Instagram star Lyn Slater, 63, refashions social norms and shows age is just a number
American university academic is challenging society’s views on ageing through her social media account and fashion blog Accidental Icon
Like many women, Lyn Slater was not thrilled when she started experiencing the physical signs of age. But she was even less happy about the “solutions” she saw: the anti-ageing serums, the dying of hair, even the rhetoric. “Retirement,” for example.
“It means that you kind of fade into the background. You retire, and you dress very comfortably, and you’re taking care of grandchildren. The antidote our culture has come up with – anti-ageing – it’s like we’re against ageing,” Slater says.
Instead of going along with that narrative, the 63-year-old Fordham University professor of social work in New York, turned to a realm that has long been associated with the young - fashion. By most objective standards she has conquered it. Her Instagram account – largely comprising photos of herself in striking couture – has more than 200,000 followers, with some photos garnering over 50,000 likes. Her blog has fans from around the world. She has modelled for Valentino Eyewear, Mango and Uniqlo, and in February she signed with Elite Models London.
I never intended to address ageing; I don’t have an agenda. But somehow I have become an alternative of ageing that young people embrace.
Ruffled white collars, wide-leg trousers, textured blouses, skinny jeans, oversized glasses - all curated by a woman with a lifelong love of clothes, who knows how to rock them. And her audience is not a bunch of old ladies. The vast majority are women between the ages of 18 and 35, who gush in the comments thread.