A style war raged last week that was really about age.

The contenders: The flamboyant Simon Doonan, 60, Creative Ambassador-at-Large for Barney’s New York, Slate columnist and one of the fashion world’s sharpest wits; and Katherine Wheelock, a younger writer who covers style and food for several off- and online magazines.

It started with an article in Details magazine by Wheelock, “Are You Too Old for Your Outfit?”

Wheelock is of the opinion that men of a certain age who insist on wearing tight jeans, flowered shirts and other young-man “vestments” are desperately resisting becoming what they are – old. They are tasteless, inappropriate, improper. In other words, they are not acting their age. (Click here to read the whole article – and to comment on it.)

Doonan’s smart and funny response on Slate rips into Wheelock and makes an excellent case for aging ungracefully.

His response is well worth a read (click here to read Doonan on Slate). But in case you don’t get to it, here are 8 pieces of indispensable wisdom from his Slate rant, “How I Turned Into a Fashion Don’t.” Read and retain!

Click here to see more flamboyant old men on Senior Planet.