[imagesource: 萬秀的洗衣店/I Want Show as Young/ Instagram]
If you’re a longtime reader of this site, you’ll know that we generally approach influencers with a certain level of apprehension.
Many don’t do themselves any favours by invading people’s land, taking glamour shots trivialising tragedies in Chernobyl and Auschwitz, and demanding special treatment from people in the hospitality industry.
Then there are the influencers who used COVID-19 posts to up their followers.
Of course, there are exceptions.
Notably, there’s a geriatric couple in Taiwan who didn’t set out to become influencers, but have nevertheless gone viral.
The elderly laundromat owners started styling and wearing clothes left behind by customers.
Here’s CNN:
Having spent decades running a laundromat in the coastal city of Taichung, Hsu Sho-Er, 84, and her husband, Chang Wan Ji, 83, are now proving a hit on Instagram after their grandson — and stylist — set up an account for them in June. Any items left at the laundromat for over a year are considered fair game.
The couple pose in vintage-style garments, which they accessorize with hats and sunglasses. They also opted for more youthful looks — one image sees the pair sporting Adidas tops and bucket hats.
Wan Ji, who has run the business for almost 70 years, says that the Instagram account was his grandson’s idea.
“I don’t know if my reaction was positive at first,” he added, remarking that his initial response was: “Will anybody want to look at this?”
The account, @wantshowasyoung, currently has more than 500 000 followers, so the answer to that question is a resounding ‘yes’.
“I didn’t think people would like it,” said Wan Ji.
“Knowing that people still like me makes it feel like I have more grandsons and granddaughters,” Sho-Er added.
The grandson behind the project, Reef Chang, said he wanted people to know that age isn’t a barrier to having fun with fashion. He came up with the idea after seeing his grandparents bored at work.
The fashion is apparently a departure from how the couple usually dress.
Chang says that “Grandpa loves wearing a suit because he wants people to see that he washes and irons clothes properly”. He believes that if the owners of the laundromat aren’t dressed properly, then people won’t come in.
It clearly worked if he’s still open after almost seven decades.
“When my grandma was young, she was a fashionable girl,” Chang added.
“There are two wardrobes full of her old clothes, and the style is similar to that of the female stars of her generation. But now, she is more concerned that the clothes are comfortable.”
Their Instagram account is one of the most wholesome things you’ll find on the internet.
#FashionGoals, as the kids would say.
(Do the kids still say that?)
Give them a ‘follow’ – they deserve it.
[source:cnn]
