September 13, 2004
Lisa D'Innocenzo
A few decades ago, a woman pushing 60 might have gone gently into polyester pantsuits and shapeless dresses, resigned that her fashionable days were behind her. No more. Age 50, current wisdom says, is the new 30. Older women want style.
And while that fact still hasn't registered with some designers, the good news is this: The fashion landscape isn't barren, if you're willing to shop around. Some designers and brands are shifting focus to older women and a wider range of body types. New fabrics with a touch of Spandex are also a boon, offering stretch and comfort for more mature figures.
"Jeans can form to your butt. That was unheard of when our mothers were in their 40s and 50s," says Maddy Dychtwald, author of Cycles: How We Will Live, Work And Buy, (2003, Simon & Schuster Canada, $41).
But it may take work to locate clothes you love. Belly-baring tops and low-rise pants are still prevalent. In the last couple of years, sleeveless tops have also been the rage, to the dismay of many women who'd just as soon not display upper arms.
Some older women are lured by tight-fitting junior-inspired fashions, but fashion experts say dressing too young is one of the surest ways to make yourself look older.
"A lot of the top designers are beginning to realize it's the older women, not the younger women, who have money to spend on clothes," Dychtwald says.
Even when retailers and brands offer clothing for the older woman, they often don't advertise the fact, for fear that targeting boomer women will alienate younger customers, says Sherri Akers, a California-based apparel industry executive who's written about marketing to baby boomers.
Akers, 52, cites Banana Republic as a good example. The clothing chain "does a wonderful job of addressing the fact we have different bodies that need different fits," she says, though it hasn't targeted boomers in its marketing.
The chain now offers several fits of pants, some that sit higher or lower on the waist, some cut more generously through the hips and thighs.
Over-50 fashion commandments
Brenda Kinsel, a San Francisco-based fashion consultant and author of Brenda's Bible: Escape Fashion Hell and Experience Heaven Every Time You Get Dressed (Wildcat Canyon Press, $16.95), says the over-50 shopper should:
* Avoid too-tight clothes. Pick the size that fits, even if it's not the size you prefer to wear.
* Avoid the other extreme -- hiding your body in loose clothing.
* Leave the bare-midriff stuff alone. No belly buttons, please.
* Run from long, baggy denim jumpers.
* Get rid of those khaki pants with the double pleats on each side of the zipper.
* Nix the big shoulder pads.
* Avoid dressing in too-young looks. "If I see a woman really trying to look 15, that really bothers me and I want to get her into therapy," Kinsel says. "She needs to accept that she's moved on and she's beautiful as she is."
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