International Trend: Gray Is the New Black

L'Ideal: The New Style Blog on Japanese Women and Men of a Certain Age

At the end of 2013, we told you about Fabulous Fashionistas, Sue Bourne's documentary on six fabulous English women. And of course every week we tell you all about stylish older Americans, including, ahem, ourselves.  Last week, our friend Xtine sent us a link (that she got from Susan, who got it from Kathy) to L'Ideal. It's a blog begun only last year, which showcases wonderfully stylish Japanese men and women of a certain age.  The brainchild of Masa, and run by Masa with Mari, both twenty-somethings,  L'Ideal focuses primarily on people they run into in the fashionable Ginza section of Tokyo.  Masa and Mari have a wonderful eye for individuality and self expression.

Above is Teiko Furuya, 65.

Below is Mitsuyo Katsuta, 66.

This is Hasune Uehara, 73.

American culture is such that most people think of Japanese men as all wearing a suit.  And all wearing the same suit.

But L'Ideal photographs men who dance to a different drum. Case in point: Takashi Takiuchi, 66, below.  Not wearing the suit, not wearing the white shirt, not wearing the black leather slip-ons, wearing glasses he might have found in his grandfather's trunk, and, best of all, wearing a hat!

Elder chic is the latest international trend! Gray is the new black!

Aren't they inspirational?! We could show you so many more wonderful photos from Japan, but we won't. We want you to go to L'Ideal and see for yourselves.

When you've scrolled down as far as you can and see this

near the bottom left of the page, click on it for more. It means "older posts".

And by the way, for those of you who would like to see more blogs by and about bloggers of a certain age, The Citizen Rosebud has kindly put together an amazing blog roll of just that. The list has gotten so big it now has its own website, Into the Violet. Check it out!!!!