we really expect women to cover every wrinkled part of their body in loose-fitting clothing? In fact, the entire debate is the whole reason Candace started her blog. She had noticed a need for pro-aging influencers and stepped into the role, hoping to help others who were struggling with what to wear as they got older.
“I saw an opportunity to talk about how to dress as you get older. Women have been conditioned to think they need to cover up because that’s what their mothers and grandmothers did,” Candace explained. “We need to shift the way we think about age. We don’t need to adhere to these old ideas in a modern world.”
Perhaps it’s not only our thinking about age that needs to shift. Perhaps society needs to re-evaluate the way we think about clothing. While it’s nice to feel attractive in what we wear, should our clothing choices really be about what others think looks best on us? That seems a bit silly to me. I’m more of the mindset that we should wear what feels comfortable, and if that’s a sleeveless dress at 76 years old, so be it.
And it seems others agree. According to Candace Cima, she’s noticed an increase in the number of younger followers she has on social media, with many of them sending her messages of appreciation.
“I get a lot of letters that are like, ‘I’m so glad I found your page because I was terrified of getting older,” Candace recalled. “What I tell people is, ‘Aging is great. Everything you have learned your entire life is now there for you. You are now the wisest that you are ever going to be. Embrace it and be proud.'”
Honestly, Candace Cima looks terrific, and I can’t help but agree with Stylist Samantha Brown, who said the unkind feedback on Candace’s video was simply “people projecting their own insecurities.” Rather than telling Candace what she should wear, Brown believes women need to unlearn some harmful fashion rules. Indeed, there is nothing wrong with an older woman revealing her arms, and no one should be expected to cover themselves from head to toe in hopes of hiding their wrinkles.
