Is Fashion An Age Thing?

This week I find myself asking the question is fashion an age thing?  Should we stop wearing what we want when we reach a certain age, or is style quite simply timeless and ageless?  What role models can we turn to for inspiration?

I’ve always believed that you should wear what you want, and that age really shouldn’t mean you start to wear boring beige clothes just because you're menopausal, but instead to use my new found confidence that comes as you grow older, and try new looks that I feel suit me.  I’m not trying to look younger, just expressing my personality through fashion.

So I set about searching the internet for just such a role model, and I was pleasantly surprised to find women such as Lyn Slater writer of the Accidental Icon blog and Iris Apfel,  who buck the stereotypes of what getting old means for your wardrobe.  These are women that are comfortable with who they are and who have an original style.

Known for her flamboyant style and chunky jewellery Iris Apfel is a style icon and she talks a lot of sense too, here’s one of my favourite quotes from her...

Now I’m not suggesting you go beyond your own comfort zone and wear layers of fluffy fur and oversized glasses, if that’s not who you are it won’t work, so rediscover or uncover, or just get to know Yourself, be authentic and original, because I believe what you wear tells your story.

You just have to search Instagram with #fashionover50 to see a whole host of ladies styling it out, or check out the over 40’s blogger Not Dressed As Lamb who champions the hashtag #iwillwearwhatilike and get inspired on how to put outfits together, find your inner fashion muse and don’t for one minute think you’re too old for it!   

The industry may be awash with young models and is most certainly bias to young skinny girls, it's a fact of life, so is fashion ageist?  Even if it is style is something that certainly comes with age as Iris Apfel once said “I'm not pretty, and I'll never be pretty, but it doesn't matter. I have something much better. I have style."