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Original poster

What age is Seasalt aimed at?

554 replies

ChampagneWorries · 08/10/2021 21:11

I went shopping for a coat today and the lady is my local boutique was trying to convince me that most school mums wear Seasalt coats and Seasalt is great for my needs (warm, stylish, waterproof).

She seemed abit put out when I mentioned I felt Seasalt were too old for me and I felt their target market is late 40s plus.

What age would you say Seasalt is aimed at?

OP posts:
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11
LastToBePicked · 09/10/2021 15:06

I don’t think it’s ageist to notice that different demographics tend to have different styles of dress - gender, class, profession, region and yes age all play a role. People generally want to ‘fit in’ in some way…even if that’s by identifying out of what ever is stereotypical for your age, class etc.

As a woman in my mid-40s, my style and priorities have changed from when I was younger. I’ve not “given up” but I find comfort and quality more important. And however much I think I am following my own style, I end up wearing things that identify me with my ‘tribe’ (a pair of veja trainers here, a French tuck of a t shirt there). I am pretty much boringly ‘middle class 40-something London mum’.

Geamhradh · 09/10/2021 15:07

@LastToBePicked

I don’t think it’s ageist to notice that different demographics tend to have different styles of dress - gender, class, profession, region and yes age all play a role. People generally want to ‘fit in’ in some way…even if that’s by identifying out of what ever is stereotypical for your age, class etc.

As a woman in my mid-40s, my style and priorities have changed from when I was younger. I’ve not “given up” but I find comfort and quality more important. And however much I think I am following my own style, I end up wearing things that identify me with my ‘tribe’ (a pair of veja trainers here, a French tuck of a t shirt there). I am pretty much boringly ‘middle class 40-something London mum’.

No, it's not. What is ageist is to run away traumatised because a woman over the age of 40 was seen wearing a coat you liked, but obviously couldn't then buy because of that.
Maireas · 09/10/2021 15:08

It's not ageist to notice different styles of dress, but to imply certain age groups lack style because of generalisations of where they may or may not shop most certainly is.

HoneyDewMel · 09/10/2021 15:17

Some PP seem to be very unclear on here as to what ageism actually means.

BeyondMyWits · 09/10/2021 15:20

I'm 57 and love seasalt... I have a coat from there, properly waterproof and hides my big flabby menopausal belly.

I am also sat here on mumsnet in Seasalt crop trousers and long tunic... it has a label sewn in the pocket saying "smile, Seasalt loves you"... and it makes me smile every time I wear it.

(The coat has "aye aye skipper" on a label inside it, also makes me 😃)

Maireas · 09/10/2021 15:21

You're right, @nordica - it's best not to get hung up on labels. Why dismiss a shop because of a perceived demographic?

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 09/10/2021 15:26

Yes. Fuck off with all your frumpy and mumsy comments.

RampantIvy · 09/10/2021 15:27

@Maireas

It's not ageist to notice different styles of dress, but to imply certain age groups lack style because of generalisations of where they may or may not shop most certainly is.
I agree.

As with most shops I often have a look around Seasalt/White Stuff/M & S/H & M/insert other shop, and walk out because I haven't seen anything I like, but what I don't do is write off an entire shop based on the average age of its target market, if indeed they do only have a target market based on an age demographic.

I find that most shops have some real gems among them, even Bon Marche which has good quality cotton T-shirts.

Wombat49 · 09/10/2021 15:33

@CrispyCold

I got a sea salt coat when I was early 30’s because of recommendations on here. Then found a school run grandmother in my daughter’s class had the same coat…my dh told me I was stupid, but I’ve put the coat away in storage until I’m at least 50. I’m only 38. It was a £150 coat too 😣
I've just turned 50, feel younger & actually I'm fitter than I was in my 30s. You don't age in your head, so give up on the internalised ageism, as you'll want to wear what you are comfortable in at 50 too.
AuldAlliance · 09/10/2021 15:50

I'm 47. (Well, 48 soon).
I have this coat www.brandalley.co.uk/16239786.html from a few years back.
It's warm (enough for where I live), excellent quality, fits well, and will last for a long time.
It's not "fashionable" - I don't know what a currently "fashionable" coat looks like and would rather have a classic one than feel I have to add to landfill by changing my coat with changing trends.
I live in France and have been complimented on my coat by several stylish French friends. And an old friend who was picking me up from the station last winter drove straight past me: he said I looked so young he didn't realise it was me. This isn't a stealth boast, but an attempt to illustrate that it's useless to label all the items in a single shop "too old" - that's meaningless.

You need to know how to dress to suit your frame, style, lifestyle, etc. There are some seriously stylish women much older than me out there. I often check out what they are wearing, admire them (and their grey hair) and nab ideas here and there, then adjust them to suit me.
The idea anyone might refuse to wear a coat any more because someone older than them has the same one is really, really sad.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 09/10/2021 15:56

Has anybody seen the Sainsbury's Tu TV ad? There's an amazing looking 'old lady' in there looking fabulous.

ChocolateRiver · 09/10/2021 15:56

My mil is 68 and she likes it but that puts me off it. I’m 40 and wouldn’t wear it because I now think of it as an older person brand. Joules has been ruined in the same way. I feel a bit lost fashion wise to be honest. Everything seems aimed at either teens/twenties or grandmas.

EllaPaella · 09/10/2021 16:06

This model works for Mint Velvet, Jigsaw and always looks stunning. I'd give my right arm to look like her.

What age is Seasalt aimed at?
RampantIvy · 09/10/2021 16:12

@ChocolateRiver

My mil is 68 and she likes it but that puts me off it. I’m 40 and wouldn’t wear it because I now think of it as an older person brand. Joules has been ruined in the same way. I feel a bit lost fashion wise to be honest. Everything seems aimed at either teens/twenties or grandmas.
Sorry, but you are being ridiculous. It is very narrow minded to write off an entire brand just because someone older than you wears it.

If I see an article of clothing I like I buy and wear it regardless of how old someone else is who might have the same item.

You are being ageist here Hmm

Frazzled2207 · 09/10/2021 16:16

@ChocolateRiver

My mil is 68 and she likes it but that puts me off it. I’m 40 and wouldn’t wear it because I now think of it as an older person brand. Joules has been ruined in the same way. I feel a bit lost fashion wise to be honest. Everything seems aimed at either teens/twenties or grandmas.
Agree with you. I do buy Boden/Joules but am aware how “mumsy” it looks.
AuldAlliance · 09/10/2021 16:16

EllaPaella, that model looks fantastic.

I love the fact that Seasalt uses this model.

bananaboats · 09/10/2021 16:24

I would properly say 50+ tbh, I'm 30s and i wouldn't, I have friends and colleagues in their 40s i can't imagine wearing anything from there.

scottishnames · 09/10/2021 16:34

I, too, am shocked by the ageism here.

I don't much like Seasalt - I don't like ditsy prints, I don't like their colour palette (too much mustard), I don't like their crop trousers , and, because I live in a really rainy place and have tried one of their coats and found it let in water, now prefer Didricksons or Rohan. To my mind, being truly stylish means being suitably dressed for the occasion, from a wedding to a wet coastal walk; there are few less stylish things that some poor shivering person dressed in so-called "age appropriate" fashion clothes trying to stay warm and dry in February in the West Highlands.

It also seems (sorry) more than a little daft to assume that people of a certain age do - or should - all wear the same sort of clothes. The best-dressed people of ANY age find out what suits them and their personality/body type/ colouring/occupation/way of life and choose accordingly, often paying very, very little attention to brands or labels.

I have in the past bought a few Seasalt items - their cord jeans. But that's because plain cord jeans (classic tapered style) are like hen's teeth for scarcity, and because Seasalt - well done them - make clothes that are properly designed to fit a wide range of sizes, including tallish people with long legs, like me .

Nothingfallingdowntoday · 09/10/2021 16:43

Late 40s here and I wouldn’t. My mum looks great in it though…early 70s.

scottishnames · 09/10/2021 16:53

Am sorry, but the above is just another example of what I mean.

Your mother looks good in it. Great. So might a 20 year old. Just certain garments, of course. No one would surely wear whole outfits of any one brand, whichever one?? But it's NOT THE AGE THAT MATTERS.
As I said above, personally speaking I don't like 99% of Seasalt stuff. But that's nothing to do with my age.

SirChenjins · 09/10/2021 16:58

I agree @Nothingfallingdowntoday. It’s ridiculous to write off a whole company claiming that absolutely everything they produce only suits women in their 70s, especially women who don’t care what they look like.

The casual ageism on this thread has been grim - and from women who should know better.

SirChenjins · 09/10/2021 17:00

Apologies, that should have been - I agree with @scottishnames. I definitely don’t agree with that comment from Nothingfallingdowntoday

Aderyn21 · 09/10/2021 17:29

These days you see less demarcation between the different age groups when it comes to clothes - it's normal to see the same brand of trainers on teens and older people for example, or see people of all ages in the same shops.
That said, I do think Seasalt is aimed at people who are old enough to not put fashion above all other considerations and want a coat that actually keeps them warm and dry, or clothes that will last and are appropriate for lifestyle.

How stylish a person looks has very little to do with age and is more about how clothes are put together, knowing what flatters one's own body, hair and jewellery choices and how you use accessories.

NotresDames · 09/10/2021 19:10

I don't think it's aimed at any age group.

Having said that, I find it very frumpy and I am a (young) early 60s, often taken for being 50.

It's the sort of stuff I'd say primary school teachers wear to work, or older women like my mum's friends in their 80s.

I have 1 dress from them which I like (high summer dress) and some of their knitwear is okay, and the raincoats.

I just can't get their demography.
It seems to be aimed at older women who want to look as if they live in Cornwall and are terribly wholesome, slightly quirky, but it's not sexy or stylish.

scottishnames · 09/10/2021 19:29

NotresDames I agree with all that except the word 'older'. As I said, the aesthetic of their clothes mostly does not appeal to me.

HOWEVER the company deliberately uses young women - and also pregnant women and (as PP above has mentioned) women with different physical abilities and also a few grey-haired women on their website and in other advertisements. That would seem to me as if they were going out of their way to avoid being linked to any particular age group.