I normally agree with most things Germaine Greer has to say. I admire her feminist stance on life as I consider myself a pretty strong feminist. I admire any woman with the nerve to stand up and speak her mind. To do so in a educated and intelligent manner. They are a dying breed. Not too many left. They've been replaced by women wearing juicy couture whose idea of feminisim is to put THEMSELVES on the pole. And to think it's okay to pole dance because it was their idea, not a mans. So it was with great joy I discovered her article in the new ELLE collections magazine.
That was where my joy ended. Greer had a massive rant about sales assistants and the elderly woman in an article entitled 'The new age.' A article looking at : 'Does the fashion industry cater for the older woman?' In short Greer sidestepped the major issue of the actual industry and used her article as a rant about rude sales people. Which I agree is annoying. But to lump all the possible points that this article could have raised under the rude sales issues is just a cop out.
It's not just the older woman who experiences rude sales assistants. Any student with limited funds, any obese woman who is in a size 0 shop, any size 0 woman in a plus size shop. I had a bad experience in Topshop Oxford street in which I was told to 'go away and stop bothering me, I'm busy' by a sales assistant when I asked where I could find a jumper on a mannequin. God forbid I wanted to buy it. I was so annoyed when 3 sales assistants were rude to me that I wrote a letter of complaint - something I never do.
Sales assistants aren't being rude to you because your older then their normal clientele. They are rude because they are in the wrong job and bored. If you find yourself being rude. then chances are, retail is not the job for you.
Anyway, having worked in retail for eight years now I have to say i am not guilty of any of the crimes that Greer details here. I've given equal attention to ladies of all ages even if it is Topshop. (Known for their rude sales people) I would never leave a person in a fitting room or refuse to get a size for someone.
Greer could have used this article to address the advertising which caters to the younger age group, the styles which are aimed at younger age groups and the stores which are designed for younger age groups. Think about it, the adverts feature young models, its young models on the catwalks wearing the new collections, it's young magazines covering the collections, blogs aimed at a younger age group featuring the clothing - any attempts to feature the older woman in the collections are treated as a big deal. (see Viktor and Rolf's last show featuring - gasp - a model of 40) which is wrong. I am also fed up of Kate Moss being referred to as 'over the hill' at 35. But the majority of the article is taken up with a rant about store assistants. Side stepping the major issues at hand.
I do agree with her on the issue that there is precious little out there that caters to the older lady. Who does have money to spend and deserves to be treated as such. She references good tailoring. Which as you get older is a must. When you are young it is easy to get away with a badly made item which doesnt fit as well as it should. hell, I know at the age of 15 I wore things which were so flammable and falling apart. A trick which ten years later I would not repeat.
I know your sitting there thinking, So what? she's only 25. What does she know about the struggles of 50+ women trying to find an outfit or a decent pair of trousers? Look at Coco Chanel. She knew the value of good tailoring and good styling. At ANY age.
The answer is. I have a mom. I have an aunt AND I work in and with stores which cater to the older woman. I know a lot about it.
Which means that I am able to say that the problem is not the rude sales person who dismisses the older client. It's the enviroment she works in. The advertising she is exposed to, the message the industry sends, the models that wear the clothes in their shows, the industry which tells you - 'Hey, your fab! your young! you own the world!' and nothing will change until we change the industry which is the point that Greer's article failed to make.
Don't get me wrong. Ageism does exist within the fashion industry. It's aimed at 20-35 single women with disposable income. Those without kids, a morgage and other things to spend money on. Think very carefully about what you buy. Think about the image that company aims at. Now read Greers article carefully and see where you stand!
Has anyone else read the piece? If so, what did you make of it? Do you agree or disagree?
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