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Just say no to moo-moos

Did you ever expect to be bombarded with advertisements for shapeless moo-moos and orthopedic sandals? Yet here I am, staring at advertisement suggestions that scream, “Hey, southern Indiana!  It’s all elastic waistbands and floral polyester from here on out.”

Excuse me, publications of the world, but have you even met the women here?  Do you think they just woke up this morning with a desperate desire to give up on fashion, taste, and life itself just because of a certain “milestone” birthday, so many kids, a certain year of marriage? Do you think the second a woman turns 29+, her wardrobe automatically requires enough fabric to double as a tent?

The messaging is insulting, outdated, and reeks of a world that can’t fathom women embracing this phase of their lives with style and vitality. If I see one more ad for a pastel house dress or ankle-high compression socks disguised as “athleisure,” I might scream.

Here’s a newsflash for marketers and fashion “gurus” stuck in their own reality:  middle-aged, southern Indiana women do not need a wardrobe that doubles as a camping accessory just because someone decided that’s what’s “appropriate” for a woman of that specific demographic?

And let’s talk about what’s really happening here. The root of this insult isn’t just moo-moos, though they are certainly a symptom of the problem, of course.   It’s the cultural obsession with youth and the idea that women stop being seen as vibrant, fashionable, and desirable past a certain age. Apparently, at, say, 40 let’s call it, women are no longer allowed to shop for fashion or edgy — now they’re only supposed to care about their children and hiding their bodies?

Women in southern Indiana deserve better. They are accomplished, confident, and stylish — not begging for the retirement home aesthetic and yearning for frump or shapeless sacks of sadness disguised as “fashion.”

So, to the publications that keep targeting southern Indiana women with moo-moos: Take a good, hard look at your outdated assumptions. Stop treating women like they’ve aged-out of caring about how they look. Instead, celebrate this stage of life with style, boldness, and the understanding that we aren’t going quietly into our middle age and beyond.

The same publications in Indiananpolis, Louisville, etc. do not contain the same ads.  Go full frontal, and admit it.

And for the record, no, I don’t know anyone buying your moo-moo. They’re buying another leather jacket — and totally rocking it — unapologetically.

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