If you're like many older women, clothes shopping can be an ordeal. The styles are perfect for teens and young adults, but not so much for women 50+. The waists are too tight. The capped sleeves don't do a thing for arms. The short skirts reveal legs that we don't care to share with the world.
Sure, there are older women who've managed to maintain their young-adult figures, but they seem to be in the minority.
I use Linkedin a lot these days. It's a good site to find accomplished women (and men) who have a lot to say about aging and the ageism that pervades our culture, particularly for older women.
As the host of the podcast "Older Women and Friends," I am on the search for good guests who have a story to tell and the expertise behind their research or business acumen or work as coaches, therapists, and gerontologists.
I found the guest for the episode that "launched" today. Here is a preview:
Now, I am not a fashionista. But I like to look good and wear clothes that are comfortable, flattering, and make me feel happy. I don't like spending way too much of my valuable time scouring racks and racks of clothes in what is often an unsuccessful search for something to wear.
Funny story: I cajoled (well, not really) a friend to help me find an outfit for a wedding in Sacramento in May. I'd heard all the reports about scorching heat there, so I needed something light and summery. I'm not sure how many stores we checked or how many forays my friend and I made. Finally, I bought a pair of light, black pants that show what is left of my waist and stomach and flair enough to deemphasize the bottom half. And I landed on a very colorful, sheer top that my husband initially said looked like a painting--not a good one, at that.
The day of the wedding which was held outside, looked luscious from the window of our Airbnb. Crystal blue skies, trees gently swaying. At the last minute, I grabbed the black shawl that I'd packed and, just in case, a light, short parka. By the time we arrived in front of the California state capitol, the wind had picked up. It knocked over what looked like a chuppah at a Jewish wedding, though the happy couple were not Jewish. Well, the "chuppah" decorated with a burst of flowers landed on the stairs leading up to the capitol. The wind blew my well-coiffed hair and was so chilly that I first wrapped the shawl around me and then added the parka.
Bottom line: I remained covered the entire day and evening. I could have worn jeans and saved a hell of a lot of money and time.
The podcast "Older Women and Friends"
Jacynyth Bassett, the guest on this week's episode, is all of 31. Yet she is the founder of The Bias Cut in London, a shopping site designed with older women in mind. You can check it out at thebiascut.com.
Bassett started the company after accompanying her mother on shopping quests and could see how frustrated her "Mum" was. You can listen to the entire story at:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/older-women-friends/id1655008259 or wherever you get your podcasts.
I hadn't planned on launching an episode about age bias in fashion but once I heard Bassett's story, the success of her online business and Ageism Is Never In Style®, I was delighted that she agreed to be my guest.
Happy shopping!
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