19 Over 40 Bloggers Who Have Modelled For Brands

Back in February I promised a post that would celebrate the over 40 bloggers who have modelled for brands… a couple of months later and here we are!

[Reading time: 3 minutes]

It was all as a result of a post I wrote a few years ago asking why brands don’t use over 40 fashion bloggers as models. It seemed so obvious to me that, as older women were crying out for more representation in advertising, brands should make use of the vast, diverse talent that fashion bloggers were providing.

In short, brands could use diverse, regular women of all shapes and sizes who were used to being in front of the camera. They could also access the bloggers’ already-established following that they had built up over time – here was a ready-made, relevant audience for them to tap into.

Fast forward a few years and I’m pleased to say that quite a few brands have caught onto the power of regular women being represented in advertising where fashion and beauty is concerned. Although we’re still seeing the “Influencer Look” from the clones who are out there doing their thing (mostly) on Instagram, things ARE changing. Following my request for images of bloggers who’ve modelled for brands (those who are bloggers first and foremost, not models who do blogging on the side) you lot have come up trumps I’m pleased to say!

With some that I knew of already and some that were brought to my attention, I have a total of 19 older bloggers who have worked with brands on professional photo shoots to advertise or promote their fashion and beauty products.

These women are all incredibly inspirational. They’re all stunning. But I’d like to see even MORE diversity and to see this continue once the current pandemic is over… I’d hate to see the end of these sorts of shoots (I’ve done quite a few in my time) so please do let brands know that you appreciate seeing these gorgeous women!

The bloggers I’ve featured

This post could have been a LOT more photo-heavy than it already is; some bloggers had many, many beautiful photos to choose from but I’ve selected a few of my favourites. Everyone that sent me high-res images was included.

In terms of the brands who I think are doing great things to heighten the visibility of older women, it seems JD Williams is one of the brands at the forefront of using bloggers as models (as in my experience they pay decent fees so the bloggers aren’t being used as cheap alternatives to professional models). I’ve worked with them many times over the years, and at the end of this post I’ve included some of my own shoots from last year with them.

In the US, Cabi Clothing seem to be using regular women/bloggers a lot, as do Ara Shoes in Germany. In the UK, Look Fabulous Forever is a makeup and skincare brand that features bloggers regularly (my only criticism is that they never actually SAY that they use bloggers or tag them in, so no one knows that they’re not using professional models… they need to sort that out)!

At the end I’ve included myself – seems a bit vain, I know, but I’m proud of being a very-far-from-being-a-model type who has been asked to model for brands. I also included the Fantasie [lingerie] shoot that included myself and four other bloggers… my next post will be all about how I feel about myself and my body (at the age of nearly 48) to tie in with Fantasie’s “It’s Who I Am” campaign, so don’t miss that.

Thank you to all those who sent me images, I think you’re all amazing! Let’s hope this trend of using bloggers will continue once lockdowns are restricted and life goes back to ‘normal’…

Do you think brands are using regular women enough? Which brands do you think are leading the way in this new, more honest form of advertising, and which brands would benefit from using us more? Tell me in the comments!

Stay home, stay safe XOXO

✷ ✷ ✷ ✷ ✷