Men, unlike women, don't suffer from the "locker room moment" when they suddenly realize they're too old for certain types of clothing, according to new research. To investigate how men respond to fashion and clothing choices as they age, the researcher conducted 24 in-depth interviews with men between the ages of 58 and 85 of different social backgrounds and sexual orientations. This showed that men did not have the same "locker room moment" as women when they saw themselves in the mirror and realized that the item was now "too young". Most remained comfortable in the outfits they had worn earlier in their lives, especially if their careers forced them to dress a certain way.
For example, those from "creative" industries continued to dress in a classy, fashionable way while others had a chic casual style, mixing blazers with pants and ties and shirts as they pleased. Others embraced retirement as an opportunity to expand their wardrobes and add more color to their clothes, with some embracing the shift in cultural norms meaning pink is now an acceptable color for men.
Furthermore, they viewed clothing worn by younger men they recognized as "too young" for them, such as hoodies, trainers and tight jeans, as "dull" and viewed it with disdain and thus something they would never want to wear. However, the men interviewed had a strong negative reaction to clothing that they believed would markedly end masculinity and the beginning of a decline in life – with elasticated trousers that were viewed with horror.
This concern about the loss of masculinity in clothing choices was also related to the idea of wearing dirty or unkempt clothing. Several of the men interviewed passed stories of men they knew with a mixture of mild disdain or pity, when they saw them in a ragged state, because it suggested to them that they had lost their inherent masculinity and that they were actually giving up. Strikingly, many of these situations were related to the loss of a woman previously seen as responsible for ensuring this did not happen.
Finally, despite feeling confident in their clothing choices, several men admitted that changes in height that come with old age affect their ability to dress the way they want, with some noting how clothes in the wardrobe "shrink." '.
