Dogmama, I have straight hair but lots of fine hair. In photo, just 4 yrs. younger than now: http://cyclewriteblog.wordpress.com/about/ I did not curl my hair in that photo at all.

I had my hair cut short (from past my shoulder blades) when I was 19yrs. Short hair since then.
I'm 54 with a few more grey hairs, some lines of tiredness beneath my eyes. Definitely long hair on older women as no. 1 criteria: should still lift her visage to make her look lively. Otherwise it's not flattering to her.

What type of hair cut options are you considering? Naturally straight hair is a challenge. I tried perms for about 4 years in my 20's and gave up since it required extra care from drying out my hair, etc.