Women, regardless of how old they are or where they live, have a singular desire to look their best. To facilitate this, the fashion industry looks at popular celebrities that are seen as inspirational in terms of style. However, this usually has a focus on the younger audience. For UK fashion retailer Bonmarche, it was time to reveal the inspirations for their particular audience, which is the woman over 45. They have completed a piece of research to demonstrate exactly who these women are.
Because women the world over always want to look their best, fashion retailers tend to follow and monitor what female celebrities wear, to ensure their customers can emulate that look. As a result, clothes inspired by the likes of Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez can be found in virtually any high street store. However, these clothes are geared towards the younger woman, leaving the more mature with items that they do not feel comfortable or good in.
UK based fashion retailer Bonmarche has aimed to change this, however. Their target demographic is the woman over 45, which means their style inspirations are likely to be very different as well. Hence, they have recently completed a study to determine which celebrity fashion icons attract these women in particular. They completed their study across the United Kingdom, speaking to women from all types of backgrounds.
Bonmarche identified several thousand women to poll, and separated them by geographical location and by age category. Interestingly, they found that the only time there was a difference by geographical location was in the woman age 65 and over. All participants were asked to indicate their top 10 celebrity style icons, through which Bonmarche was able to determine the following results.
In the category of age 45 to 54, the top 10 celebrity style inspirations were revealed to be:
- Helen Mirren, who 19.2% of women were inspired by.
- Jennifer Anniston, who 16.3% of women were inspired by.
- Meryl Streep, who 14.5% of women were inspired by.
- Joanna Lumley, who 13.5% of women were inspired by.
- Nicole Kidman, who 10.3% of women were inspired by.
- Elle McPherson, who 10% of women were inspired by.
- Julie Walters, who 8.1% of women were inspired by.
- Jane McDonald, who 5.9% of women were inspired by.
- Salma Hayek, who 5.4% of women were inspired by.
- Ruth Langsford, who 4.8% of women were inspired by.
Meanwhile, in the category of 55 to 64, the top 4 inspirational women were:
- Helen Mirren, an inspiration for 20% of women.
- Jennifer Anniston, an inspiration for 15.5% of women.
- Meryl Streep, an inspiration for 14.5% of women.
- Joanna Lumley, an inspiration for 13.5% of women.
The 65 and over category was the first to show some significant changes from the norm. It was only in this category, as previously mentioned, that there was a change depending on geographical location. It also changed the position of Jennifer Anniston for the first time. For women in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the top 4 celebrity inspirations were:
- Helen Mirren, inspiring 28.4% of women.
- Meryl Streep.
- Joanna Lumley.
- Jennifer Anniston.
Yet, in Scotland, the top 4 were:
- Jennifer Anniston, inspiring 27.8% of women.
- Helen Mirren.
- Meryl Streep.
- Joanna Lumley.
All women, across all geographical locations and age groups, stated that the reasons why these women were so inspiring was not just because of their sophisticated style, but also because of their commitment to healthy living and being beautiful inside and out.
According to the online marketing manager for Bonmarche: “As women grow older, their tastes and influences change, but one thing remains constant: a desire to look great”.
For Bonmarche, these results have enabled them to adjust their collection to make it more relevant to their audience.
