As friends and I head towards 50, I’ve begun hearing preposterous proclamations. One friend with perfect legs announced she could no longer wear her old dresses because the above-the-knee hemline was inappropriate. Another said that women over a certain age should go blond because dark hair brings out wrinkles. So should I be following rules for older women?
Many of us have been conditioned to believe that ageing should be hidden. It is known as “mutton-shaming” and comes from the expression “mutton dressed as lamb”. As we age, we are told to cover our arms, decrease our heel height, modify our hair and make-up and hide our necks. The sad fact is that muscle mass decreases with age and fat can accumulate in new places, particularly around the middle of our bodies.
The late American journalist Nora Ephron wrote hilariously about this in her 2006 book, I Feel Bad About My Neck. Should I, like Ephron, start wearing turtlenecks and scarves? It is as if we should stop wanting to be attractive, sexy and adventurous with our style after a certain age. What is that age, I wonder? 40? 50? 60?
More than a few blogs have been contesting that notion for years, including Advanced Style, That’s Not My Age, Accidental Icon and Senior Style Bible. Summed up, the advice is to dress for yourself and your body as it is right now. They show that we don’t have to cover up, but we would do well to keep up with the changes, modifying the way we eat, exercise and dress to look and feel our best.
Inspiring examples at recent awards shows include Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh Choo Kheng (56) in a series of arm-baring gowns by Shiatzy Chen, Alberta Ferretti and Elie Saab. Actors in their 50s and 60s, such as Laura Dern (52), Lisa Bonet (51) and Angela Bassett (60), all flaunted their beautiful bodies without even a whiff of mutton in the air. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, 69, is famously a fan of the capped sleeve.In 2017, when then speaker of the United States House of Representatives Paul Ryan tried to enforce a dress code from 1979, he was quickly pressured to change it. It had banned women from wearing shoulder-baring clothes or open-toed shoes in the House Chamber and Speaker’s Lobby. Men, by contrast, were required only to wear jackets and ties.
Also in 2017, a 73-year-old Lauren Hutton became the oldest model to grace the cover of Vogue when she was featured in the Italian edition’s “The Timeless Issue”. One version is a profile shot in a black, long-sleeved dress; another shows her in a bra, a skirt and heels, plus a fur coat that looks like it is slipping off her shoulders. What it is really doing is hiding her arms and midriff.
A rebellion against forcing older women to fade into the background has been gaining momentum. In 2015, several fashion brands chose mature women for their campaigns, including the writer Joan Didion (then 80) for Celine, singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell (71) for Saint Laurent and Iris Apfel (93) for Kate Spade. In 2016, Australian journalist Julia Baird wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times, “Don’t Dress Your Age”, which sparked wider debate. Although the veneration of youth has continued, the runways for autumn 2019 have brought new hope. Simone Rocha featured top 1980s model Jeny Howorth, wrinkles and all, among others. And Christy Turlington, 50, walked for Marc Jacobs.It’s no accident. For years now, consumer reports have shown women and men aged 60 and above to be a key demographic and big spenders in high fashion, despite their comparative lack of representation in advertising. They are the ones buying, not the airbrushed and filtered millennials getting all the attention. Maybe they are having the last laugh, albeit a bit wrinkled, as they strut their stuff in well-earned couture while younger generations rush to the high street for cheap copies.
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