Years ago women didn’t spend all the time and effort discussing and searching for appropriate clothing for during and after menopause. So why are we?

That question had begun to plague me because until recently there had been no really good clothing alternatives for menopausal and post-menopausal women. It seemed as though nothing fit right and nothing kept us from looking frumpy and dumpy. As it is the stellar alternatives are few and far between which keeps the ongoing search top of mind for most of us.

I couldn’t help wondering why it wasn’t a big deal years ago and why clothing designers hadn’t rushed to provide acceptable solutions.

And then it dawned on me. Years ago menopausal and post-menopausal women were not likely to have to continue on in roles as company executives with impeccable professional wardrobes. Back then women were either easing out of the workforce as they entered menopause or had never been in the workforce at all. So the problem is relatively new.

That point was driven home to me when I was searching for comfortable, board-room appropriate attire after my hysterectomy. Everything hurt and I was really at a loss. I finally tried a line of new pajamas that felt wonderful.

A problem solver by nature I contacted the company to see if they made daytime clothing with the comfort of their nightwear. I spoke with a 20-something woman who listened to my compliments and queries about her product line and responded “no, we don’t make daytime clothes, but you can go ahead and wear our pajamas to work”. I had all I could do to refrain from reaching through the phone and punching her!

In one sentence she had proven her youthful ignorance and relegated me to a category in which I never plan to fit. That was six years ago and thankfully there have been some improvements since then. But not nearly enough.

We need comfortable, attractive, professional, sleek and sexy clothing and we’re willing to pay for it. It has to be age appropriate so we won’t invest in brands that we can share with our grandmas in the nursing home or with college aged daughters.

We’re boomers so there are a lot of us. Why aren’t most of you getting this? You’re missing a huge window of opportunity!