Another year older (and why it's amazing)
“Some people are old at 18 and some are young at 90. Time is a concept that humans created.” -Yoko Ono
A belated Happy New Year! We are all another year older, but don't worry. I am here to inform you why advancing age is cause for more celebration.
It is well documented that older age is generally gently ignored in the upper echelons of fashion. Images of 18-20 something models are everywhere and yet the major demographic that buys designer clothes are well ensconced into their 30's, 40's and beyond. This contradiction is in it's own way captivating and confusing to 21 year-old me. Does it mean that once I (eventually) have the means to buy those beautiful clothes, I will be trying to dress myself younger? Am I going to be aspiring to dress like an 18 year old Amazonian beauty as I hit my 40's? Because I love fashion but sometimes I worry about the way it makes me feel, and I want to get happier and more comfortable with myself as I get older.
A couple of days after I was twenty I was in a well known make-up retailer and I was with my friend. I started looking for an anti-ageing eye cream. Insanity. My friend thought so and promptly told me off for being so silly and told me to look at lipsticks (much more fun). I'm sharing this with you as an indication of just how pressing ageing into the future was for me, and although I don't use wrinkle cream, sometimes I do catch myself in the mirror and wonder if I will age well.
Obviously this isn't the sole fault of the Fashion Industry and it's ways, but it does seem to me as an ambitious young woman, that powerful and successful people, in particular the majority of women in the public eye, really do strive to freeze themselves at 40. It can't be fun, and it must take lots of time, effort and money. I'm not sure if I will have all three of these in my future... and yet I don't want to feel pressure that I'm somehow going to let women-kind down by being 55 and looking 55.
And then everything started to change. I still look in the mirror and wonder about my future face and body, but I have found some amazing role models that I want to share with you that quiet some of the worries. 'Fabulous Fashionistas' is a Channel 4 documentary (link here) sharing the lives of six older women who inspire me with their approach to fashion and life. Devastated by my grandmother passing away, in the safe cocoon of my duvet in my tiny student halls bed, my laptop as my lapdog, I found women around the same age as my grandmother and beyond in this documentary who were so full of life, and found dressing themselves an adventure. I felt a connection to these women as they explained and shared their life and style choices, perhaps I needed to in my grief, but I will never forget that these women were a revelation to me at the time regardless, and it is always magical to see such uniqueness and a confidence in oneself. You really must watch it if you can. It might change your outlook on life like it did mine, especially if you love fashion (and your grandma).
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| Stills from the Documentary: First row- Jean, Bridget, Daphne and Sue Second row- Sue, Daphne, Lady Trumpington, Jean ,Gillian and Bridget. |
I had the pleasure of meeting Jean Woods from the documentary recently and I was utterly struck by her energy and how superbly friendly she is. Jean is so fast-moving too! she literally has more stamina than I do, she runs up and down stairs, talking to all who she meets in the shop she works in and she is one of those individuals who energises those around her. Jean wears herself amazing, no botox, no plastic surgery, she looks her age, and looks BEAUTIFUL. Also her style is killer. It is safe to say she is a major role model to me and if I turn out anything like her when I am her age, then I have achieved. Jean is stunning, yet it is not the way she looks that is the main attraction to me, more her approach to herself and to her style coupled with an adventurous outlook on life.
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| The amazing Jean Woods. Photographs via The Guardian and agencesilver.com |
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| The new Celine campaign with model and choreographer Freya Lawrence, Writer Joan Didon and Ballet dancer Marie-Agnes Gillot. |
I am in the opinion that for Didon, Freya Lawrence and Marie-Agnes Gillot, the three talented women chosen by Philo, this is a great way for a new audience to get in touch with their work, as well as open the eyes to the fact that the 'fashion ideal' can be made more diverse. You can read a formidable interview from Didon on the subject of the Celine advert here in which she states that she has actually modelled before and is unaware of the controversy.
Didon has a certain ferocity in the image shot by Juergen Teller that is not usually associated with the temperament of 'little old ladies'. The severe black opacity of the sunglasses truly intensifies the overall look to that of a high end fashion image. It would stop me in my tracks if I was leafing through Vogue, which was probably the intention. I also like her wit. In 1968 in the Paris Review she says of her writing; "I need an hour alone before dinner, with a drink, to go over what I've done that day I can't do it late in the afternoon because I'm too close to it. Also, the drink helps". Perhaps I will adopt this method to my online writing? She is a great influence to many journalists after all...
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| Dolce & Gabbana Campaign |
In my opinion, diversity within the Fashion Industry can only be a good thing. The more outsider influences there are in fashion, the more creative and exciting clothes will be in the future, feeding off the new stimulation. because believe it or not, the clothes on your back come from both a creative and intellectual analysis of the social situation we are surrounded with everyday.
Therefore, contrary to what we have largely been lead to believe, age is not something to be afraid of, especially style-wise. If you embrace your age and keep your spirit and soul (and sense of style) than you are ageing well. Botox may give you a smooth forehead, but it can't give you a lust for life. Have the courage to celebrate the smile lines, because they are there because you have been happy, and don't forget that ageing gracefully is the continuation of your remarkable self, just like Joan and Jean.
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| Elodie- Looking forward to another year older. |
Elodie x
Further reading on Joan Didon:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/01/slouching-towards-bendels/384496/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciaadamczyk/2015/01/09/joan-didion-celine-joni-mitchell-yves-saint-laurent/
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