People in the UK often say that when a town center is full of charity shops, it's further evidence of the 'death of the High St', but I've worked with a couple of town councils to reframe this and to position themselves as preloved shopping destinations.
Preloved tourism ( or going to another town to visit the charity shops 😆) isn't just good for bargain hunters or the charity shops.
It brings in customers who are more likely to shop in small independents, use micro businesses.. charity shopping isn't the preserve of the very hard up any more and we are more likely to spend in more sustainable ways.
We were in Loughborough on Friday and yes, we did visit all the charity shops, but we also had coffee @oliviascoffeeandbakery ( excellent bakery items btw), bought a couple of small things at the weekly vintage and antique market, did a couple of errands in the larger shops and paid to park in the council run car park...all of this generating income and footfall.
What are your thoughts...do you love a town center with a plethora of second hand shopping opportunities or do you find it depressing?
Happy Sunday y'all
#prelovedtourism
#secondhandshopping
#isthehighstreetdead
#shopsecondhand
#sustainableconsumption
When I was a child, one of the highest praises for a piece of clothing was that it was 'hard wearing', something that would be worn for years and even decades... clothes worked hard and children's clothes often lasted to be passed down along a family.
But I don't remember anyone talking about 'investment pieces' it seems to be a way that the fashion industry has re-packaged and with a hefty price tag, something that we took for granted, that our clothes could and should last a long time and be worn for a long time.
It's easy to criticize people who buy fast fashion and then discard something after a dozen wears, but the reality is that many of these clothes are so poorly made that they disintegrate within months rather than years.
The concept of longevity now comes at a cost which can be eye watering and out of the reach of many people.
I wore this jacket a few days ago, I wear it a lot... vintage menswear @jaegerofficial ...I've owned it for at least a decade, bought in a charity shop and with many many more years life still in it...hard wearing and hard working and designed to be so...
It is the complete opposite of throw away... owning it, wearing it on repeat over many years seems to me to be an act of tiny resistance in a world obsessed with newness and the throw away.
What are your thoughts ?
Happy Saturday y'all
#slowfashion
#outfitonrepeat✔
#clothesmadetolast
#vintagepinstripejacket
#wearittodeath
In the last year or so, I've gained some weight, enough that some of my jeans are now too snug for comfort...and in the brave new world we live in, I could, if I had substantial cash to spare and with a few mouse clicks 'fix' this.
(This post is in no way a criticism of the choices and decisions that other people make about their bodies).
At almost 64, nobody expects me to be the person I was at 30..I am emotionally, mentally and cognitively very different...I've had a variety of careers, moved home several times, had my share of joy and heartbreak, I've walked away from things that no longer served me and discovered new passions and talents...
Of course I have, it would be very strange indeed if I was still that person...life has happened..
But when it comes to my body, the message is loud...I SHOULD look exactly as I did 34 years ago... we're told that it's both achievable and aspirational to live in the same body... we're told that if we don't, then it's because we're 'weak' or that we don't want it enough.
I've had decades of a dysfunctional relationship with food and exercise, so living with this larger body isn't easy...it would be easier to fall back into unhealthy patterns and in a world more obsessed with thinness than ever before, it seems to be going against the grain..
But I'm reminding myself that my body and its validity are not measured by the size labels in my clothes.
What are your thoughts?
Happy Thursday y'all
#rejectdietculture
#thetyrannyofthinness
#ageingchangesourbodies
#youarenotasizelabel
#allbodiesaregoodbodies
Well into my 40s I tried to be 'cool' .. being cool is not my metier, staying up late, going to parties, doing on-trend stuff isn't really my authentic self..
It was only in my 50s that I learnt to feel comfortable doing the things that truly bring me joy and in my 60s, I'm really leaning into them.
So, my bedtime is creeping close to 9pm, I'd rather stock the bird buffet than go to a noisy restaurant, I've never listened to a podcast but do re-read PG Wodehouse more often than is necessary 😆.
Perhaps one of the joys of ageing is finding out what really resonates for us and doing it without fear of judgement or FOMO.
If an ageist world says I'm 'too old' to be considered cool and considers that an insult, maybe that gives me absolute permission to do exactly what I want to ... sometimes becoming a bit invisible has its advantages.
One of the most positive things about the Internet ( and there are many negative things) is that whatever your niche/uncool/geeky interest or curiosity..there is a whole community of people you might never meet who will cheer on and support your first attempt at crocheting or bell ringing or learning to tell different bird songs...there are communities of the 'uncool' and I'm delighted that for so many younger people that it's so much easier to find your people and not have to waste years trying to force yourself into a life shape that's not right for you.
What are your thoughts?
Happy Wednesday y'all
#happytobeuncool
#beyourauthenticself
#findyourtribe
#whatageisteachingme
#smalljoysmatter
Live with a lined face.. we're doing ageing wrong
Get 'work' done.. we're ageing wrong
Build muscle.. we're doing ageing wrong
Loose weight... we're doing ageing wrong
Dress for comfort... we're doing ageing wrong
Show a hint of flesh... we're doing ageing wrong
Colour our hair... we're doing ageing wrong
Let our hair go grey... we're doing ageing wrong
Be visible.. we're doing ageing wrong.
In my 60s I'd really hoped that my physical appearance was the least interesting thing about me..but the external clamour of how we are meant to age seems to be coming louder ...more contradictory...more impossible.
There is no blueprint on the 'correct' way to age...our ageing journeys are individual experiences...our choices are valid for us.. whatever the beauty industry, diet industry or the fashion industry would have us believe.
I took this photo yesterday...in clothes I like, in a body that shows it's 60plus years unashamedly, choosing to age in the way that makes sense to me.
What are your thoughts?
Happy Monday y'all
#ageingjourney
#rejectageappropriate
#doingageingmyownway
#visibleolderwomen
#resistimpossiblebeautystandards
Many of us in our 50s, 60s and above were told at school that we weren't 'good' at art or music or dance or sports. We were made to feel as if creativity was a competitive activity and that the only metric was excellence..so we gave it up.
If we came from working class backgrounds, maybe we were told that this wasn't a way to earn a living..so we gave it up.
Perhaps we were told that creativity was fine for children but not for adults in the real world...so we gave it up.
I'm off to run a beginner's creative writing workshop today and the biggest thing I hope people will take away is that creativity matters and our work doesn't need to be measured by being published or sold or exhibited... finding a creative outlet can feed our soul and our spirits..it can help us make sense of our world or what's going on in our life...our creativity doesn't have an expiration date or an upper age limit.
If you've always wanted to learn to dance or sing or paint or play an instrument... don't listen to the little voices that tell you it's too late...
Give it a go..what's the worst that could happen?
What are your thoughts and experiences?
Happy Sunday y'all
#oldercreatives
#creativitydoesnthaveanagelimit
#theartsmatter
#findyourcreativespark
#trysomethingnew
I wore this definitely a 'bit too much' jacket on Thursday to teach my creative writing class @attenboroughac ...and in all honesty I could have rocked up in jeans and a sweatshirt, what I wear there is not important...
When I bought this piece last year I wondered when I would be able to wear it and then I remembered that I don't have to save clothes for an occasion that might never come..I don't have to save things for 'best'.
It's as much effort to put on something we love or that makes us feel a little fancy as it is to pull on a hoodie.
Many of us were brought up to dress 'small', to draw attention to ourselves or to keep fancy clothes for fancy occasions...it can be hard to dismantle that lesson...to remind ourselves that clothes are made to be worn and that we don't have to have a special occasion to pull out something a bit 'extra'.
What are your thoughts?
Happy and very sunny Saturday y'all
#wearwhatmakesyouhappy
#dontsaveitforbest
#dontblendin
#ordinairydaysdeservegoodclothestoo
#visibleolderwomen
It seems that older women are becoming more visible, more acceptable... we're seeing more older women on catwalks, in advertising campaigns,on billboards (and this post is in no way a criticism of those individual women)..but let's be real here, these are women living in tall,thin,able bodies... their signs of ageing are still very within a narrow parameter...we are being told, very loudly, that it's okay to age as long as we still have pretty much the body we had at 30.
I will start believing that older women are more visible when I start seeing images of arthritic hands, softer stomachs, breasts that have fallen a bit, faces furrowed with lines...
Until then, I don't believe the narrative has changed at all...we are still being sold unachievable representation... being told that we can only have a seat at the table if we can age without actually looking any older.
The best image of real ageing I've seen this week was the 70 something Amazon worker and her message to Jeff Bazos ...played out on a building as the Met Gala was happening... angry, articulate, her body and face showing every year of her age...
That's the visibility I want to see..not another stick thin model.
Real representation means a space at the table for all of us...not just the few who fit some imposed narrative of what ageing should look like
What are your thoughts?
Happy Thursday y'all
#visibilityforallolderpeople
#showingyourageisntfailure
#unashamedageing
#ilookmyage
#eattherich
I took this photo yesterday and didn't realize until I saw the picture that my jumper had ridden up and my stomach was on display..
My first thought was to delete it or find a more 'flattering' image...but when I thought about it and unpacked some of the internalized body toxicity I carry with me..I realized that this is my stomach..it's not flat or gym honed, I don't have washboard abs (I'm not even really sure what they are 😆).
My stomach does the important job of containing many useful organs and it does that well.
The world and especially social media feeds us a stream of so-called 'aspirational' bodies...it fuels our own body anxiety...it tells us that the body we live in isn't good enough and more and more we may be comparing our real bodies with images that are AI enhanced or even not real people at all.
Showing up in our authentic bodies... so-called flaws and all.. going about our day... wearing what we choose to..all of this seems more and more important in a world that tells us that our perfectly ordinary bodies just aren't good enough.
Happy Tuesday y'all
#authenticbodies
#softstomachsarenormal
#yourbodyisgoodenoughnow
#authenticbodies
#authenticageing
I've been in Wales for a few days, visiting my mother (who is well into her 90s)...one of my 'jobs' was to take her clothes shopping... something she loves but struggles to do alone.
We visited several High St chains, a couple of boutique type shops, independent coffee places and a cafe for lunch and IN EVERY SINGLE ONE every comment, question or interaction was directed at me. Even when I made it clear that the shopper (and the person actually paying) was my mother, not me, the staff still talked to me. It was as if she wasn't actually there 😢. (A big positive shout out to the lovely staff @marksandspencer who noticed that we were waiting for a changing room and immediately offered us the accessible one so that I could go in with her and help her dress and undress)
My mother said that it happens all the time. We talk a lot about the invisibility of older people once we reach our 60s, but it seems that once we become truly old, we will be quite literally invisible with assumptions made that we are incapable of making choices, spending our own money or being interested in our appearance.
In the age positive movement, we probably don't talk enough about the reality of extreme old age ..and perhaps we should
Happy Monday y'all (if you're having a bank holiday today, I hope it's restful and joyous)
#extremeoldage
#invisibleolderpeople
#ageismsucks
#agedoesntmakeyouinvisible
#olderpeopleareconsumerstoo
The car selfie seems apposite for a post on coming out the other side of a period of fairly serious driving anxiety...
For the last few years I've found driving any distance or across places I don't know well horribly stressful..
I had strategies to manage this as best I could because not driving and not driving into other parts of the country wasn't really a viable option...
So, I gritted my teeth and pushed onward ... hating something that I had always rather enjoyed...
But in the last few months, something has shifted...I drove to Falmouth a few weeks ago and didn't start dreading it days before I traveled...and yesterday, when I took this photo I was driving to Wales and despite some horrible bank holiday traffic, I found myself happy and relaxed, listening to music and rather enjoying that few hours on my own.
And I'm sharing this because it can feel that anxiety is so powerful and never changing...and I don't know WHY my anxiety has lessened but it seems that we can come back from anxiety and return to doing stuff that once seemed uncomplicated...
What are your thoughts and experiences?
Happy Saturday y'all
#drivinganxiety
#itsokaytobeanxious
#mentalhealthawareness
#overcominganxiety
#carselfie
Anxieties about being judged or ridiculed or being noticed ( and not in a good way) aren't nothing or 'silly'.
We live in a world where people (and I use the term loosely) feel very brave and often unpleasant behind a key board and of course, we see this and even when the comments aren't directed at us,it can feel as if we are living in a world which is inhabited by a culture of negativity and criticism of how people choose to dress as they go about their day.
It's easy to forget that in the real world, most other people are busy going about their day...too busy to notice what someone else is wearing..too busy (and generally too polite) to voice a negative opinion.
This is what I wore yesterday..the weather was lovely, I'd just de-pelted my legs 😆 and if anyone had an opinion about a 60 something woman wearing shorts, they didn't feel a need to express that.
The weather in the UK is lovely at the moment...so if you want to get your legs or arms out, here's a gentle reminder that the real world doesn't come with a comments section and that you can dress as you choose to.
Happy Friday y'all
#weartheshorts
#thisbodyisalreadysummerready
#dontletfearlimityou
#summerstyle
#yourbodyisgoodenoughnow
