Glamorous photoshoot makes retirees feel ’20 years younger’

By James Gamble

Retirement home residents say they were left feeling 20 years younger after posing for a photoshoot wearing huge wigs, colorful clothes and fashionable glasses.

Residents at Maplewood Court in Maidstone, Kent, donned bright colours, outrageous flower-studded wigs, sunglasses and hats in a photo shoot that had the 72-bed home abuzz with excitement.

The home provided hairstyling and makeup for tenants after staff were inspired by a video on social media.

The glammed-up end products show residents in a new lease of life, with centenarian Hilda Howes saying the pics took 20 years off her.

"I loved it, they made me look 80 instead of 100!” she said.

“It was so much fun to dress up in all the bright clothes."

The fun shoot was the brainchild of Lifestyles Team Leader Laura Taylor and Lifestyles Assistant Jo Morgan.

“We’d been inspired by a video we’d seen on social media," Ms Taylor explained.

"We loved the idea of giving our residents the chance not just to dress up but to go over the top and feel fabulous.

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“We planned a lot of it in secret to build the excitement and there was such a buzz in the home."

The pair sourced the wigs online, whilst members of the team also contributed jewellery, scarves and sunglasses to the shoot.

Deb Eve, a care assistant at Maplewood Court, did the ladies’ make-up whilst Ms Morgan took the photographs with the help of her daughter, Gemma Harwood, and Gemma’s fiancée, Emma Rogers.

“We were thrilled that everyone was so keen to get dressed up,” Ms Morgan said.

“You don’t get so many opportunities to do that in your twilight years, and certainly not be part of a photo shoot at the same time.

"The whole thing lifted everyone’s mood; it was wonderful to see."

Residents who were unable to make it to the shoot, such as 88-year-old Barbara Stenning, even had the shoot brought to her room to get her involved.

She chose to dress up in a huge pink wig dotted with sunflowers, a scarlet jacket and oversized pearls - whilst even her pillow was given a silver-sequined fabric makeover.

The team will now print the photos for residents to display in their bedrooms, though plans for an exhibition at the home for friends and family are also in the works.

“I’ll be able to look at it every day and see how fabulous I looked and what a fun afternoon we had,” Violet Syers, a 92-year-old resident, added.