Desperately Seeking Style

Desperately seeking style  BY ANA VECIANA-SUAREZ - McClatchy Newspaper

A great article in a recent Florida newspaper explains the dilemma baby boomer women are facing worldwide trying to get designers and manufacturers to cater to 45 plus women. The article features one particular boutique owner who is delivering style to boomer women.


Mary Portas - Style Icon

MIAMI -- Baby boomer women might not want to wear their daughters' jeans and men may refuse to don muscle shirts, but the generation that brought us tie-dye still wants to remain fashionable and hip well into middle age. Problem is, designers and retailers often don't know to reach a demographic that is varied, numerous and affluent. Accustomed to chasing after youth, the industry has often missed opportunities to attract the 81 million boomers born between 1946 and 1964.

Boomers complain that the models companies use tend to be too young and too thin, the clothes too frumpy or too trendy and the marketing campaigns too condescending."When I go looking for a dress, it can be a nightmare," says Ivy Gonzalez, 51, a legal assistant. "They're all in the same size - small. They're not realistic. They're geared to the really young or the really old."

Friend Lisel Mansen, 47, an administrator in the same law office, agrees. "I'd like to see more range of sizes in the classic styles I like. I don't want them to start at size zero and end at 12."They buy a lot, browse the racks in stores, flip through catalogs - you'll understand what proves so frustrating for Gonzalez and Mansen.

Clothing retailers tend to pitch their wares to the 18- to 35-year-olds, the ones who chase the latest fad, who wear the hottest trend.But by the time women reach midlife, they know that they will never look like the 20-year-old, size 2 model.

And men understand that the 28-inch waist is a thing of the past. They want something that covers up a little more, that fits a little better, that hides the inevitable mark of aging - but is also modern."What the industry needs to do is be a bit more realistic," says Brent Bouchez, co-founder of Agency Five-O, a New York-based marketing firm that specializes in the 50-and-over set. "And it's not just fashion. Come on, there are models who are 30 talking about anti-wrinkle cream.

"But ignoring this aging but vital demographic means missing a profitable segment of the market. Baby boomers shop and they shop a lot - for themselves and for others. In a study of annual sales through August, NPD Group, a consumer market research group, reported that annual apparel purchases by younger boomer women, those 45 to 54 years old, topped $25 billion. Their male counterparts spent $8.5 billion. In the 55-to-64 age group, women purchased $22 billion worth of apparel, men $6.8 billion. Women in the 18-34 age demographic, for instance, spent $35.7 billion on apparel and men in the same age group spent $17.8 billion.Many predict that market will only grow.

Boomers are used to spending on themselves, and, unlike their parents, they have a lot more choices about where to buy the perfect blouse or the just-right trousers.

The look they like
Among the places, locally, is Certain Things in Cameron Village. Co-owner Lu Harris counts boomer women among her customer base. And in her pointe knit colorblock skirt, paired with a black turtleneck and gray suede boots, Harris looks like the model for stylish boomer women.

Harris says everyday she hears from women who've arrived at her store annoyed because they haven't been able to find what they're looking for elsewhere.So, she says, her store aims to be "not trendy, but well-trended.""They want a little bit of spark," she says of boomer women. "The fit has to be good and the quality has to be there, but there has to be that spark.

"Industry watchers say some labels and retailers have already recognized boomers' potential - Eileen Fisher, Talbots, Ann Taylor, Chico's, St. John Knits, Ralph Lauren and Liz Claiborne, to name a few. And among the 100 or so designers showing their collections for spring/summer 2012 at New York Fashion Week, more displayed evening dresses with sleeves - a nod toward middle-age women who may prefer not to bare their arms.

Harris, of Certain Things, says leggings and tunics are big at her store. She mentions labels like Papillon Blanc, Lynn Ritchie, Christopher Blue and Michael Stars as favorites among her boomer customers.

In addition, general retailers, from upscale Nordstrom to the budget-conscious Target, are trying to offer more selection for boomers, says Francesca Russo, an attorney who comments on fashion in her blog, The Fashionable Litigator. She thinks Michael Kors is a good example of a company that has widened its focus.

"Boomers are more into quality than quantity," adds Russo, 45, whose sister-in-law and brother-in-law are clothing and shoe designers. "They look for elegance and style, and retailers in all categories are catching on because this is a group that has discretionary income."