Ageing worries me. They say your style evolves with time but the thought of getting old still scares me. I prefer to not earn that authentic aged style and remain 25 forever; that is how scared I am.
The beauty and fashion industries have placed so much emphasis and marketing effort on youthfulness that wrinkles are seen as Crocs and greys are seen as zits. One is encouraged to dislike his or her ageing body because it works in favour of those promoting eternal youthfulness.
The concept of advanced style, contemporary style for older folk, is still relatively new, even though it has made significant strides. I guess the fashion industry is looking for more unconventional marketing strategies because as we all know the digital age dilutes everything in minutes and before you know it, you need another hot topic to stay in the loop.
Older women are in the limelight and are being noticed; earning praise equal to the likes of Naomi Campbell and others. And I am not just talking about women in their 40s like Naomi, but older women like Iris Apfel and Carmen Dell’Orefice.
Women with advanced style star in fashion editorials for well-respected fashion brands like Dolce and Gabbana, Lanvin and others. Temporarily removing the youth plastered age of fashion and placing it on the back burner. This hasn’t officially softened me up though because these brands are luxury brands and chances are, most of them are trying to promote heritage branding to families who can afford their products.
The problem with advanced style is that is promotes the image of aged beauty but it doesn’t necessarily help you fully cope with the struggle of getting there.
One thing I absolutely hate is the insane amount of beauty products available. The simple thought of the variety ages me.
While I do think it is necessary to capture advanced style and plaster it all over Vogue, I would add that the leaders in the advanced style community need to extend more help in how to truly advance your style in the 21st century. Earning advanced style now in comparison to 30 years ago is much more difficult. This era just seems so over processed. There is something that is quite interesting about the current batch of refined stylish older women. Most seem to have gone through life not making too much fuss over every product available which allows their style to come off as very pure.
I found a blog called Advanced Style recently that has been established since 2008. It aims to capture street style and stories from fashionable older men and women across the world. It is a visual celebration of ageing; showcasing unpredictable style.
A key thing to note with advanced style is that though these women and men are older, there is a lot of youthfulness in the way they dress. These are not clothes that I might wear, nor persons close to my age group, but they are contemporary. And the advanced ‘stylers’ youthfulness lies in their ability to still have the enthusiasm to look good despite the issues that come with age.