Dancing through Life

I was saddened when Maya Plisetskay died on May 2nd at the age of 89. Although I never saw her dance, I remember pictures of her by Avedon in the 60's, she was stunning.

I think it's interesting that she became the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi in 1960 when she was thirty-five. Although she toured extensively, she never defected unlike Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Natalia Makarova. I recently saw a clip of her dancing the role of the dying swan in Swan Lake. She was the epitome of grace; absolutely breathtaking. She was 62. She danced the role of Isadora Duncan when she was 70.  I love that Margot Fonteyn began her famous partnership with Rudolf Nureyev when she was 42 years old and he was 24; an on-stage partnership that lasted for 19 years!

When I was a little girl I loved the ballet. But somewhere in the 70's my mother took me to see

Alvin Ailey's American Dance Theater and I saw Judith Jamison dance in Cry and I was astounded.

She was powerful and moving ...just amazing.

Also, sometime in the 70"s I discovered Twyla Tharp and THAT was a game changer. I had never seen anything like her choreography. There were some elements of Bob Fosse but with so many  more twists and turns and quirks. I wanted to learn to dance like that.

With Baryshnikov in Once More Frank.

I love that she's still working today at the age of 73.

I think the most exciting dancer today is Misty Copeland at American Ballet Theatre. Her story is inspiring and like all of these women, just an incredible athlete.

She's currently dancing the lead in Swan Lake at the Metropolitan Opera. She's only 32, so I hope she, too, will be dancing when she's 70!

Cine-Picks Style #2

For my second cine-picks style, I've chosen two films and a television show. They are wildly different, their only commonality is that the women are over 40...and the fashion is amazing.

The first film is "Something's Gotta Give" (2003) starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. I liked this movie very much when I saw it in the theater. It's the classic girl gets boy, girl loses boy, girl gets boy back..with some twists.  Keanu Reeves was quite charming and as with all of Nancy Meyer's films, the houses are a character that I always fall in love with.

Diane Keaton was fifty-seven in this movie and I thought she looked sensational. Her clothes were minimal and classic but never boring. When she steps into the room for her date with Keanu wearing that black dress, honestly she looked fantastic for any age.

The next pick is an Australian television show called "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries". It first aired in 2012 and has a bit of a cult following, not to mention countless pinterest boards devoted to the wardrobe of the protagonist Miss Phryne Fisher.

Phyrne is a Private Detective in 1920's Melbourne. She is single, financially independent, well traveled, whip smart, compassionate, sexually confident, progressive and sleeps with whomever she chooses. Her best friend is a brilliant lesbian doctor and she has an ongoing flirtation with the local Detective. She has a live-in personal assistant, a cook/butler and a SPECTACULAR wardrobe. Which I covet.

I love that in the books Phryne is twenty-seven but in the series the actress, Essie Davis, is forty-two. It makes her experience, wisdom and self- confidence that much more believable. She is an inspiring, delightful character.

The last film, which made such a visual impression on me so many years ago is "Death in Venice" (1971) directed by Luchino Visconti. I first saw images from the film in the December 1970 issue of Vogue when I was ten. I think it's where I first read about Venice and became aware of the stunning and oh-so glamorous Silvana Mangano. Doesn't she have THE most fantastic profile?? The costumes were designed by Piero Tosi, a frequent collaborator of Visconti's. Together they worked on "The Damned" and "The Night Porter" with Charlotte Rampling and of course "The Leopard" with Claudia Cardinale, a classic. Tosi also designed the costumes for Sophia Loren in "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow" and "Marriage Italian Style."

"Death in Venice" is a tragic and beautiful film based on the novella by Thomas Mann. Most of it takes place in the Hotel Des Bains* and the beaches of the Lido in 1910. It is youth, age, poverty, beauty, desire, wealth, disappointment, possibilities and finally death.

All films are available on Netflix. You can even see the entirety of "Death in Venice" on YouTube, albeit with Greek subtitles!

* The first time I went to Venice was in 1983 with my mother and I HAD to go to the grand Hotel Des Bains.  Lido was disappointing but the hotel was glorious. Now, alas, it is under renovation, to be converted into luxury condominiums.

My September Issue

Each September the fashion bibles deliver their largest issues of the year. The pages are full of fabulous fall fashions and sensational new advertising campaigns. Historically the models in the editorial pages and ad campaigns are teenagers or in their early 20's.

And I have an issue with that.

It was in 1996 when Isabella Rossellini was fired from Lancome 6 days after her 40th birthday!! She was told,  "Be grateful Isabella. You're lucky you lasted so long in the business."
Conversely, remember when 44 year old Lauren Hutton returned to modeling 25 years ago for Steven Meisel's stunning Barneys ads. At that time an ad campaign featuring a 44 year old woman just wasn't done. Hence Ms. Rossellini's untimely departure seven years later.

My friends, things are changing.

Paging through several September fashion magazines I noticed advertising featuring models and actressess in their 40"s:  Eva Herzigova (Target), Kate Moss (David Yurman), Claudia Schiffer (Dolce and Gabbana).  Charlotte Gainsbourg (Louis Vuitton), Winona Ryder (Rag and Bone), Nicole Kidman (Omega), Carla Bruni (Bulgari). There are also ads with 53 year old Tilda Swinton and 61 year old Isabelle Huppert (Givenchy).

There were many cosmetic campaigns with women 40 and over:  40 year old Carolyn Murphy (Estee Lauder), 40 year old Penelope Cruz  (Lancome), 42 year old Sophia Vergara (Cover Girl), 53 year old Julianne Moore (L'Oreal), 65 year old Jessica Lange (Marc Jacobs), and 68 year old Charlotte Rampling (Nars).  Incredible.

Linda Evangelista (49) looks fabulous on the cover of Harper's Bazaar. Also, in the September Bazaar is an insert called Icons, styled by Carine Roitfeld. It's worth mentioning that out of the 19 "Icons", 11 are 40 and over. It opens with Cindy Crawford (48)  and closes with, the truly iconic, Lauren Hutton (70)

This is all fantastic.

Have they had "work" done? Maybe. Are they air-brushed? Of course they are. Even Ms. Rampling's famously seductive eyes look a tad more awake than usual. We all know this is de rigueur with everyone of all ages in the magazines. I'm just so delighted to see women over 40, and 50, and 60 in these magazines. Aren't you??

Maybe the editors will notice that age "sells" and put some older models in the editorial pages. Emmanuelle Alt, the Editor-in-Chief of French Vogue, had this to say recently, "I don't want to show any woman too skinny or young in the magazine. It's depressing to see only kids all the time. It's important to show real women of a certain age."

 I agree.

That's an issue I'll buy.

The Other "F- Bomb."

I've been thinking about the "F- bomb" for awhile.  It's use, it's meaning. I was shocked when I recently read it's use in an interview with an otherwise intelligent and accomplished woman in her 40's.  Some of us use it. Some of us don't. Some say it behind closed doors but never in public. Others cringe when they hear it and cast a disparaging glance at those that use it flagrantly.
The polarizing other "f-bomb."
Feminist.

I am always surprised when I read of any women, especially young women, who resist calling themselves feminists.  It's especially astounding when archaic arguments are used...but I don't hate men....I like being a woman...blahblahblah. You know, the word does have a definition, it's not just a  receptacle for our projections and misconceptions.
Just to be clear.

FEMINISM: The advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic  equality to men.
FEMINIST: A person who supports feminism.

Now, is that REALLY so threatening??

I came of age in the 1970's. Women were making 51 cents to every dollar made by a man, rape was a woman's shame, Women's Liberation was in the news as were Gloria Steinem and Phylis Schafley.  Ah, Phylis Schafley. When I was a teenager she drove me to distraction with her anti-Equal Rights Amendment crusade. What irony that she was a mother, wife and lawyer who traveled around the United States encouraging women to be stay-at-home wives and mothers.  She had the satisfaction of a career and family but insisted other women derive their satisfaction as home-makers. Her own college educated mother supported the family during the Depression because her father was out of work for most of that time. And yet she is vehemently against an ERA & feminism. Today she is 90 years old and STILL espousing anachronistic pabulum. Although I have to say, now she just sounds comical, then she was dangerous.

Yes, things have changed. A woman now makes 75 cents to every dollar made by a man. Wow, lucky us. Forty years and a 24 cent raise. Will it take another 40 years to earn what a man earns doing the same work?  The issue with economic equality is what exactly??

When French Vogue Editor-in-Chief Emmanuelle Alt, 46, (who is seemingly VERY cool) was recently asked if she considers herself a feminist she laughs "No, not at all! Life would be miserable without men. Who would you buy all those shoes for?" (So not cool.)
When asked if she is a feminist, actress Shailene Woodley, 22, said "No, because I love men and I think the idea of "raise women to power, take the men away from the power" is never going to work out because you need balance." (Yes, I know she's young, however....)
When Lady Gaga was asked the same question.."I'm not a feminist. I hail men, I love men. I celebrate American male culture, and beer and bars and muscle cars.." (This is just...I'm speechless.)

Okaaay. Shoes and beer and cars have nothing to do with political and social and economic equality. Ms. Woodley is right, it is about balance, because right now it is not balanced.  Look, I understand that some people don't like labels but when Bjork, Taylor Swift, Demi Moore, Susan Sarandon, Sarah Jessica Parker, SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR and MADONNA for god's sake, won't call themselves feminists something is wrong. All of these women are fantastic examples of feminism and the thing is, if these women would admit to it, maybe some of the myths about feminists would be dispelled.

So thank you Amy Poehler, Sheryl Sandberg, Martha Plimpton, John Legend, Clare Danes, Patrick Stewart, Miley Cyrus, Anne Hathaway, Lena Dunham, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Toni Collette, Emma Watson, Dustin Hoffman and Beyonce for daring to call yourselves feminists.

I am a feminist.

It's easy.

Puffed, Pinched and Pulled..Or Not.

It's interesting the extremes some women will go to in attaining a "youthful" appearance. We've all seen pictures of celebrities who have indulged in some, or too many, procedures. 

 Katherine Helmond in "Brazil".

Goldie Hawn in "First Wives Club".

I think a HUGE problem is that we don't see photographs of over-50 unaltered faces. I really like Diane Keaton. When she appeared on the Golden Globe Awards I thought she looked fantastic. She also looked...older. Cut to a L'Oreal commercial featuring... Diane Keaton....Wow. The difference was shocking and disappointing. I've seen her in those ads and I've thought, "She's 68, she looks amazing... maybe that cream works." Silly me.

Diane Keaton at the Golden Globes and the following commercial.

She is also on the cover of the May issue of MORE magazine, the lines have been erased to shadows. So even a face that hasn't been puffed, pinched or pulled will look it when photographed. I'm not naive, I worked on a magazine. I know even 20 year old models are photoshopped but it's a problem when we have to go to National Geographic to see an image of an unaltered face.

Here are some over-50 faces, au natural..

Annette Bening, 54.

Audrey Hepburn in her late 50's.

Meryl Streep, 63

Lauren Hutton, 69.

Katharine Hepburn at 75 in "On Golden Pond".

 I would also like to say for those who choose to have procedures, good for you. It really is about doing  what we can to feel good about ourselves. Pleasing OURSELVES is what matters. What we do and how we do it is nobody's business. 

Donald Trump's public remarks about 81 year old Kim Novak's appearance on the Academy Awards were disrespectful, shameful and infuriating. That she felt the need to defend herself was just so sad. It made me realize that no matter what our age, a woman's appearance is fair game.

Damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

So if one chooses to puff, pinch and pull, or go au natural, let's support each other privately and publicly. 

Aging is a journey, we're all in it together.

Blooming After Forty.

"It's never too late to be what you might have been." George Eliot

I love stories of women who, after 40, change their lives. Whether it's because the children are grown, it's a necessity, or it's the realization that this journey is finite - whatever the reason, they find the courage to take the road not taken. They step out of their comfort zones, begin again, and come into their own.

I love these women. I collect their stories. They inspire me. They are my tribe. Here are a few...

Margaret Fogarty Rudkin was a mother of three sons and wife to a Wall Street financier. The Depression devastated her family's livelihood and it was also at this time she discovered debilitating

allergies in her youngest son. So out of necessity, at the age of 40, she began to bake bread and sell it. Less than two years later she sold her millionth loaf. She named the company after her family's farm..Pepperidge Farm.

The fabulously unconventional George Eliot published her first novel at the age of 40.

Harriet Doerr graduated from Stanford at the the age of 67. At the age of 74 her first book, "Stones for Ibarra" was published for which she won the American Book Award for First Fiction.

Did you know Millicent Fenwick never received a high school diploma or college degree yet she was fluent in French, Spanish and Italian. In her 30's and 40's she was an editor at Vogue magazine. It was at age 59 that she first ran and won a seat in the New Jersey State Legislature. At age 64 she was elected a member of Congress. She was called "The conscience of Congress."

Wini Yonker joined the Peace Corps at age 65.

Evelyn Gregory became a flight attendant at age 71.

Linda Bach went to medical school in her 40's and opened her practice at age 50.

And then there is the  Honorable Jane Digby. What an extraordinary life. So many ADVENTURES.. It was at the age of 46 that she met her fourth husband and greatest love the Bedouin Sheik, Abdul Medjuel El Mezrab....who was also 20 years her junior (naturally). For the next 30 years she lived in Damascus, and in the desert, absolutely scandalizing 1800's British society.

I first learned of Jane Digby when on the eve of my first trip to Nepal, my boss at the time, the lovely Countess Constance von Collande gave me the book by Lesley Blanch "The Wilder Shores of Love."

The title is unfortunate because it's a wonderful book about  "...four women fleeing the confines of 19th Century Europe for a life of passion and adventure...all of these women broke with their upbringing to embrace life and live it robustly."

It was a wonderful read as I embarked on my own adventure...but I digress.

The idea that it's too late to do anything is ridiculous. I'll close with this quote from a woman who was celebrating her 100th birthday. "If I had known I would live to be a hundred, I would've taken up the violin at forty. By now I could've been playing for sixty years!"

 

 

Cine-Picks Style #1

I love to see great fashion in film. I ESPECIALLY love to see great fashion on women over 40. For my first style cine-picks I've chosen five films in which the women range in age from 41 to 63 and they look fantastic....I like the films too:)

Rene Russo in The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

Although the film IS silly -very smart, very successful and very beautiful woman chooses to abandon her life to go on the lam with billionaire art thief - Pierce Brosnan looks great, they sizzle, and to quote Mr. Charles, "Rene Russo is smoking hot." I have to add, how refreshing that his love interest is  age appropriate. She looks sensational in every scene. Michael Kors designed her wardrobe.

Sharon Stone in The Muse (1999)

This was a delightful bit of a fairytale written, directed and starring Albert Brooks with Sharon Stone and Andie MacDowell. It's funny and charming and Sharon Stone looks fabulous. Regrettably I couldn't find any shots of her wardrobe, which was designed by Emanuel Ungaro.

Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham (1988)

I love this movie..Kevin Costner is perfect as an aging minor league baseball catcher ( and quite easy on the eyes) and Susan Sarandon is wonderful as a William James quoting, poetry loving, baseball temptress. I think she looks great in this film. Sometimes the clothes are 50's inspired, but there are a few vintage dresses that look like they're from the 40's. She also wears stockings with garters so one is never quite sure which era she's in..which perfectly suits her character.

Rosiland Russell in Auntie Mame (1958)

This is a classic. The ever changing set design is as fabulous as Rosiland Russell's wardrobe by the prolific Orry-Kelly.

Tilda Swinton and Marisa Berenson in I Am Love (2010)

Tilda Swinton is usually attired by avant-garde designers such as Haider Ackermann and Viktor & Rolf.  So to see her in this film, dressed conservatively, was a surprise. I thought she looked fantastic. Raf Simons, then at Jil Sander, designed her wardrobe. I'm not sure if he did Marisa Berenson's as well, but she, too, looked stunning.

So there it is, my first style cine-picks. Many more to follow!