‘You can wear a mini-skirt at any age’: The fashion trailblazers in their fifties

Social media influencers are often associated with younger generations, but an emerging demographic is rising through the ranks. Fashion campaigns and media advertisements still routinely focus on young women to model their wares, despite many older women having the spending power that teenagers largely lack. In the face of this woeful representation, women of all ages are turning to social media, where 50+ women are attracting huge followings that the mainstream seems content to overlook. Here, creators produce inspirational and authentic content that celebrates ageing, diversity and later-life style. In a culture fixated on youth, these influencers offer a radical alternative that feels hopeful and positive. While social media may traditionally have been the preserve of the young, there’s change afoot.

Here, we meet three social media stars at the vanguard of this new wave.

‘Wear the miniskirt!’

Claire Hall, 53, Essex, personal stylist (@clubforty.claire)

“We have to get dressed every day,” says Claire Hall. “My philosophy is, let’s enjoy it and dress in a way that presents us in our best light and gives us confidence, because it can really change the way you feel. When you feel good in an outfit, your energy changes.”

The 53-year-old from Essex began her online career 10 years ago with a blog. “The fashion landscape felt totally different then,” she tells me. “It felt like once you hit your forties, you were supposed to start wearing twinsets and boring outfits. My aim was to let women know they could still shop at River Island or H&M, places they might have thought they’d be too ‘old’ for.”

This evolved into a sizeable social media presence, where she posts regular style advice, outfits, plus a ‘Size-by-Side’ feature where Hall and her friend, Nina, both model the same or very similar outfits showing followers how it looks on a size 10 and a size 18 body. A dearth of representative ages and bodies in fashion magazines and campaigns inspired her to make this move.

“I’m a personal stylist, but I feel that my role is to bridge that gap and show women how to wear fashion styles, because our age group doesn’t see themselves represented,” she says. “Fashion campaigns – whether it’s in magazines or online – still use young, slim models generally. There’s a little bit more inclusivity on size and age, but not as much as there should be.”

She continues: “So I will show women how it looks on a 53-year-old with a ‘normal’-shaped body – and that’s a lot of what my peers do.” In the absence of visible older and bigger bodies, mid-life influencers such as Hall are arguably offering a public service. “I get so many messages from women who say, ‘I would never have considered that outfit unless I’d seen it on you’,” she says. “I think collectively, we are showing women the possibilities, fun, enjoyment and the privilege of ageing.”

Mid-life can be a notoriously difficult time for many women who may be contending with the menopause, while juggling elderly parents, children and work. What would she say to mid-life women who feel they are becoming invisible?

“I think we can feel invisible because we lose our confidence and our sense of place in the world,” she says. “I think tackling this is an inside job – we have to work on ourselves.” And for Hall, clothing is an excellent way to rebuild that visibility. “I think it’s really important to dress mindfully because then you understand how clothing and outfits and shapes and colours make you feel. So I know if I want to feel confident, I’ll wear bright colours. Colour can change how you feel, but it also changes how other people feel – people really enjoy seeing colour.”

Hall would advise anyone looking to refresh their style later in life to do an audit. “Ask yourself: When I felt my best, what was I wearing? What was it about that outfit that made me feel so good? And build on that – identify the elements of the outfit – the colour, the cut, the shape – and start to introduce more of that into your wardrobe.” She’s also sceptical of so-called fashion “rules”: “If you feel good in an outfit, that’s all that matters,” she says. “Style is about you as an individual. Wear the miniskirt!”

‘I thought no one would fancy me with grey hair’

Mia Maugé, 60, London, writer/actor/model (@miamauge)

“My battle with ageing was won when I stopped fighting,” Mia Maugé tells me. Getting to this point wasn’t easy for the 60-year-old, whose life changed dramatically when she stopped dyeing her hair. “I was in my mid-forties and working in publishing,” she tells me. “It was during a transition to digital and I felt I was becoming obsolete. I was in the throes of perimenopause and I felt like my natural hair colour was telling the world how old and irrelevant I was becoming.”

While the choice to go grey was “very liberating”, her journey to get there was tough. “My friends and family thought I was having a mid-life crisis and didn’t get it all,” she recalls. “I felt very lonely on that journey and highly unattractive. And I was single! The crazy thing is I love my natural colour now, but at the time, I was in turmoil and just thought ‘no one’s gonna fancy me’.”

She continues: “It took time to let go of the internalised ageism I didn’t realise I was carrying. But at the other end was 50 and a refusal to hear that noise any more. It was just ‘this is me now – and the world is going to accept it’. And it did – I got stopped in the street and scouted for a couple of modelling jobs and went public with my Instagram account.”

From here, Maugé went from a lack of confidence to modelling in her underwear for Marks & Spencer. Her social media profile soared and she is now a major figure in the world of over-50 influencers. “Something just happened to my confidence and I started saying yes to things that made me uncomfortable, like modelling,” she says. “I would never, ever have done that before this time. But it was a combination of having purpose and it being a tool to make a difference in terms of visibility – but it was also personal. I felt like I was making up for lost time.”

Maugé is also a passionate advocate for shattering stereotypes about older women’s style. “I was feeling a lack of representation as a consumer and published an Instagram post that did really well about streetwear,” she begins. “My generation are really the architects and creators of that look and it’s still very much a part of my wardrobe. Yet brands continue to target a younger demographic – we’re constantly overlooked in marketing.”

In this vacuum, creators like Maugé flourish – and not just with women her own age. “I’m inundated with messages from younger women saying my content helps them envisage a life for themselves in 20 or 30 years’ time. And I’ve been reduced to tears sometimes from some of the heartfelt messages I’ve had from younger women who are struggling with the prospect of ageing in their thirties. So, there’s definitely a demand for us in our entirety.”

Now, Maugé encourages older women to be “loud and proud”. And when it comes to normative expectations about “how” women should look, dress or behave, “there’s a lot of unpacking and unlearning that has to happen”.

Tools to combat this include a focus on gratitude and seeking out joy where we can find it, she continues. “Most of us have spent a lifetime worrying about the small stuff and we don’t want to continue with that into our advanced years – it’s such a waste of time.

“We can be grateful for longevity, loved ones, our homes – and for advanced knowledge and experience,” she adds. “We’re told we’re invisible for a reason. Once you know your power as a woman past mid-life and exude it, it can be a threat to the patriarchy.”

And for Maugé, social media is just one of the ways she can offer an alternative. “I don’t mess around. I’m very much about making a difference – that’s what motivates me to show up online. It’s not just about pretty pictures – it’s about activism.”

‘I want to be that eccentric 80-year-old who doesn’t give a damn’

Louisa Sugden, 53, Norfolk, antiques dealer (@elegantlyknackeredstyle)

“I’ve ignored all the fashion rules – I hate rules,” Louisa Sugden tells me. “There are no fashion rules! Somebody commented on a post recently, ‘You can’t wear red lipstick if your teeth aren’t perfectly white’. Well, I didn’t know there was a rule about that. And who put them there? Everyone should just be themselves.”

Sugden started documenting her move to a Norfolk cottage just over 10 years ago on social media, but rarely stepped in front of the camera until a conversation with successful content creator Paula Sutton of Hill House Vintage. “She said, ‘Why aren’t you in front of the camera?’ I thought: who’s interested in seeing me? But she convinced me. She took a photograph of me and said, ‘I want you to post this tonight’.”

Driving home, Sugden was hesitant. “I felt so out of my comfort zone,” she recalls. “But I realised that if I died on my way home, that photo would be the only one that existed of me because I was always behind the camera taking photographs of the house and my family, but never in the picture. So, I set myself a personal challenge of moving in front of the camera.”

That shift has brought a wealth of unexpected benefits for Sugden. As a content creator and “mid-life champion” she noticed an uptick in comments from women her age or a bit older citing her as inspiration on their own style and confidence journeys. “One of my mottos is ‘nothing saved for best’, meaning wear the good dress,” she says. “And messages started flooding in saying ‘I wore my best dress to the supermarket today’ or ‘I’ve got a wardrobe full of clothes and I’ve finally had the courage to start wearing them again’. And I thought ‘there’s something here’. Posting about my garden is one thing, but I get a real buzz from inspiring someone else, even in a small way. Those messages make me feel like I’m doing something small but significant.”

Don’t expect new clothing hauls on Elegantly Knackered, however. “You’re never going to see me appearing in new clothes every week,” says Sugden. “But I like styling things up and sharing my ideas. When I buy something new, it has to work with five different outfits – it has to earn its keep in my wardrobe. My style is evolving and I’m loving the journey.”

For Sugden, confidence is something she has actively built over the years and a work in progress. “People always comment on my confidence in front of the camera, but I was the shyest child ever,” she says. “If I go into a room with a crowd, I feel like that inner child, but I put on my warpaint and a smile and get out there.”

She continues: “I want to challenge myself. I also want to encourage my children to push themselves out of their comfort zone. How can I tell them this if I’m hiding at my kitchen table in Norfolk?”

Sugden hopes that channels like hers can give mid-life women who feel invisible the boost they need. “It’s never too late,” she says. “Every part of our journey is a chapter; you’ve got to create some energy and enthusiasm and throw yourself into it. I love being in my fifties – I think it’s fantastic and liberating.

“Older women have so much to offer,” she adds. “We’re knowledgeable – and we don’t want or need to follow every new trend that’s out there. My advice is to find your style, be yourself and go out and enjoy yourself. Every day has moments of joy.”