Lina Shariff considers the position of older women: denied access to fashionable clothing or liberated from lifestyle-anxiety?
Compared to the thousands of stores for young women to shop at, for their counterparts over 60 there are only about a dozen high street outlets. And although there are many more retailers online, this puts pressure on pensioners – of all people – to go digital. A few can hack it along with their grandchildren, but there are many more over-60s who still think that ‘wireless’ is something to do with the radio. They haven’t got the hang of it and probably never will.
So where do older women shop for their clothing and how do they feel about their limited access to clothing that is age appropriate? We live in a youth-driven society where even elderly people are pressured into dressing in very tight, revealing and trendy clothes. But when elderly people dress like 20 year olds they get criticised for not acting their age. On the other hand when elderly women wear baggy sweaters and long flowery dresses, they are made fun of. So what is the solution to this?
I recently interviewed an older woman to hear her opinion of what it feels like to not be able to find age-appropriate apparel. Here’s how Val Rushton answered my questions:
Q: Do you know of any high street clothing stores for older women, if so how many?
A: Bon Marche is one of the high street stores that cater for older women, also Edinburgh Wool. They are the only ones here. I suppose if I were to travel there may be more shops but obviously as we get older we don’t want to travel around searching for them.
Q: How does it make you feel knowing that there aren’t many or none at all?
A: It’s very frustrating, especially when you are looking for something special, i.e. for a wedding. It’s easy to buy casual trousers and tops.
Q: Do you think many women are aware of the lack of stores?
A: I think the majority of older women is well aware of the lack of shops that cater for us. All my friends and older relations have the same problem as I do.
Q: Do you think women over the age of 50 care about their style?
A: I think older women do care about style, but we don’t want teenage fashions and clothes that are aimed at younger women.
Q: Do you think that mature women are pressured by society to wear clothes which are aimed at young ladies in their twenties?
A: I don’t think we are pressurised, it’s just the problem of finding clothes suitable for our age group.
Q: If there were more stores catering for you, would those companies and brands profit from extending their provision?
A: I think if stores like Marks & Spencer did a range for older women they would increase their business, instead of concentrating on the younger generation who will not shop at M&S anyway. They prefer to go somewhere like Primark which is a lot cheaper and they buy new clothes for every season.
Q: Within the next five years, do you think that there will be an improvement in terms of mature women’s fashion?
A: I hope there will be an increase in shops for the older woman, but I don’t think there really will be.
According to The Budget Fashionista this is a list of garments you should get rid of once you turn 60 years old:
- Floor-length floral printed dresses
- Muumuus
- Long, unstructured, A-line skirts
- Elastic-waist pants that make everyone look like a balloon
- Unstructured pants and suits
- Large, oversized t-shirts
- Khaki/mauve-colored grandma flats
- Unstylish jumper-type dresses
- Sweaters with embroidery, appliques
http://www.thebudgetfashionista.com/fashion-advice-older-women/
Online Stores For 60+ Women To Shop At
http://www.classicclothingshop.co.uk/elderly-clothing/clothing.html
http://www.rivalclothing.co.uk/
http://togshop.blair.com/home.jsp
http://www.buckandbuck.com/womens-clothing.html
http://www.silverts.com/womens-clothing/
http://www.ambrosewilson.com/shop/womens/_/N-1ytw278/products/show.action