I think women over the age of 27 are very dateable - hell I might even be one. Age is simply a record of how many times you have circled the sun and been given a cake - and doing it 28 times does not make you any more or less mature than doing it 26 times. Age tells you very little about a person at all - and it's one of the reasons why I've kicked back at the 'young women don't know what they want' dogma that pervades this discussion.

I'd suggest a better selective strategy is to concentrate on what joint interests or personality traits you're looking for in a prospective partner and do this rather than a careful study of their birth certificate. If, after you've done that, you're still not open to dating anyone above 27 years old unless you're going to marry them, then it may be indicative of a certain type of relationship you're after. If you can find a soulmate who will agree to marry you under those circumstances and risk being the person who takes you past the 27 threshold into unknown territory then I think you'll be fine. Your feelings may change as you get older. :o)