Fashion never gets old. More seniors are appearing on social media, in magazines or in fashion shows, wearing what makes them feel good. Clothing marketed at seniors usually evokes the image of something plain or modest, but styles are now becoming more fashionable.
Asami Naito, a 70-year-old company executive in Tokyo, is something of a fashion leader of the senior generation. Naito has a popular following on Instagram, where she shows how she stylishly and readily wears fashion items.
At certain times she wears elegant dresses, but at others she is clad in a poncho and jeans in a folksy manner. She freely coordinates a range of clothing, from high-end brands such as Celine and Christian Dior to reasonably priced fast fashion items.
"Fashion is a source of energy," she happily said, "and Instagram is what I live for."
Ever since her school days, Naito has always been absorbed in reading foreign fashion magazines. At 25, she married a man who dealt in classic cars. When she would go to Britain and France on business, Naito would be inspired by women who freely enjoyed fashion even in advanced age. Naito soon came to enjoy wearing clothes as she liked.
About four years ago, Naito started participating in fashion photography with her eldest daughter, Saori, 43, and posted on Instagram two to three times a week as a "record of a mother and a daughter." She then started receiving comments such as "Cool!" and "You inspired me."
Now she has more than 20,000 followers, including people in their 20s and those in the European and North American fashion industries. Naito has a variety of exchanges with them and sometimes receives gifts from or dines with some of them.
"I feel very excited when I wear something unusual," she said. "You need fashion and curiosity no matter how old you get."
Senior citizens are becoming more interested in fashion. According to a survey conducted by the Cabinet Office every five years on the attitudes of people aged 60 and older toward their daily lives, the ratio of people who "want to dress nicely" rose to 69% in 2014 from 49% in 1994. With regard to women, in particular, 80% of them agreed with the response.
In recent years, a series of photography and instructional books on senior fashion have been published. The circulation of Halmek, a magazine for women in their 50s and older published by Halmek Corp., topped 300,000 in three years after the magazine changed its name. All 100,000 copies were sold out of the November and December issues of Suteki na Ano Hito (That wonderful person), a monthly fashion magazine for women in their 60s launched by Takarajimasha, Inc. this autumn.
"The current senior generation liked to read women's magazines such as AnAn and Non-No when they were young and followed various fads living through the bubble economy," said Asako Yamaoka, 45, editor of Halmek. "They know how to make themselves look nice. They fervently wish to look cool and stylish."
Her remarks are backed by the fact that more than 100 readers in their 50s to 80s applied when Halmek solicited models last year.
Kazuko Minezaki, a 61-year-old homemaker in Tokyo, is one of them.
"I wanted to try something new as I turned 60, so I sent them my photo," she said.
Minezaki used to spend half her salary on clothes when she was working in an office in the 1980s. She chooses clothes that suit her figure even if they are from a brand targeting people in their 20s and 30s as she continues to do 20 squats and sit-ups every day.
While reading features in Halmek, such as on how to look stylish with clothes one already has at home, she admired the magazine's models from her generation.
Her wish was fulfilled when she was chosen as a model for the magazine. She first appeared in the April issue clad in a bright burgundy blouse. Friends and family told her, "You look different!"
"I was surprised myself how much I could change," a smiling Minezaki said. "I want to continue striving to look stylish even as I get older."
Coco Chanel, founder of French luxury fashion brand Chanel, once said, "You can be gorgeous at 30, charming at 40, and irresistible for the rest of your life." The senior generation is now trying to beautifully color an era when people in Japan may live 100 years.
Youthful body and soul
Behind the growing interest in fashion among senior citizens is that many are outgoing and more fit than their age would suggest and have a youthful mind-set.
According to a survey conducted by Rakuten Inc. last June on 300 men and women aged 60 or older, the ratio of people who think they are senior citizens was 19% among those aged 60 to 64 and 28% among those 65 to 69.
Even among people 70 years old or older, one out of three people did not regard themselves as senior citizens.
According to the "Japanese Elderly People: 30 Years of Change 1986-2016" survey conducted by the Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living on 700 men and women aged 60 to 74, the average age that respondents said they felt they were at was 53 years old. "I want to join a sports club," 49% said, while 37% said, "I want to go out on my own to a restaurant or bar." Both figures increased by about 20 percentage points from 1986.
Results of a survey on physical fitness and exercise capacity in fiscal 2018 by the Japan Sports Agency found the physical fitness of people aged 65 to 79 continued to improve. The survey said that the physical fitness age was lower than the actual age among the majority of people aged 60 to 64.
"Many of today's senior generation have social experiences and are active," said Mariya Yasunami, director of Shin Otona Ken, a research body run by marketing firm Hakuhodo Inc. "Having finished raising children and taking care of their elderly parents, if they have the time and physical strength, they hope to get out and do what they want to do. Naturally, they come to be interested in what they wear to enjoy such occasions and pastimes."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
