Older fashion bloggers: Baby boomer women and inclusive apparel design

Abstract

Social media aided in expanding apparel design strategies for this study, which evaluated ageing women’s clothing preferences by examining their fashion blogs. Fashion blogs provided a rich qualitative dataset that offered insight into how older bloggers made sense of their world. This research analysed written texts and images presented by twenty women to better understand how they felt about their clothing options. Four major themes emerged from the blog data: personal style, self concept, health and ability, and apparel preferences and garment characteristics. The data showed that bloggers were interested in clothing styles and fashion trends that they could modify to accommodate an ageing body without calling attention to disabilities. Clothing was a form of personal expression for many of the bloggers. The women in this study preferred comfort in their clothing styles, and they were generally unwilling to exchange garment comfort for style even when style was a high priority. The study fills a gap by using blogs to inform apparel design. The data from the blogs ultimately helped the researcher, an apparel designer, to better understand and identify possible options for inclusive apparel design for boomer women with a range of needs.