Beauty And The Beholder

Bento friend and blogger extraordinare Lady Melbourne posted two tweets last week that really got us thinking and the conversation juice flowing:

“I think I was more fashion obsessed as a teen than I am now. You let go of things like always wearing makeup & heels as you get older. You?”

and

“It comes to mind b/c I’m sitting near two gorgeous young gals who have obviously thought about every last outfit detail.”

Casting our brains back to our teenage years (and pulling out a few photos to confirm) we’ve come to the conclusion that in their teens, women have more rigid views as to what constitutes beauty, and as such acceptable aesthetics (which extends to fashion). Indeed, any given Saturday at your local shopping strip or cafe will confirm this idea – 90% of women in the 15 – 25 age bracket look remarkably similar. Roughly the same length hair, same highlights, same makeup treatment and same few variations on a very specific range of looks. Of course there are exceptions to this rule – but that’s just the point – there’s a general “look” that is adopted.

This isn’t for a second to say that women of this age group lack imagination – we suspect it’s just a maturity thing. The media consistently reinforce this particular aesthetic as being ideal. Our theory is that as women mature they look to different references in fashion – beyond their immediate peer group and mainstream media. Over time they have access to a greater range of possibilities via travel, a wider breadth of media and have experienced many seasons of varying trends. They have greater expectations of the garments they buy in terms of durability and versatility. Moreover, they know themselves better – fashion (and beauty) purchases are more a function of their particular style, body shape and preferences than anything else.

But then, we may be biased. The Bento customer, whilst not normally defined by age bracket is almost always over 28. In fact, Bento set out to provide high quality timeless pieces for just this group.

What do you think though? Do you agree with Lady Melbourne? Do women become more lax in their standards on aesthetics as they age, or do they simply use different measures to define fashion and beauty?