Losing my sh*t (in a good way)
I can’t get enough of this...
The above image is pulled from fashion designer Naomi Nomi’s website.
Her homepage hero banner features the same model – as shown below. Thrilling!
Can we get a f*ckin AMEN to this?!
**Also, side note – the same website has a page devoted to buttons, so right there they’ve made me a fan. Growing up with a mother who sewed all our clothes, one of my favorite things was the button jar…digging into it and letting the buttons flow through my fingers was so satisfying (it’s ok, I know it’s weird).
Being a lifestyle brand photographer for women – with the majority of my clients 40+ who are starting or running their own businesses or passion projects, I’m reminded every time as I’m watching images from a shoot download – at how beautiful they are. So interesting. So rich with knowledge, with wisdom, with humor.
So forgive me if I can’t stop talking about it – after forever of only seeing our youth celebrated and compensated. My heart literally leaps every time I see an ad campaign featuring a “women of a certain age” as magazine founder/style editor/writer Kim France likes to say. It reinforces the idea that we don’t just disappear after 40. Or 50…or dare I say 60?! We are often just getting started – shedding past insecurities and roles that gobbled up the first half of our lives.
I swear at this rate 70 is going to be the new 40. Remember how old people looked at 40 in past generations? It’s like aging was a goal. I seriously know 70 year olds that are more vibrant and active than a lot of people in their 30’s. It’s heartening. Gives me hope.
Fashion has this youth mania. But 70-year-old ladies don’t have 18-year-old bodies, and 18-year-olds don’t have a 70-year-old’s dollars.
Iris Apfel
Expanding the age range in advertising might not seem like a big deal, but it actually helps shift the cultural narratives about aging from decline to empowerment and continued relevance. Another nudge in encouraging people to embrace aging with positivity. I think it can also enhance the perceived authenticity of a brand – especially in industries like fashion, beauty, and wellness, by reflecting real-world diversity instead of unattainable ideals.
Brands that feature older women help disrupt the status quo and makes a bold statement about redefining who fashion (for example) is for… we all know the tired trope regarding what women should or shouldn’t wear once they reach a certain age.
After all, style and sophistication are ageless.
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