Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Mature fashion

I got to thinking the other day how women’s fashion has evolved over the last few decades. It seems to me that when women of my mother’s generation turned 50, they immediately raced down the road of the matronly look. They gave up style for the “mature” look had been decreed should be theirs and theirs alone. Not so long ago, women over 50 would not have dared to wear slacks or shorts, nor would they have dared to wear anything in denim, anything their daughters would consider cool!

            How times have changed! And thank goodness. There is no longer any age limit for a woman to look chic and stylish. She can shop for her clothes wherever she wants, wear whatever she wants, and her daughter might well take a peak to see what she could borrow!

            A charming, adorable 84-year-old lady I know recently had to shop for a dress to wear at her granddaughter’s wedding. She chose an elegant classically cut red dress which contrasted sharply with her snow-white hair and made her look stunning. Yet, when I saw her, I knew that dress would also have looked marvelous on someone 60 years younger.

            To me, the fact that women no longer have to look, act and dress “old” once they reach a certain age is one of the great bonuses of the evolution of the past few decades. Some might say it is due in part to the women’s movement, but I like to think that the death of the mature look in clothing for women was simply the result of market forces. Women said “enough!” to fashion styles that set them apart and subdued their spirit.

            Today, no matter her age, a woman can shop anywhere she wants for her clothes. Her own personal taste, not her age, now dictates her fashion choices. Evolution has been good!