Senior citizens’ clothing in a “youthing” polish society. The perspective of elderly women and men

The way the modern-day senior citizens dress may be determined by their functioning in a “youthing” society, together with the legacy of the Polish People’s Republic and the dress codes prevailing at that time. This article provides an analysis of the abovementioned issue in a gender context, as the described age-ordering of clothes in this text concerns women and men differently. The analysis was based on a diagnostic survey, conducted among people over sixty years old, who gave their opinions on their own and their peers’ dress sense. The responses given suggest that the trends characteristic for a “youthing” society contribute to rejuvenating the way Polish senior citizens dress. According to them, the elderly dress fashionably, tastefully and colorfully – which was stated more often by the women than the men. The survey results also confirm that the dress codes relevant to PPR times are deeply rooted in the seniors’ minds. This was reflected more often in men’s opinions than in women’s. The preliminary results presented in this article indicate that the way elderly people in Poland dress is beginning to be reshaped. The results require greater depth, and this could be facilitated through the use of qualitative techniques that might complement the collected material.