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[quote=Anonymous]The thing is that high fashion used to be largely the purview of older women because they could afford it. This is still true for couture fashion, which is mostly purchased by women in their 50s and 60s, if not older. Sure, there are some wealthy younger socialites and the fashion houses will put their clothes on actresses and models for free advertising, but the people who are actually going to Chanel and other couturiers are mostly much older women with cash to burn. They often have lengthy relationships with these houses.

But one thing that has changed considerably since the 70s and before is that high fashion embraces "street" fashion trends. Before the shift in the late 80s and into the 90s when designers began to draw inspiration from street trends, high fashion was distinct and, frankly, more old fashioned. So it was unsurprising to see older women in high fashion because it tended to be more structured and conservative than what regular people wore on the street.

That's changed, and now the high end brands often feature trends that are drawn from what mostly young, often non-white, people are wearing far from the wealthy enclaves where people wear these brands. So it's all mixed up. It's unsurprising that some adventurous older women are experimenting with these mash ups, and I find it fun and interesting. The influencer whose photos have been posted looks like she's having a blast, and if that isn't the point of being in your 50s with means, I don't know what is!

That said, the vast majority of older women, including if not especially women with money, will stay more conservative with their clothes simply because there is a lot to lose in their social circles from looking foolish. It's less about age than social currency. In many wealthy circles, women already lose a lot of social currency as they age because they are more likely to be married to a high earner than to be the high earner themselves, which means much of their value in their youth was likely on their looks. This is why rich women spend so much money on upkeep and interventions to stay looking youthful. They will buy "high fashion" but avoid more risky fashion because they want to hold onto social status and don't want to risk looking silly.

Of course, celebrities like Crawford are in another category. Models and actresses have more leeway to experiment because they make their own money and their value often lies in an individual brand that they can capitalize on to get work. Looking different or eye catching has more value in that context, plus their target audience is regular people who might buy these brands aspiration ally, not a small circle of Uber-wealthy people who buy whatever the hell they want.[/quote]

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