Does looking good make women feel empowered?

She slaps age-defying cream on her face, neck and hands, rubs firming and toning solution on cellulite, streaks her greying hair blonde, gets plastic surgery and botox done, pumps it at the gym and buys clothes from the latest designer boutique.

The new urban woman, who is well past her 20s, or probably in her 30s, 50s or 70s, is fashion-conscious and could have you guessing her age.

When she is in her teens she prances around in spaghettis and figure hugging low-waist jeans, and after that? Does she completely change her wardrobe once she gets married and has children? Is she embarrassed about her extra weight, post-pregnancy and menopause, and does she ask for only pastel shades?

Designer Anu Nagappa feels that times are changing. Her clients, ranging in age from 30 to 60, are dressing up more fashionably. “Older women don’t wear teen clothes but definitely ask for classic designs and tend to have them tailored.”

Fifty-year-old Nerada Harendra loves bright colours.“I don’t wear jeans because I am determined to lose weight and fit into my old ones!” Nina Rao, a 50-something grandmother, says she “tends to follow societal norms”. “I dress differently with my husband and in-laws and with friends.” But she says she “loves her wild colours” and is comfortable wearing capris and sleeveless dresses. “I am in no hurry to get old,” she declares.

Says 60-year-old Francina Farias, “When I got married, I was wearing jeans and sleeveless tops, but I decided to dress more soberly. I do feel you have to dress according to your age to be accepted and recognised. But it also depends on your levels of confidence to wear certain outfits.”

Manjunath M., a designer, feels that older women are the first to keep up with trends as they have more money to spend. “They have no problems in experimenting with designs and don’t change their dressing-style – they update themselves on fashion and try to lose weight.”

For, while on the one hand everything is judged by the “male gaze”, on the other, feminists would argue about feeling empowered by looking good. “The question is how natural you are made to feel when you dress up.”

With fashion magazines screaming how you can look ten years younger, slimming clinics promising you to get rid off all those tiers, and skin centres erasing wrinkles and lines, help is here to stay young forever.