Our Newsletter
IF 50 is the new 30, what, exactly, does the 50-year-old (or 50+) wear? Today, women from 40-70 look better, younger, healthier than their mothers did, and this can cause a problem. Women of “a certain age” want to be comfortable. They want to look hip, but not trendy, youthful but not juvenile, sexy but not slutty. They are powerful and successful, usually know what styles look best on them, and want to look appropriate—appropriate for their lifestyles and professions.
This also means that these women can't shop at The Gap or Banana Republic, where clothes are not designed for anyone over the age of about 35. The styles are wrong, the fit is wrong, the look is wrong. So what's a woman to do? At the risk of sounding like a commercial (although that's what this is), you find a clothing store that has great looks and people who you can trust to make you look your best. For example, for spring, fashion has been all about the baby doll, retro, the mini and the tent. We don't care how great you look, at a certain age you don't wear a mini; it just isn't, well, appropriate. And for all the hype in fashion magazines about city shorts and skinny legged jeans, have you seen anyone who looks good in them?
At Schwabe-May, we work very hard to get to know our customers. This means that we understand what you do, what you like, what your style is, how your body type works in clothing. We try to keep up with what's in your closet so that we can advise you on intelligent additions to your wardrobe. We specialize in matching you to pieces that will make you look your best…appropriate, in whatever shape and form that takes.
For us, understanding fashion means understanding what looks good on whom, interpreting fashion for our customers. Our best customer-friendly labels for 50+ women include Nina McLemore, Lafayette 148, St. John and Garfield Marks, Nicole Miller. Indisputably, once you get to a certain age, it's all about fit, which is why a designer like Nicole Miller has three different fits—one that works for a woman who is larger on the bottom than on the top, one who has an hourglass figure, and one for women built like models—straight up and down.
And, remember: off the rack rarely means off the rack. Hardly anyone can put something on and wear it out of the store without some fine tuning. Since sizes in women's clothes vary almost as widely as women's body types, we underscore the importance of buying where tailoring is available, so that you customize garments to fit your body. This doesn't mean using the person who does alterations at the cleaners to fit your clothes (although there probably are some of these people who do a perfectly fine job of altering); it means finding someone to work on your clothes who understands how to tailor for women.
If you are not near Charleston, WV, call us and we will help you develop your beauty ID…a profile of what will work for you and why. We can work with you by phone, email or via this website, just give us the chance to show you how great you can look, how comfortable you can be, and yes, how appropriate!
