Bonmarche, one of the United Kingdom’s best-known fashion houses for women over the age of 45, is looking into the greatest influences for women’s style and fashion. They have completed a piece of research looking at a cross section of women from England, Scotland, and Wales, aged 45 and above. They found that there was no change in influence for women between 45 and 55, and those aged between 55 and 65. However, those over the age of 65 clearly start to look towards a greater degree of sophistication. That is, with exception of Scotland, where even the older woman clearly wants to retain youthful looks.
Women all over the world look towards iconic celebrities to help them make choices in terms of their fashion sense, but also their overall lifestyle. As women age, their celebrity icons also age, and it is fascinating to see whether they stay the same, or whether women reset their own horizons and choose different icons to emulate.
Bonmarche, a famous fashion house in the United Kingdom, recently completed a piece of research to look into precisely that. They wanted to find out who the top 10 celebrity women were that other women looked up to. The Bonmarch clientele has an average age of 54, but its new CEO aims to lower this significantly. Hence, the company decided to look into whether there were changes in the 10 celebrity women across the age groups. They surveyed a cross section of women over the age of 45 from England, Scotland, and Wales. Here is what they found:
In the category of women aged 45 and 54, the top 10 most popular women were:
- Helen Mirren
- Jennifer Anniston
- Meryl Streep
- Joanna Lumley
- Elle MacPherson
- Nicole Kidman
- Julie Walters
- Jane McDonald
- Salma Hayek
- Ruth Langsford.
Looking at the age group of 55 to 64, the Bonmarche research found that there was no change at all. In fact, women aged between 45 and 55, and between 55 and 64 answered in the exact same way. Once women reached 65 and over, however, the figures changed slightly. The top three women in this case were:
- Helen Mirren, for 28.4% of women.
- Meryl Streep, for 14.5% of women.
- Joanna Lumley, for 13.5% of women.
This means that only once women hit the age of 65 and over, do they no longer identify as strongly with Jennifer Anniston. Jennifer is known for her healthy look and girl next door style. Helen, Meryl, and Joanna are each seen as more sophisticated, chic women, suggesting that this is something women over the age of 65 aspire to be.
The real shocker, however, was that women over 65 in Scotland clearly had a very different opinion. For them, the number one woman to look up to continued to be Jennifer Anniston, with 27.8% of women saying she was their inspiration.
A spokesperson for the Bonmarche study reflected on the results of the study, considering what this says about a woman’s desire to grow old gracefully, and what it says about their developing influences and tastes. What they found above all else was that, no matter what age, a woman always wants to look great.
The spokesperson says:
“Looking fabulous at any age is easy and achievable - as proven by women such as Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep and Jennifer Anniston: they are in shape, dress for their body types and give off a healthy and confident vibe. It’s no wonder women across the United Kingdom take fashion cues from them.”
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