Newsletter

Fashion and politics do mix

— by Alyson Walsh

Thats Not My Age - Version 2

Photo: @lucyfitterphoto

Talking politics and wearing leopard print, oh hang on a minute…. I know this is a place where women come to read about style but like many others I am deeply concerned about what’s going on in the world right now. I think we can all agree that these are extraordinary times.

A couple of weeks ago I went on the Women’s March, with a home-made placard. This might be the first time I’ve made a placard but it’s not the first time I’ve been on a protest march  – and I am proud of that. Yet, I haven’t mentioned it here. After a few negative comments on social media, I feel like I am inadvertently engaged in an act of self-censorship. Over-thinking what I’m going to post on Instagram or write on That’s Not My Age. Politics and fashion, or feminism and fashion aren’t mutually exclusive. I’m interested in both and they often work in tandem; look at Vivienne Westwood and punk in the seventies and Katherine Hamnett’s Downing Street sloganeering, almost a decade later. I’m not a hard news journalist and I’m not going to bang on about Brexit (follow me on Twitter for more of that) – but fashion is an important industry and both Sarah Mower journalist, MBE and ambassador for the British Fashion Council and acclaimed photographer Nick Knight have spoken out about how leaving the EU could be devastating for young designers. And let’s not get started on Trumpageddon…

I still have to protest this shit-4keXhnjQCCPzyx-e7Cu7bu8

Women’s March on Washington

One of the reasons That’s Not My Age is so  popular is because it’s authentic and honest (or so I’ve been told). No fake news here. And one of the things I have been struggling with recently is simply carrying on as if the world has not turned into a scary and unpredictable place.

Thats Not My Age_1 copy

Finally, as I’m doing a bit of a Hot Shoe Shuffle in the top photo, here’s a close-up. The bucket bag is an old one from Jaeger. Black jeans and ankle boots, that’s what the stylish protester about town is wearing right now.

Keep Reading

Reasons to be cheerful: a Josef Frank exhibition

Talking politics and wearing leopard print, oh hang on a minute…. I know this is a place where women come to read about style but like many others I am deeply concerned about what’s going …