Can I get away with those trousers? a friend asked as we window-shopped in town.

"If you want the honest answer, no," I replied, knowing that if I was asking the question I'd want the truth. "Thought so," she said, frowning. "I just love them so much."

She was lusting after those denim flares with embroidered bottoms that look fantastic on teenagers, and great on twenty-somthings. You could maybe get away with them in your early thirties. But beyond the age of 35, with a couple of kids behind you - no way.

Yet, sadly, while we women in our late thirties may have lost our youthful radiance and elfin figures, we haven't lost our love of certain fashions, night life and music. We haven't lost our love of what we loved in the past. Time has moved on but, for many of us, mentally, we're still 21.

That's why I was encouraged recently to read of a new breed of 30-something women who are refusing to grow up. They are swapping quiet domesticity, frumpy tracksuits and nights in front of the telly for late-night parties, outrageous clothing and even body piercing.

One in three women aged between 35 and 44 told researchers for a women's magazine, that they were more adventurous with their clothes and hair now than they were in their teens. Since turning 30, many had dyed their locks for the first time and refused to act "middle-aged."

I'd like to join this rebellious pack, but - although I still manage to shop at Top Shop (midweek, last thing at night, when it's empty) - it's not easy. Last weekend I had a rare night out with my friends - but it almost didn't happen.

This girls night out was planned months in advance and I was looking forward to it. I'd even planned what I was going to wear. And, after helping my husband bath the children and put them to bed, I delved deep into the recesses of my wardrobe and pulled out my chosen attire.

Incredibly, I managed to squeeze into the fifties-style skirt and top I had last worn ten years previously (they were big and baggy then, now they're small and clingy) and was delighted to find that they weren't too bad a fit. But they looked so YOUNG. And I didn't.

The, horrible phrase "mutton dressed as lamb" sprung to mind and I whipped the lot off and stuck on a pair of roomy trousers, big T-shirt and giant cardi. Just as well we weren't going clubbing - I'd have been turned away as distinctly untrendy. To be honest, that really is one pastime I don't miss. Young fashions - yes. Night spots, no.

And I did have my body pierced at 18 (ears) and regretted it the following week so that's not on the agenda, although there's so much flab around my midriff you could shove a girder through it and I wouldn't feel a thing - that's probably why the over-30s do it.

So how can I stay young? Well, there's always the hair. Thankfully, it's still red - the only part of my body that, however old and frumpy the clothes, still says "I'm not over the hill yet." When that starts to go, I just might say what the heck, get a nipple pierced and have a night at Stringfellows.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.