Hey, do you really think you should wear that? It might be a little short for someone your age, don’t you think? Your legs aren’t as smooth as they used to be! Maybe you should try something a bit looser to hide those curves a bit. That outfit looks so mature and classy on you, and it hides your figure just right! And maybe ease up on the lipstick, we don’t want to draw too much attention, right?
A truth we can all agree on is that we all age, but it seems like we’re all trying to fight it tooth and nail. Especially for women, there’s this pressure to stay forever young and desirable.
I’ve heard those kinds of comments and questions countless times, whether it’s my mom criticizing herself in the dressing room, judging other women her age, or giving me advice on what’s appropriate for women of a certain age. It always puzzled me – why worry so much about what you wear? Wear what makes you feel good and let the haters hate!
One woman who’s really embracing this mindset is Rosa Saito. At 71, she’s proudly celebrating her beauty and encouraging others to do the same, regardless of their age or what anyone else thinks. She’s making waves in the fashion industry as a model, proving that age is just a number.
Rosa, also known as Setsuko Saito, was born in Araçatuba, São Paulo, and she’s always had a knack for the arts. From singing to drawing to writing, she knew she was destined to pursue something creative. “I always knew I was going to do something artistic, something I could create. That’s just who I am,” she said in an interview.
Rosa had a dream of pursuing her passions, but life had other plans for her. When she was 22, she had to take care of her mother, who was confined to bed for three years. Then, in 2000, she faced another tragedy: her husband died, leaving her alone with their 3 kids.
But Rosa never gave up on her joy and optimism. She found solace and inspiration in plants and gardening. She said, “It is important to seek and find yourself. And my moment of peace is with them (plants). I go to my garden and talk to them.”
She thought that was her destiny, until one day, she got a surprising offer from the fashion industry. They wanted her to be a model for them.
“Twice it was by professionals from the Mega modeling agency and once by a photographer. I let the idea mature for a year, after all, it had costs too. It wasn’t something I was going to get into just like that, blindly,” she remembered.
But at 68, she decided to take the plunge and follow her new passion. She didn’t know much about the industry, but she was eager to learn and explore. Her adventurous spirit took her to places she never imagined. She even made it to São Paulo Fashion Week!
She didn’t do it for fame, though. She said, “I only seek to do the best in what I embrace with love and to find myself. I thought: Be what God wants. If I don’t try, I’ll never know.”. But fame found her anyway. She now has over 45K followers on Instagram.
“I only seek to do the best in what I embrace with love and to find myself. I thought: Be what God wants. If I don’t try, I’ll never know,” she said
She also shared her secrets to staying healthy and beautiful. She was 1.68 meters tall and naturally slim. She said she grew up in a very natural way and never took even one aspirin as a child. “It was all based on tea, and in my essence, I am like that, kind of against everything that is chemistry. So I always took care of myself with aloe, coconut oil, olive oil,” she said.
But more than that, she stressed the importance of being in harmony with oneself. “The beauty itself is in really taking care of your thoughts, your spirituality. The person can become beautiful, captivating, friendly, this is much more than the beauty all stretched and perfect. It’s the content that counts, in my opinion,” Rosa said.
Rosa loves her body, but she knows that beauty is more than skin deep. She said, “Beauty is taking care of your thoughts, your spirituality.”
She admited, “Of course, as a woman, there are some things I’d like to change. We all do, but I’m not dissatisfied with myself. I feel beautiful.” She doesn’t see aging as a problem, but as a journey. She shared, “I don’t believe aging is the right word. I would say learning. I keep learning and I feel that the more I learn, the less I know. Surely time passes, but what is time, my God in heaven? If I were to give my soul an age, I would give it 22.”
She thinks the beauty industry is too harsh and unrealistic, but she also sees some signs of hope. She said, “I feel that slowly we are changing. People are living longer, taking care of themselves more and companies really need to open up more in that sense and visualize these potential customers.”
She knows the industry is not easy to enter or succeed in, but she has a strong will and a positive attitude. “With determination and a lot of perseverance you can achieve what you want. Above all, love yourself,” she said.
She believes everyone is unique and beautiful in their own way. “We all are unique beings, it is essential that each one identifies in their own appearance and feels good.” And she added, “And above all, be happy!”
But there is still a long way to go to change the beauty standards and reduce the ageism in fashion and media.
Annika Gralke explains that ageism shows up in at least three ways: negative attitudes towards older people, old age, and the aging process; age-based discrimination or unfair treatment; and the use of practices and policies that reinforce these negative stereotypes.
This makes people over 40 feel ignored or invisible in society and promotes the obsession with youthfulness. Maria Edström agrees with Rosa that the media is more focused on consumers, not citizens, especially when it comes to women.
“I feel that slowly we are changing. People are living longer and companies really need to open up more in that sense and visualize these potential customers.”
Denise C. Lewis and others argue that the fashion industry overlooks and undervalues the complexity and diversity of a woman’s body, and the reluctance of the fashion industry to meet the needs of women over 40 years of age creates a belief that naturally aging women’s bodies are socially undesirable.
They did a visual content analysis of eight fashion magazines and found out that the fashion industry still targets mostly young people and hardly includes images of women over 40, even though they make up a large part of their readership.
The social construct of ageism and its practices hurt everyone, not just ‘elders.’ Lars Svendsen said, “[Aging is seen as] a permanent state rather than a transitional phase. Thereby, the youthful, skinny body that is high fashion’s immortal muse is shamelessly equated with beauty. It is no wonder, then, that younger people believe they will become less attractive as they age, and older people feel pressured to stay looking ‘youthful.’”
Let’s take a very tiny dive into a very difficult topic: Ageism.
And that’s not all. The industry also tells us what we should wear based on what they think is age appropriate, which limits our choices and makes it harder for us to express ourselves through fashion (clothing, dress, hairstyles and makeup) in a way that makes us feel good about our age.
The pursuit of eternal beauty through the ever-changing and renewing fashion and beauty scene is both beautiful and tragic. Roman Meinhold, a German philosopher and sociologist, says, fashion is a way for human beings to position themselves in the present, because they are interested in the transcendence of life and aware of its finality.
We are taught to fear death and losing our attractiveness, as if those are the only things that matter in life. But what does that mean for us?
Paulina Porizkova, a 57-year-old supermodel, thinks that the beauty of aging is not appreciated enough. She says, “You don’t get to dismiss me because I have some wrinkles and sags and gray hair now, when I’m kind of fabulous, the most fabulous I’ve ever been. In fact, I’m going to just put it out there and go, you know what, this is me at my best. Deal with it!”
Jacynth Bassett, founder of The Bias Cut, an age-inclusive fashion boutique, agreed that “Women over 50 just get lumped together, rather than brands recognizing the huge diversity amongst them.”
She said that “Older women today are active, vibrant, modern – and they’re increasingly embracing and celebrating their age. It’s no longer about aspiring to be younger, but aspiring to be the best versions of themselves today. After all, you can’t age backwards!”
But some people have pointed out that Rosa is naturally very beautiful. She’s slim, tall, has long beautiful silver hair, and fantastic facial features. So are we really challenging any standards of beauty or are we creating more pressure for how women should look in their later years?
It’s an interesting debate to have, but I believe that the way forward is to play by the rules and then add a twist, which could lead to more change.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and, as much as we’d like to see change happen fast, it takes time. Little by little, we’ll break down the rigid walls of beauty standards, and the best way to do it is to send Trojan horse after Trojan horse—fitting the standards, yet surprising.
Build towards inclusivity little by little, and one day we’ll wake up to a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes proudly displayed in the media.
We wish Rosa all the best and can’t wait to see where the future takes her! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Let us know your thoughts in the comments—are you brave enough to venture into the unknown, regardless of your age? Do you think we need to rethink fashion from the ground up? Also, don’t forget to upvote and follow the author for more discussion-filled content!