Over the weekend, She Who Must Be Obeyed and I were relaxing in front of the television when the programme was interrupted by a commercial neither of us had ever seen before. Normally we pay little attention to these interruptions unless the commercial is one of mine! Sadly those are now confined to the annals of history.
However, there was something striking about this one, partly because it referred to people who have reached an age group which some people make a saga out of! Although this particular commercial was not for the company with whom many will make the intended connection. No, this commercial was for an online fashion store.
An online fashion store for those of us who have existed on this planet for at least half a century. It’s comforting, isn’t it, to know that there is somewhere for us oldies to go shopping! However, the real reason this commercial made such an impact was the perceived claim it made about one half of the population who have at least fifty years under their belts. And it really was something to do with what’s under their belts!
It seems that once a woman is in the fifty plus club (and I’m talking age here, not waist size) they can no longer wear clothes in sizes less than 12 (British size). The commercial claimed the store has all the fashion women could want in sizes 12 to 34. It never mentioned men at all.
So, I went on line to have a look at their website, and on the home page is the following:
With the following text:
… we understand that women come in all shapes and sizes and that’s why our women’s trousers and plus size jeans in sizes 12-34 also come in a choice of leg lengths. We have women’s short length trousers and jeans from a 25in inside leg and tall trousers and jeans up to a 36in inside leg, offering a great choice of plus size jeans and trousers in a range of sizes and lengths. From plus size linen trousers to plus size jeans, you’ll love our collection of women’s plus size trousers and jeans.
So, they understand women come in all shapes and sizes unless they are over 50 in which case they cannot be an 8 or a 10, but on the plus side, they can have very long or short legs!
A quick look at the men’s section showed that a mature man can still have the waist of a young man (or of two young men in some cases!) as trousers started at 30 inches and went up to 64 inches! I thought I’d see what styles one could get if one had a 64 inch waist. The results displayed 38 options – 34 of which were track suit trousers/jogging pants (call them what you will). I have to say, not garments one would associate with a 64 inch waist!
Now, for the most part, She Who Must Be Obeyed enjoys every meal I put in front of her; her appetite is bigger than mine (and I’m twice her size!); she takes my homemade cakes to work to have with her lunch; she devours chocolate and peanuts and yet she never puts on a pound. She still has several years before she reaches the age where she can make use of this fashion website.
So, answer me this – does this increase in dress size automatically happen when a women reaches 50 or will I notice a steady growth and extra clothes appearing in the wardrobe? And here’s another dilemma – in a few years time, as she approaches that land mark age, do I change her diet so that she doesn’t put on at least two dress sizes or will she just wake up on her fiftieth birthday two sizes bigger than the day before and have to go online to this fashion store from her bed before she can get dressed?
Do I care if she adds a couple of dress sizes? Of course not!
Maybe, as I am now over that age, I shouldn’t worry so much about the diet I started last week (see here) because this fashion store seems to think we just increase in size once we are fifty! 😉
Better Offer? 