Under-ad[dressed]

The dearth of readily available, good quality, classic menswear for men of a 'certain' age is - in my humble opinion - quite lamentable. Men over 30 do not all want to be tarred with the same 'cardigan and cords' brush; there is a [rapidly expanding] strata of men within this 'catch-all' category that still wish to take pride in their appearance, wear [age appropriate] quality and [dare I say] 'trendy' clothing and who are all but dismissed from existence by menswear manufacturers and their associated marketeers.

And quite frankly, the clothing industry is missing a trick: the [what I will call here] 'Silvering Generation' are - generally speaking - a demographic with enough life experience to NOT be lead by the nose by the shallow advice of the current  'in-vogue' fashionista but, instead, have a taste and understanding that demands affordable, classic, quality clothing - something that shouldnt be an 'ask' too far for a strata of men that [lets face it] generally have a good [but not inexhaustable] amount of disposable income to spend on such items.

While there are - of course- notable exceptions to this gap [Paul Smith, for example, offers classically styled clothing with a 'twist' for men of all ages], such gap-plugging often comes with a hefty price tab.

I, clearly, am not the first such disgruntled person to have noticed or blogged about this perceived market 'gap' - indeed there are now some excellent blogs out there wholly dedicated to addressing this percieved 'shortfall' in the mature male market:-

 - David Evans [aka 'Grey Fox' ( http://www.greyfoxblog.com )] has been very vocal in his criticism of and ancouragement for this gap to be bridged. Now a VERY sccessful blogger [still carried out in his spare time alongside his full time job as a solicitor!], Grey Fox champions style for the older man with focus on good british-made products

- Mark Hollingsworth in his 'Style over 50' blog [http://slightlyimpoverished.blogspot.co.uk] takes a more personal and subjective view of the struggle for men of a 'certain age' to meet their requirements for clothing of style, quality and durability

Several more blogs exist dedicted to the same overall quest for something between 'teen style' and 'old man slipper' - the two I mention here are simply two that I enoy viewing on a regular basis

In closing, I would summarise by saying that - although this gap in the market is subjectively discernable - it is [no doubt thanks to the efforts and flag-waving of blogs and bloggers like 'Grey Fox'] gradually closing as the manufactruers and marketeers begin to hear the raucus shouts being uttered. To this end, I give you a couple of images of Oliver Sweeney's attempt to close the gap and to illustrate same via use of a mature male model.

                                   

                                         images courtesy of Oliver Sweeney/Grey Fox

                                

Still a way to go, but the 'end of the start' may be nigh....