Clothes for "older" people.

I sew all my clothes so don't get caught up with "must dress for my age" at all. I love buying exciting fabric and then finding just the right pattern to make it with.

Doodledog

*I also think that Gransnet ideas for how an older person should dress could do with a makeover.*

Agreed. Given that most of the posters will have been young in the 60s and 70s we are used to having fashion marketed to us, even when we thought we were the height of subcultural non-conformity , and the 'safe' suggestions (naming no brands, but you know what I mean) suggested as 'appropriate' for us just doesn't cut it.

Most of us are a different shape from when we were young and have bits we'd prefer to cover up, but not in beige polyester skirts with perma-pleats, or shapeless fleece bomber jackets. I think you can add 20 years to the supposed age of the market for many clothes - ie 'clothing for the over 50s' really means 'don't consider until you are at least 70, and then approach with caution', and there are no ranges (as far as I am aware) which go beyond 50 as a marketing target - it's as though we can dress in a range of 'looks' until we hit 50, then morph into identical crones. At any age, the assumptions made about older people's willingness to settle for nondescript clothing is wide of the mark.

You've summed it up so well Doodledog. We were the generation who burned our bras and wore Levi's, coloured tight and skirts that our mother would not be seen with us in.
Why should we change just because some of us have grown a bit wider with age.
If you go to the opticians they look at you as if you are daft if you push for the coloured frames.
They also forget that we are probably still the generation who have money to spend on clothes. With the austerity that is hitting the country where will the spending power be? With us.

Well said, Yammy. I wear whatever I like and is comfortable, not what the slavish followers of fashion dictate.

Talking of comfort, I am having trouble finding tops with long sleeves that are not too tight (the sleeves, that is).

Does anyone know of a brand that does not have this problem? I'm only a size 10 and my arms are not that big.

I remember women's magazines in the 60s doing beauty articles for different ages. They never went beyond 40 and the 40 year olds would be pictured with hair that was already going grey, a touch of blue eyeshadow, a pale pink lipstick and a nice pastel twin set!

My current favourite summer dress is a Joe Browns maxi, black with big green leaves all over it and a patch of yellow leaves down one side. Can't imagine what a 1960 fashion editor would have said

Casdon, I think you are right, and you only have to look through the colour supplements and weekend papers to see all the adverts for just the clothes you describe.

Indeed I have a very dear friend who is a walking advert for Country Casuals, the sweaters, skirts and shoes. I had a grandmother, a professional dressmaker who always looked stylish, in my childhood, people would comment to me about how stylish my mother was ( mainly, I think, because they wondered how she had ended up with me!), my style is more hit and miss, and bohemian, but my 15 year old DGD is following in the family line and has an incredibly good eye and asked for a subscription to Vogue as a birthday present.

WoolOvers is my latest favourite. Prices about the same as M and S for good quality jumpers and cardies. Their online sizing system is quite good, and the customer reviews are sometimes helpful about sizing.

I have gone off M and S because of their high rise trousers.

M0nica

*Casdon*, I think you are right, and you only have to look through the colour supplements and weekend papers to see all the adverts for just the clothes you describe.

Indeed I have a very dear friend who is a walking advert for Country Casuals, the sweaters, skirts and shoes. I had a grandmother, a professional dressmaker who always looked stylish, in my childhood, people would comment to me about how stylish my mother was ( mainly, I think, because they wondered how she had ended up with me!), my style is more hit and miss, and bohemian, but my 15 year old DGD is following in the family line and has an incredibly good eye and asked for a subscription to Vogue as a birthday present.

Good for your DGD Monica, she’s got the eye by the sounds of it. I think one of the problems for many older women is the lack of choice, which is probably what leads to the identikit look - most of the brands specialising in whole ranges which work are dull, and you have to be interested enough in clothes to sift through rails or search online and be prepared to return things which don’t work from other ranges which are mainly geared at younger body shapes. It’s a lot of effort for people who aren’t that interested in clothes anyway.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202206/medium-83425-bb2ddd69-9465-4c1b-83e7-538cf9946479.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202206/medium-64737-e54606cc-56bb-4408-98f1-253d6195aa37.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202206/medium-794936-532958a6-3f23-45bc-a4cf-13d9394dd0fc.jpeg

Just been browsing on Instagram and came across this older woman, from Germany. Her style is pretty cool, flamboyant but not as outrageous as Iris Apfel’s.

Caleo

WoolOvers is my latest favourite. Prices about the same as M and S for good quality jumpers and cardies. Their online sizing system is quite good, and the customer reviews are sometimes helpful about sizing.

I have gone off M and S because of their high rise trousers.

Couldn't agree more. A good friend who is a peerless knitter, so with exacting standards, was bemoaning the boring colours and lack of natural fibres in Australian stores and I put her on to Woolovers. She rated their quality, range of colours and price highly.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

The traditional way to dress when older was like the comic character Mrs Brown (of Mrs Brown's Boys) and who wants to look dowdy like that? Iris Arpel is at the other end of the spectrum.

I think most of us are somewhere in the middle.

I make all my own clothes these days, I am short and everything I make fits me, bearing in mind the pattern adjustments that we need to allow for age ie rounded upper back, forward shoulder so that garments don`t strangle the front of the neck. Ha, re dressing older, no thanks, the next garment on my list is a a stylish set of dungarees, my last garment was a linen trapeze dress and the one before was a shackett

I don`t rate woolovers at all, their lambswool jumpers bobble very easily. It is about fibre length (spinner here) and lambswool fibres are very short as is merino. Bfl is a good fibre to look for but my spinning stash consists of jumper weights of blends such as bfl, silk and cashmere. I think they cost me around £30 at the time, all vac packed safely, away from moths

No twinsets and pearls for me and the only real way to be unique is to make your own

Esmay

I love the looks created by Iris Apfel and Vivienne Westwood .
If I were thinner and richer ...

Esme ( GBSB) is that you with a slightly altered nom de plume?
? we love your necklaces.

I've never been a follower of fashion. It just doesn't suit me.
I wear pretty much what I've always worn. Casual clothes, mostly trousers and tops. I do actually own 3 or 4 dresses and that's it. Also I'm dictated by my budget and just can't afford to be fashionable. I'm just an old countrywoman at heart.

Just been shopping with DM for clothes. At 87 I've noticed she looks better in a dress - & yes, Lovebeigecardigan she does look like Mrs Brown if left to her own devices. She seems less able to put suitable items together and can't be bothered with jewellery any more. (Part of a bigger problem were investigating).

Happy to look like a bag lady. Happy to be invisible.

I can look good when I need to, although thanks to COVID, I almost never need to these days.

I like gentle impact. Colourful but always coordinated.

If I like it, and it doesn`t look stupid, I wear it.

Hello my name is DerbyshireLass and I'm a clothesaholic. ?

I love love love clothes. I love experimenting and I love dressing up. My family think it's hilarious. My son once joked I had so many clothes I should open a shop. So I did.

I now buy and sell vintage clothing, problem is I often find it hard to part with my treasures. My DIL doesn't help me, for my recent birthday she bought me yet another fabulous handbag.

I shall leave all my bags to her in my will. ......

The great Hollywood costume designer Edith Head once said "you can be anything you want in life, you just have to dress the part".

So true. Clothes play a big part in our"roles" in life, we can convey any image we want. It's also true that The better I dress, the better I get treated, better service in shops, restaurants etc.

And it's not about money. You don't need to be rich to look good. If you are hard up, then hit the charity shops.

In fact I tend to find that these days very often the clothing you can find Charity shops is far better quality than you tend to find on the high street. I have coats and bags that are 30 or 40 years old and which are immaculate.

Loved the article. Brad Pitt - v - Boris Johnson. Lol. And the image conjured up of Boris in leather trousers, ???.

Now that I'm retired from corporate life I have got rid of all my office wear. I can now wear exactly what I like when I like.

Now .......if I could just lose a couple of stones I would be buying some faux leather trousers like a shot.

Oddly enough my sister recently reminded me that on my 30th birthday (41 years ago) I treated myself to some faux leather trousers. I always wore them with a silk shirt. My sister said I looked like Chrissie Hynd.

Apparently I now resemble Helen Mirren, ??.

I struggle with deciding what to wear nowadays as I’m a size 22/24 and the choice is more limited. My poor mobility means I can only shop online which again limits my choice. Another problem is that I have psoriasis and fabrics such as wool irritate my arms so have to wear cotton sweat shirt type fabrics or fleeces.

I favour a casual look, trousers with a loose tunic top, but this year many such tops seem to be made of linen which as I hate ironing, is a no no for me! I like Cotton Traders and buy a lot of their t shirts and polo shirts for around the house.

I eventually manage to get suitable casual clothes but dread having a formal occasion when I need something a bit dressier, like a wedding! I think I need a personal dresser to help me!

Understated, not fussy, conservative dressing I love. When I was a child, my very glam and smart grandmother was a women’s wear buyer at a big Cardiff store. I liked getting dressed up smartly in our home down and then going into town for a cuppa.
Funnily enough, I love modern art, am left of centre but loved understated clothes from a young age. I buy from - mostly dresses at this time of year;
Seasalt
Live U.K. (John Lewis)
AND/OR
Hush
M&S (smart cotton joggers, they look like trousers)
House of Bruar
Woolovers for jumpers and cardis.
Peter Hahn.
Hotter

I think Iris Apfel looks grotesque. Vivienne Westwood ridiculous. The clothes wear them. They make a living looking like that but don't know how.
As you get older you develop your own style, I don't believe in clothes for older women, you wear what suits you. Obviously I wouldn't wear a skimpy bikini now, it would frighten people, torn jeans and muffin tops are out, but would have been out at 20 for me as don't like scruffy. I just have one stand out item on, whether it a piece of jewellry,dress, top, bag or scarf. Agree with Big Bertha.

My style hasn’t really changed more adaptable as I got older. I like next M&S sometimes and use on line catalogues to get my style right. Older but still a bit bo ho!

Monica thanks for the link.

I came across this video by accident on You Tube. There are lots of them.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=P8phrtnH8_s

Grannygravy, we have similar taste, but I'm sure you look more more stylish than this wee, vertically challenged and rounded Glaswegian! ?

Midi/maxi tiered prairie dresses, they've been around for a few years and are everywhere - too flouncy, and as I'm short of leg wouldn't be a good look on me. Also I think they're for younger women, dare I say that!

I saw two taller women around my age out together wearing said dresses and IMO it wasn't a good look... very old granny looking. To wear a granny-look well you need not to be a granny!

On Newsnight recently Kirsty Wark was wearing the most dreadful long brown 70s curtain-patterned dress