"The scary stuff about aging is real, but our fears are hugely out of proportion."
-Ashton Applewhite, Anti-ageism activist, Washington Post interview, 2016
My intention in this chapter is to provide some context for the stories in the chapters that follow. For readers who, like me, have reached their seventies**, it’s old news. But in the optimistic thought that the book might be of interest to younger readers, I will try to summarize existing works on the topics of aging, gender, and fashion succinctly and practically. For serious scholars who want more, I'll provide a bibliographic essay in the appendix.
*I am actually 69 and 3 months, but will be 70 by the time this gets published.