MEET Ginger and Carman – the duo who have become a TikTok sensation in their mesh tops and flamboyant outfits.
Both over 60, both mums – who like to describe themselves as ”crazy aunts” – say they refuse to become invisible, despite trolls begging them to ”age gracefully”.
It was during a girls trip to the capital of love, Paris, France, when the pals, who met as school mums, started uploading videos on social media, sharing their adventures – but little did the besties know their content would become a major hit.
Now, the Aussie fashionistas boast an impressive 364k following on their TikTok page, @gingerandcarman, and close to 19k fans on Instagram.
Chatting to SBS News, Ginger and Carman said they both instantly new they’d been ”cut from the same creative cloth” – and whilst there’s expectations to act a certain way when you hit a particular age, both refused to give in the societal norms.
”Women of a ‘certain age’ can often feel unseen. But we believe invisibility is something that solely exists in the mind.”
Ageing is your time to reemerge, reset and rediscover. It’s about managing expectations … There’s no chasing youth. It’s about chasing that energy.
Carman
Although there were certainly periods where they had to shift their focus elsewhere, such as raising their families, it all changed when they jetted off from Melbourne to Paris.
The trip, the friends said, was the circuit breaker they so desperately needed to find their quirk.
Whilst roaming around the streets of the French capital, Ginger and Carman stumbled across older Parisian women whose effortless street style inspired them – and before they knew it, the Aussie mums began documenting their own fashion sense and adventures in Australia online.
”It was then that we realised how refreshing and freeing it was to not make plans, allow ourselves to get sidetracked and go on what we now call ‘escapades’.”
For them, there is no such thing as ”invisibility” – at over 60, ”spontaneity and curiosity is the elixir of youth”.
“Ageing,” Carman told BAZAAR, “is your time to reemerge, reset and rediscover. It’s about managing expectations … There’s no chasing youth. It’s about chasing that energy.”
Like most of us, the duo have followed a fair share of trends in the past, especially when growing up – but now, they’ve found their true selves, styling garments in such a way to reflect their individuality.
And this is exactly what Ginger and Carman urge others to do – to step out of their comfort zone and put any expectations aside.
But in a world where women are still often expected to essentially disappear after reaching a certain age, it hasn’t always been easy for the pals.
”Wild”, ”self-absorbed” and ”too much” are amongst just some of the negative remarks Ginger and Carman have come across.
For example, when they attended a festival in Melbourne in ball gowns and trainers for a ”queeny vibe”, there were plenty of disapproving looks.
”But we didn’t let it get to us, all dressed up we popped into a fancy restaurant for quick aperitivo before the festival and received a tonne of compliments for our style and ‘we don’t care what anybody thinks’ vibe,” the duo chuckled.
The world, they added, will become ”very accepting” – once you’ve figured out how to ”own yourself”.
Their philosophy? Keep going and stick to your sentiment – and don’t take yourself too seriously.
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