As young as you feel?
Recently a top sportswoman was quoted as saying that she felt the same in her fifties as she did in her thirties; I'm guessing many people would echo her sentiments. And as the baby boomer generation hit their fifties, and 34% of the population are now aged fifty or more, we're all anticipating living longer, fitter, fulfilling lives. For many of us the way we experience ageing and middle age has become a more fluid and relaxed affair. Getting older appears to have fewer defined parameters and stereotypes associated with ageing. How many of us now look in the mirror and see an elderly person looking back at us? With the ready availability of hair colouring, access to improved diet and health care, and the choice of many non-invasive surgical treatments we're able to chase the years away with relative ease. Remaining interested and keeping in touch with what's happening in the world keeps us young in outlook, connected and it's never been easier. Fashion, too, is more inclusive as fashion houses appreciate that older people are a lucrative market to target. Leisure activities and sportswear geared to people with a surfeit of leisure time and disposable income is a valuable source of custom. Many older people are inclined to take up sport, golf, are keen to travel more and enjoy a full social life. There's demand for an attractive wardrobe to support that lifestyle. An increasingly large percentage of the population are self employed, which allows for greater freedom in planning their diaries, with the option to adapt and change how they apply their commitment to work. It means that retirement does not have to occur at a pre-determined age or time in life; winding down can be incorporated as and when required.
