Our style evolves as we move through life; trends come and go. When we get older, the phrase “age-appropriate” is suddenly everywhere. But not everyone is content to blend into the bland smart-casual background. Some choose to tear up their old wardrobes for something entirely different.
What is it that prompts people to revolutionise their styles later in life, to swap streetwear for flouncy skirts or trousers for kilts? And how does it feel to disregard the fashion rulebook?
‘Life is a celebration’
Arlinda McIntosh, 64, New Jersey
Throughout my 20s and early 30s in the 80s, I used to wear mainly oversized clothing to hide myself. I would put on leggings and a big T-shirt – things I thought I was supposed to wear, so that onlookers wouldn’t notice anything different about me. I was a married mother working as a receptionist for a cable TV company.
But when my husband and I separated in my early 30s, I started altering and making clothes for friends to supplement my income.
Read the feature in the Guardian.
[This piece was published on 08/03/22]