Bonmarche is a unique fashion retailer in the United Kingdom. Unique, because they focus specifically on women over 45. This is why the retailer decided to survey their demographics to find out which celebrity women they most look up to and why in terms of their style. The top 4 women, consistently, were Jennifer Anniston, Helen Mirren, Joanna Lumley, and Meryl Streep.

Women all of ages always want to look their best. The often take style inspiration from celebrity women, a trend that has been heavily studied. However, these studies tend to look specifically at younger women, who aim to emulate younger celebrities. For British fashion retailer Bonmarche, these results are irrelevant, since their demographic is the woman over the age of 45.

A 45 year old women is unlikely to take her inspiration from women like Katy Perry or Rita Ora. Instead, they will look at the more mature celebrity. Bonmarche has taken the bold move, therefore, of researching exactly which celebrity women their consumers look up to. The company surveyed thousands of women all over the United Kingdom, in age categories 45 to 54, 55 to 64, and 65 and over. What they found was that, consistently, the same 10 women made it to the top 10, being Jennifer Anniston, Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Joanna Lumley, Nicole Kidman, Elle McPherson, Julie Walters, Jane McDonald, Salam Hayek, and Ruth Langsford.

In the 45 to 54 age category, the top 4 women and reasons why were:

  1. Helen Mirren, cited by 19.2% of women for her sophistication.
  2. Jennifer Anniston, cited by 16.3% of women for her golden tan, lustrous hair, and healthy living efforts.
  3. Meryl Streep, cited by 14.5% of women for her sophistication.
  4. Joanna Lumley, cited by 13.5% of women for her unique yet sophisticated style.

These results were consistent across all geographic regions.

In the 55 to 64 category, the top 4 celebrity style icons were:

  1. Helen Mirren, cited by 20% of women.
  2. Jennifer Anniston, cited by 15.5% of women.
  3. Meryl Streep, cited by 14.5% of women.
  4. Joanna Lumley, cited by 13.5% of women.

Again, the results were the same across all geographical locations.

For the 65s and over, the situation became slightly different. For England, Wales, and Northern Island, 28.4% of women were inspired by Helen Mirren and Jennifer Anniston fell to fourth place. However, in Scotland, Jennifer Anniston climbed to first place, with 27.8% of women looking up to her for their style inspiration.

The online marketing manager for Bonmarche stated: “As women grow older, their tastes and influences change, but one thing remains constant: a desire to look great”.

Now that the study has been completed, Bonmarche has the opportunity to look through their available collections to make sure they have the things that their audience looks for. There was consistency in the top four women across all ages and all geographical locations, being Helen Mirren, Jennifer Anniston, Meryl Streep, and Joanna Lumley. These four women are all very sophisticated, almost posh, in their style. The exception is Jennifer Anniston, who has a more girl-next-door look to her, but she is loved because she is also beautiful on the inside, something that shines through in her hair and skin. She, herself, thanks her healthy living regime for this, and this clearly is also inspirational to women over 45.

For Bonmarche, it is obvious that all women, regardless of their age, want fashion that makes them look their very best. They, meanwhile, are committed to making sure women are given the opportunity to look how they want look, and not just how younger celebrities look.