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Ageless Style: Daphne Selfe for Me+Em

— by Alyson Walsh

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Daphne Selfe is a darling. Whenever we meet she’s warm, charming and full of life. Oh and busy. Did I mention that? What with a book to promote, and all. As a model, Daphne has been more successful in her ninth decade, than ever before. No wonder Me +Em have signed her up to showcase their autumn knitwear collection. Gorgeous grey-haired model, beautiful ageless clothes; it’s a win-win situation.

I had a chat with Me+Em founder Clare Hornby about the collaboration…

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Clare Hornby and Daphne Selfe on the shoot

TNMA: What is it about ME+EM clothing that makes it popular with women of all ages? And what’s the age range of your customer?

CH: We pay meticulous attention to quality, colour and cut and spend a lot of time refining each of our designs. I personally source and sign-off fabrics and work on the fit myself. Our customer ranges from 28 up to 75-years-old and the way we interpret catwalk trends is with wearability in mind; that is appreciated by women of all ages.

TNMA: I have often thought that you should use an older model and up pops Daphne! What is it about Daphne that fits so well with the brand and why did you decide to use her now?

CH: We are conscious of our customer’s age range and how lucky we are to have such a broad spectrum. We did not want to alienate our older audience by simply using younger models – the time felt right to illustrate how a more mature woman can effortlessly wear ME+EM and look and feel elegant, contemporary and above all be comfortable.

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Looking cool in a ribbed polo neck, available HERE

TNMA: And how was working with Daphne Selfe?

CH: An absolute dream. We shot our knitwear and layering campaign with Daphne on one of the hottest summer days which is testing for any model in a studio environment and Daphne was incredibly gracious and easy to work with. She had the whole studio team enthralled with tales of her travel and modeling work.

TNMA: Will you continue to use older models? Is this going to be an on-going thing?

CH: Yes, we plan to work with models of all ages, shapes and sizes to show a true spectrum of how our designs can be worn.

TNMA: Are there any other mature models that you would like to work with?

CH: Yes – we would love to book Pam Lucas at Ugly Models.

TNMA: What’s your advice to my readers on staying stylish forever?

CH: Stay true to your own style whether that is sticking to a colour palette that works for you – we will always use a lot of navy in our designs as it is super flattering and easy to wear for all skin tones. Look for the best fabrics and cut that your budget can afford because these pieces will last and become wardrobe staples and investment pieces. Know your shape and what suits you – we put a lot of emphasis on flattering necklines, elongated cuts, and swing shapes.

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Think I might just’ve found a replacement navy biker jacket (available HERE) and I quite like the idea of the navy leather leggings, too (available HERE. Not to be worn with the jacket, too Barry Sheen). More lovely, ageless designs from the Me+Em autumn collection:

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Biker jacket inspiration for autumn (and none of them is black)

Daphne Selfe is a darling. Whenever we meet she’s warm, charming and full of life.