Photo credit ( Pixabay )
Does fashion change with age or does it stay with you? That depends on who you speak to, as is the case with many things related to fashion. Do clothes serve as a tedious diversion from the things that truly count? or a happy, inspiring way to express yourself?
This is by no means an age-specific discussion. An 80-year-old and a 30-year-old are equally likely to dispute either point. However, if my acquaintances are any indication, each side gets louder the older individuals get.
For some, it’s time to say goodbye and good riddance, believing it to be “silly” to spend money on clothing when one’s grandmother famously said it was “about to die.” Others feel just the other way. For them, it’s all about bringing it on, and in the case of a few of my more senior acquaintances, bringing it on like never before.
Linda Rodin, 76, a stylist
There is someone else who believes they are in a better position than ever to embrace fashion for everyone who believes they have reached the point where they are above, if not beyond, it. The most common thing I hear from this generation is that, compared to their younger selves, they are less self-conscious about what other people think, which makes them better equipped to dress and do whatever the hell they want.
When Alexandra Wood (ccouture.com), a tailor and personal stylist, encounters a new female customer, she immediately categorizes them as either “classic,” “flair,” or “experimentalist,” partly to help them understand who they are stylistically speaking, and partly for her own benefit. She claims that the likelihood of someone fitting into the third, and bravest, fashion group increases with age. They think they can enjoy themselves more. They are prepared to show their true selves.
- Finding your tribe in fashion (I’m an experimentalist)
The vibrant Instagram account @advancedstyle, along with its several publication spin-offs, showcases women and some men who, very often, embrace the idea that more really is more. Some of them are not even touched upon by Experimentalist.
In my opinion, there is also a practical aspect to this. You should have more time, in principle, in your fifties to start thinking about what you really want in your wardrobe instead of what you think you should have. Additionally, you might be fortunate enough to have more money available to you. The degree to which the luxury market targets twentysomethings while, in reality, it is a lady three times that age who is more likely to have earned the money to invest in, say, a truly unique handbag, is one of the many things that irritates me about the sector.
Burberry’s Mary Berry
Some brands have recognized the power of aging, as evidenced by the inclusion of 89-year-old actress Maggie Smith and 84-year-old artist Judy Chicago in Loewe’s and Dior’s respective campaigns last year. Mary Berry, eighty-eight, even performed a fashion spin when she was seen wearing a full Burberry ensemble during the brand’s most recent runway show. It began working with Harrods by doing a similar thing with 77-year-old Joanna Lumley. Still, these continue to be the few outliers that demonstrate the general trend.
This month, Wallacea Living, an exclusive residential retirement community in London that shuns the notion of being a retirement home, is organizing an event called Advanced Style: In Celebration of Fashion for All Ages during London Fashion Week. Conversations with Sylvia Ezer, an 88-year-old newcomer to the trade, and Daphne Selfe, the world’s oldest working model, will take place in the afternoon at its Marylebone apartment complex.
Diana Vreeland, an American fashion editor and columnist
Diana Vreeland, an American fashion editor and columnist
American hairdresser Linda Rodin, 76, has long been one of my favorite sources of inspiration for style in general and grey hair in particular. Her interests include vintage denim, her silver puffer, and white shoes (“It’s because when I was a kid I wanted to be a majorette”). “I’ve occasionally been asked if it’s appropriate to wear that way. However, I have never thought in that way,” she says. She introduced her denim line, Linda Hopp (lindahopp.com), last year. The line features a wide range of styles, from enormous bell-bottoms to what can best be called a micro-kilt. It goes without saying that she looks amazing in both.
Up to her death at age 102, Iris Apfel was the most well-known example of an older style icon. Colourful: A Manifesto to Live a Bright Bold Life from a Fashion Icon is a book that Ebury will publish in August. Before the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of New York unexpectedly filled a void in its calendar with a show of Apfel’s jewelry in 2005, nobody had ever heard of her. It was dubbed Rara Avis, or “rare bird.” At the time, she was a frail 85 years old. Her kaleidoscope ensembles, her goggle-like choice in eyewear, and her magpie approach to jewelry have made her a global celebrity.
One day, Apfel bemoaned to me of “this disgusting sameness.” Everyone seems to desire to have the same appearance. For her, dressing was “an exercise in creativity.” That’s what I want to think becoming older can be like too.
