Today marks the first day back to school for many students. While I’m no longer getting a formal education or sending a mini-me off to do the same, this time of year usually gets me in the mood for one thing (well, besides wanting to lecture people on carpooling)…that’s shopping.

I think it’s something ingrained from an early age when I looked forward to a new collection of binders, loose leaf paper, other school supplies and, of course, new clothes. In the past few weeks on my regular walk from bus stop to work, I’ve been passing by window displays with some really pretty things. One of which is a sweater dress.

A very short, close fitting sweater dress.

So what, right?

Well, since I hit the mid-30 mark in life, I’ve been a little hung-up on the whole question of what’s age appropriate. OK, maybe it’s still early to start thinking about that but I’m convinced there must be some kind of slippery slope to go from fashion savvy one day to prowling cougar the next. (Did I mention that Cokebaby is a couple years younger than me?)

Having worked in retail while in university, I’ve seen my fair share of fashion train wrecks. And I always seem to find myself in a work environment where there’s the one 50-something woman who seems to buy her clothes from Garage.

It’s not for me to judge. If you want to wear wool socks with your Birkenstocks, go for it. I’m sure I’m guilty of having committed a number of fashion crimes over the years (mostly on my way to bed). Maybe I’m just having a fashion crisis moment and just need to get a grip. It’s just clothing, right?

Well, here’s what some of the ladies on Twitter had to say about the subject:

What do you think, ladies? Is there such a thing as dressing “age-appropriate” or should we wear whatever the heck we want?

Men, do you have the same hang-ups? For instance, is there an age where you start tucking your shirts in or is that just crazy talk?

P.S. I splurged and bought the dress.