the fashion industry hates older women

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written by Mina Le, Ella Gray, and Sophie Carter
edited by Charlee Reiff

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0:00 - intro
4:28 - the plagues of aging
11:26 - defining "mature style"
25:34 - coming of age rituals
29:49 - when style defies age
36:29 - conclusion

[diamondslashranch]

I’ve never understood why they don’t market stylish clothing to older women because we are the ones with the money😂

[emeliaearheart]

in a recent vogue cover, Naomi Cambell was photoshopped to look younger in a piece that was meant to empower the models of the 90’s. Ironic.

[esther.sketch]

As an art museum worker I see a lot of older women that are immaculately dressed in their own unique ways. I always compliment them, and they act surprised, as if nobody has noticed their efforts in years. I think this is one of the easiest ways to make positive change in this realm. Older women have an amazing sense of color coordination and accessorizing. There's usually a story behind a part of their outfit. Also, they have more buying power than us young people.
About trends, I think the winning strategy for any age is to only follow the trends that personally speak to you.

[DiabolikalFollikles]

and as an "older woman", i hate the fashion industry right back. I design my own fashion and jewelry thank you very much. ♡

[emb]

I used to work in an art gallery in London and the best dressed people we would see were women aged 50+. They had such a colourful, creative and fun sense of style and were old enough to have accrued the money to buy high quality pieces.

[NyangJinArt]

Me being 31 and and having a 20 year old ask me what my skin care routine is bc I look "young for my age" really put into perspective how people think of women past their twenties.

[Lasopamuerte]

I hate how acceptable it is to be ageist. I was shocked when there was a trend of people saying “the only reason I’d go to a school reunion is to see who didn’t use sunscreen” like wow what??

[SakuraSamael]

36 years old here and feeling this deeply. A few years ago, I worked my ass off - literally - and lost a ton of weight, and in the process, I realized I could finally fit into those cute Japanese lolita dresses that I had always admired in my teens but could never afford. If you think my mature, stable, full-time employed butt didn't go right out and buy the cutest dress I could find, you are dead wrong. And you know what? I looked amazing. More importantly, I FELT amazing.

I went from being the woman with seven copies of the same loose men's shirt to exploding into femininity. It blossomed into me trying out so many styles I had never believed I could pull off, and I have never felt more beautiful, more fashionable than now, being in my thirties. Sometimes I question if the pink hair bows are "appropriate" for me anymore, but then I go back through the last few years of photographs and see my smiling face - happy, lively, radiant - and I shut those silly thoughts down. Life's too short; it's not worth the misery. I usually get compliments, but to those sets of judgemental eyes, I say this: at least I'm brave enough to try. I'm not hiding in the background anymore.

[MadamCactus]

As a 41 year old woman, I can attest to this feeling of pressure from society to “look young”. I have recently noted that I do seem invisible in public. I am in decent shape, dress well, and wear makeup. What is causing this? I DON’T and WON’T dye my hair! I am letting those silvers come in. I recently cut my own hair (curly) to an ear length bob. It felt so invigorating! The silver is coming in on the sides. With my texture, I jokingly say I am turning into the bride of Frankenstein. Well guess what? She’s pretty awesome! I too have scars from surgeries, child birth, and just plain old living. But those scars tell a story. Just like my silver hair. I have always worn red or darker lip stick and I love how the darker lipsticks look so striking with the salt and pepper hair I now have. I have been an old soul for ages, since a child, and finally feel like I’m growing into my true self, comfortable in my own skin. Even my family thinks I should dye my hair, but it empowers me more to defy society! It’s a shame how men are “silver foxes” as they age, but women are seen so differently. Stay strong ladies, we must set a good example for the next generation! ❤

[plywood]

They could capitalize on older women fashion! I come from Japan and I always wondered why there aren’t fashion magazines targeted to older women in the United States. In Japan, there’s fashion magazines for almost every demographics so they make sure they make money off of everyone

[ChrisBrooks]

It's interesting that a lot of marketing towards older women share similarities to marketing clothes for plus size women.
The fashion industry makes it seem as though it's just too much work to find something that appropriately fits a body that isn't straight sized. So it just tells older women and fat women piss off to the corner so we can dress the young, skinny, attractive girls.

[evildoesnotsleep-xb]

this starts from us: stop normalizing people telling you "you look younger" as a compliment, it only reenforces the disdain men have for older women that gets passed down in culture. i don't want to look younger, i want to look my age, cause i'm proud of reaching it

[breadpilled]

As a disabled 30 year old, ive been made prematurely elderly. You cant wear most fashionable dresses and skirts in a wheelchair. Heels i once loved are dangerous for me now. I dont have the energy or healthy skin for makeup anymore. I am constantly laying in bed and never leaving the house so why bother getting dressed at all? Fashion and disability is hardly talked about. Like older women, we are often forgotten and expected to fade away because we make people sad and fear their own mortality.

Disabled experiences vary so widely, but this is just my own. Ive experienced what it means to look frail, like im wasting away. Ive seen the disgust and, worse, pity in the eyes of others when i try to dress up or go out. Its like we are expected to wear hospital gowns or be invisible. Nothing else.

[reginaj]

For me, the hardest part of aging isn’t watching myself morph - it’s watching in real-time, how ageism affects us, while also digesting those micro-aggressions and if you speak up against it you only alienate yourself further

[freetruth]

My grey hair started coming in when I was in my 40s. It was a streak down the center of my head. My mother and grandma had a grey streak too, and as the grey hairs continued to come in, they seemed unaffected, so I didn’t think much of it. One day my childhood friend (we met at 12) said, you should color your hair, it ages you. I kept my gray hair, and last year one of my daughter’s girlfriends dyed a grey streak in her hair. She told my daughter I was her inspiration. I am 54, and I shared this story because mature women can set the tone for fashion, when they are too busy being authentically themselves. One of my favorite fashion icons is Iris Apfel, she is the embodiment of authenticity! Love yourself and enjoy life!!!!

[HighAsHeckPriestess]

Ive seen more and more older people getting online wearing clothes "too young for their age" and im living for it!! There was a darling woman on tiktok who passed away last year near 90 years old who was dressing up in matching outfits with her granddaughter and stealing the show❤❤ she was so genuinely overjoyed and feeling herself and her confidence and smile were so contagious! Rewatching her tiktoks has been helping my own self-image and allowing myself to enjoy fashion again

[Circe_Nightshade]

As an elder goth who is 50...I'm loving the aesthetic of dark academia meets Victorian gothic/romantic. This, I can pull off in an office, where people see me as a fashion forward person. I design and make my own clothing, so it helps to have unique fitting pieces.

[GeorgeGlass]

As an older woman I can assure you we don't give a f*CK what anyone thinks about what we wear. We want to be comfortable and left alone lol.

[scrosby]

This is exactly how I've felt reading fashion advice to older women. Color, black, brown, dark navy and grey. And maybe a wee splash of color. They definitely want us to disappear into the background and not to be seen. Well, I'm calling BS on that. I love color. I'm 70. I wear what makes me happy and is comfortable. I like ethnic, hippie styles. My shape is apple. Gone are my Twiggy days. But my family loves me as I am, my husband still thinks I'm sexy. I don't want to be younger, I've earned the right to be unfashionable me. My hero is Iris Apfel

[septsky]

Wow the idea that even Mina feels weird about wearing certain styles or wonders what is appropriate is wild. Really underlines how pervasive this idea is. I understand not wanting to look like a child, but women who aren't even 30 are worrying about aging !!!?? Insane. The world is terrible to women.