Reply to So is 40s when looks go off a cliff?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]American women should watch more foreign movies and TV series. There are a lot of chic, sexy and not totally plastic looking older women to admire. It's hard when we have JLo as our one and only model of an attractive older woman. Go look up photos of Lena Olin, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Veronica Falcon, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Sonia Braga. They're all beautiful. [/quote]

Totally agree with this.  The American obsession with looking young is so off-putting. Not to mention desperate.  Looking good doesn’t mean looking young.  Women can and do look fabulous at every age.  [/quote]

I think sometimes the obsession with looking young inhibits the ability of older women to look good. In the extreme, procedures and interventions designed to get rid of markers of age like lines, sagging, loss of color, and gray hair often look much more ridiculous than if they'd just let it be. I personally don't get why people try so hard to avoid wrinkles and sagging, in particular. First off, the procedures to get rid of them are not that good -- Botox has gotten better over the years but still leaves telltale signs, fillers are honestly pretty obvious, and neither is permanent and can wind up looking particularly bad over the course of many years. Like there are some weird things faces do after 20 years of regular Botox, like that thing where there are lots of fine lines and crepe-y skin right around the eye but everything around that is taught and smooth, which seems to only highlight how old the skin around the eye looks (Nicole Kidman is a good example of this but lots of celebrities and politicians get this once they hit 60). It would look better if they just had a face that aged evenly! I mean what is the point of your forehead being perfectly smooth if I can tell from other parts of your face how old you are?

I also think even people who don't do these procedures can get defeatist about aging. The famed "giving up." It's not that I think women owe it to anyone to look good -- do what you want. But I think many women decide to say "I don't care" because it's easier than trying to love who they are now. That's why it's so wonderful to see an older woman who looks great without trying to look young. It feels radical! Someone who puts their wrinkles or their graying hair or their middle aged figure out there and presents it as something wonderful instead of something to hide. That's what I aspire to. I don't want to conceal or prevent aging, I want to embrace it and celebrate it. But it takes bravery.[/quote]

I really love this post and agree with you on the face, hair, and clothes comments.  But who put their middle aged figure out there?  Genuinely curious, no one is coming to mind.[/quote]

[b]There is a growing movement of "mid-size" influencers on Instagram and elsewhere who focus on dressing a body in the 6-12 range, with the assumption that you're going to have a bit of a belly, that your legs will not be stick thin, etc. [/b]It's not specifically geared towards middle-aged women (I'd say 30s is average, which is true for most fashion influencers), but as a 40-somethign woman who has ticked up a couple sizes in the last few years, I have found this approach really refreshing. It's not about hiding your flaws or trying to look super skinny, it's about having fun with clothes and trends but in a way that makes you feel good about your body. Also, just seeing them trying on clothes and trying on different styles has helped embrace my own body.

The celebs I can think of who do this are a little laughable because they are all tiny by regular person standards. But they aren't by Hollywood standards. Like Tina Fey and Amy Pohler both come to mind as women who seem to have embraced their middle-aged bodies and still dress with personality and joy and aren't apologizing for it. They were both very thin during the height of their acting careers and event though they are comedic actors and writers/producers, they played that game. But in recent years I've noticed they both look more like me and my friends do and it's not viewed as some terrible failure or like they need to lose weight. Maybe this is a reflection of greater body acceptance generally, but I notice with them because of how they used to look and the fact that if anything, they have more power and prestige now (via producing and being able to make projects happen just by attaching their names) than they did when they were thinner and more confirmative with their appearance.[/quote]

I love this idea but am not personally aware of any "mid-size" fashion influencers.  Do you have some favorites or recommendations?[/quote]

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