We visited Ann Taylor's new store for the 'ageless generation' and discovered how H&M and Forever 21 are blowing a huge opportunity

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Lou and Grey

Kate Taylor

Ann Taylor's new brand may seem like millennial bait, with jumpsuits and dressing room mirrors branded in hashtags. But, Lou and Grey is much more than that.

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In 2014, Ann Taylor announced it was launching a new active wear-centric brand called Lou and Grey.

"Age doesn't matter anymore. It's all about a mind set, how you feel and approach life, not how many years you've been on the Earth," Austyn Zung, creative director of Loft and Lou & Grey, told LA Times at the time. "But when we look at numbers, we are pulling in a younger clientele, while not alienating 40- and 50-year-olds."

While Zung's answer may seem like a marketing spin, there may be more to his words than some clever PR-speak. Women in their 40s and 50s are the new "ageless generation," The Telegraph reported. They feel they have a "younger attitude" than their mothers' generation at the same age, identifying more with their daughters' fashion trends and social media habits than dowdy stereotypes of middle aged women.

A significant portion of fast-fashion brands push to market exclusively to millennial shoppers, with more revealing garb and teen-dominated marketing. After all, there's a reason that Forever 21 is named after the legal age where one can drink in the US.

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However, with Lou and Grey, Ann Taylor seems to be taking a different track - wining over younger customers while also selling items that a trendy middle-aged woman could see herself wearing. Eager to see if the brand could succeed, we decided to visit on of the brand's 12 retail locations.