Dress, Gender and the Embodiment of Age

Clothing and dress are one of the ways in which social categories are made concrete and visible. At such, they lie on the interface between the body and its cultural expression. This paper explores the intersections between the categories of gender and age, and the ways in which these shape the embodied experiences of older people. Drawing on two empirical studies of older women and men, it reflects on significant differences and similarities in their cultural constitution.