In Older Men’s Wardrobes: Creative Tales of Affect, Style and Constraint

Fashion in old age has been of increasing interest within various disciplines, including social gerontology and fashion studies. However, there remains a scarcity of research concerning older men’s everyday dress practices. This paper redresses this imbalance through a detailed exploration of the everyday dress practices of a group of three sartorially minded older men. A series of in-depth interviews revealed the conscious ways in which the men style themselves, the various constraints that structure their dress, and above all, the men’s emotional entanglements with their garments. The notion of wardrobe as a conceptual space (which is both mental and spatial) frames this study. Importantly, the older men’s dress practices are considered as they contribute to, and extend, notions of everyday creativity. Typically, when creativity is considered amongst older people, this has tended to focus on individuals who can be conventionally defined and socially labeled as “creative” types (artists, musicians etc.). In contrast, this study helps to reveal the extent to which all aspects of social life, including the mundane act of dressing, may involve creative practices. If creativity is de-coupled from “high artistic achievement” we can begin to understand how all individuals possess diverse forms of creative potential and capacity.