America's Fascination with Youth

All celebrity designer clothes could be considered "overpriced". But the 25-35 yo who can "afford" it, clearly are paying that price. And frankly, my opinion is most 40+ yo are *trying* everything they can to look like 25 yo. So no, I'm personally not "tired" of it as it doesn't apply to me so I'm not bothered by it. Just my opinion. =)

Actually when they say their target demographic is 25 to 35 they generally mean 35 to 55.

Think about it if you try on an outfit, you like it, it looks good on you, you find out the target demographic is 65+, the first thing most people think is argh! I am not that old and then suddenly you don't like it. Now find out the target demographic is 25 to 35, oh, now you like it better, you look good in kids clothes.

The clothes I wear say the target demographic is 25 to 35, I am 44. I don't really care what the target demographic is if it looks good on my, ya know?

I suspect it has always been like this. I am 46. I vividly remember when I was about 16 spotting a STUNNING red Mercedes convertible. Of course we ogled the driver. Who turned around and (horrors) must have been 40. OMG. We could not believe such a fabulous car was being wasted on such an old fart.

Celebrity Apprentice? Ivanka Trump? I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit :/
There are plenty of attractive, stylish and age appropriate clothes out there, Ann Taylor, Michael Kors, Banana Republic, J Crew, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, to name a few of my personal favorites. JC Penney, Macys and Dillards all have reasonably priced and stylish clothing as well.
Turn off the so called reality television and hit the mall!
p.s. I am 43, 5 foot 5, 155 pounds and a size 12 :)

We don't all just wear mumus and eat bon bons because we care about our health and how we look. I suggest that one reason maturity isn't valued is because the mature person doesn't make themselves attractive to the younger generation.

Appearance is too highly valued in my opinion but that shouldn't mean that we older women should stop caring about our health and appearance. The two are related.

I agree with mamazita that there are plenty of good quality business like and fashionable clothes for us. She listed many easy to find stores.

The focus on the 25-35 age group is caused by their being the majority of big spenders.

I also suggest that the reason older women try to look younger is that we have a difficult time facing our mortality. Some don't transition well into being a mature woman. It's a psychological issue as well as a financial issue.

Part of the reason for this is that younger women are still figuring out their personal style. They're more willing to change "looks" with the fashions, and therefore they buy a lot more clothes. At 40, I know exactly what I like. I wear streamlined, tailored clothes in all black. My "accessories" are a pair of funky glasses and a cool satchel/handbag, both in brown. Sometimes I'll wear all silver earrings,sometimes silver and green. I'm willing to spend a fair bit on something b/c I buy one or two clothing items per year, and I want things to last. I do not care what's "in" or not. So there's no point in marketing to me. I suspect most grownups are the same way.

I wouldn't sweat this one. So, people aren't yammering at you to buy a bunch of pointless junk all the time. Good. Gives you more time to live your life.

I think the world is obsessed with youth, but America seems to be the worst.

I have a gripe. I am very petite and have to shop in the juniors section. I wish clothing manufacturers would realize grown women can be smaller then a size 6!! I drown in the clothing made for "women," yet I am one!! Also, I'd like if there was a mid-range. It seems hard to dress well, and also look my age. I'm only 29, I don't want to dress like I'm 50 OR 15. Sorry, totally got off on a tangent there!!

Actually, in the business world...I DO think maturity is valued for the most part. (From my experience, anyway.) I just don't think the world of fashion cares about actual normal women very much, which is why they are targeting their clothes the way they are. I don't come across many business women in the 20's, you are right about that.

To be honest I am almost 41 I am often told I dont look "that old" I am not sure how you miss the distinct grey in my hair or the lines around my eyes. I think it is just because I am short- 5'2". I dont dye my hair- I do use wrinkle cream I dont wear much make up never have and my everyday is jeans T-shirt or sweater and either converse or boots. I have expensive dress clothes but dont wear them often because we dont go anywhere I need to often. I dont look like the girls and my sons high school I dont want to I dont want to be the mom standing on the football field in heels and fake tanned boobs and hoping the breeze doesnt mess up my hair. I earned every grey hair I have I earned every laugh and cry line. Own it.

No I'm not really tired of it because I don't pay attention to it. I don't follow "celebrities" and certainly would never entertain buying their mass-produced, poor-quality, overpriced "fashion" that's made in sweatshops somewhere. Those Macy's ads that show "celebrity" after celebrity are clearly not targeted towards me.

I have shopped the same stores since my mid-20s (I'm late 30s now) - Ann Taylor, Talbots, J. Crew and a discount place near me that has off-price designer clothes (real designers, not fake celebrity stuff). Basics come from Target or TJ Maxx. I never have trouble finding clothes that are well made, stylish and classic.

I think that the celebrity lines of clothes target younger buyers who have more disposable income and poorer taste and don't mind wasting money on cheap, poor quality clothing that's only going to be trendy or wearable for a season or two. Older women know their own style, color and fit, avoid trends that don't flatter them or fit their taste and buy for quality, not trendiness. That's why flash-in-the-pan faux designers don't market toward them, and that's fine. Would would really want to buy clothes in the style of Ivanka Trump?

I value maturity.
I don't have a fascination with youth.
Youth is wasted on the young! LOL

I wouldn't trade ANY of my life experiences for a few extra years of youth.

As for the clothing--these are the kind of brands that make a size 4 pants with a label that says size 0 to stroke egos!

Can we blame the 1% on this one too?

I have a friend in her early 20's making just under $50k a year. She lives rent free with her wealthy, older boyfriend, has no children or any major expenses, her parents paid for her college so she doesn't have student loans, and whines all the day long how poor she is. But we make less than that for a family of 5. There is a handful of wealthy younger generation who are putting off families and getting good careers, so they have more disposable income for fun things that necessities. That is the target demographic.

I agree w/ MzKitty. The older women who have the money are trying very hard to look as young as possible.
I went to a high end mall a couple weeks ago...and I couldn't help but think all the people walking around w/ their giant bags of goods, live in a different world than I do.
I see more of an obsession to look youthful via any means possible.
I AM tired of all the hideous clothes that still get produced...not that I can afford to buy them. But if I could, I'd be really depressed.
Everything is made for 5' 10" twigs. : /

I'm 31. I don't want to look 21. I don't want to dress 21. I don't give a rats behind who targets what in the media or in the stores...I look around, find what I like, and I wear it.

To me, it makes sense to target this age...25 to 35...because they perhaps are the most fashion conscious as a group and in this society, 25 to 35 in the professional world is starting to mean "before children." So I guess I don't agree with you.

I do believe society values maturity. That's why we have mature clothes available to us. Again...I don't think I look like some fat mumu wearing, bon bon eating mother just because I'm not wearing Ivanka's clothes.

Woman who are 40+ can look like anyone else, as far as being professional goes.

I guess maybe I don't understand your gripe.

I don't really pay attention to any specific age group as far as fashion or what is out there to wear/what I should wear/how much, etc.. I wear what I feel, and what is comfortable. To be honest, I still dress about the same as I did in high school. Jeans and a t-shirt, scarf. When I worked it was dress pants and blouse with boots or flats. Keep things simple. Their are a ton of designers out their that make quality clothes for all age groups. Most of them you can find at a Kohls, Target, Macy's. I buy those on clearance most of the time.

You should try living in Boca Raton, Florida where it's quite common to observe the 70-80 yr old set wearing teeny bopper clothes, dousing themselves in the latest perfume, carrying the latest Coach.

It's like living in an alternate universe sometimes.

I actually agree with Miranda O. I tend to be the same way (though I'm into gold colored jewelry instead of silver which looks bad on my skin tone).