The age-defying women switching on the sex appeal on the red carpet
Older women are having a serious moment right now. It used to be that the fashion industry was relatively ageist when it comes to the sartorial choices of ladies enjoying their golden years. "Mutton dressed as lamb," were the whispers when a sixty-something star dared to don a mini-skirt. The expectation seemed to be that famous ladies over forty or fifty should just quietly fade into the background buttoning up their shirts and lowering their hems as they went. Heaven forbid females over a certain age should dare to flash the flesh!
But recently there has been a bit of a revolution, with a whole slew of stars taking down out-dated beauty boundaries and calling out the age-shamers as they hit the red carpet in whatever the damn hell they like.
From body-skimming dresses to barely there bra-lets, females in the 40, 50, 60 plus club are flaunting their body confidence for all to see. And boy do they look good on it.
The leader of this inspiring new fashion-rule flouting pack is undoubtedly Dame Helen Mirren. With her cleavage enhancing necklines and figure-hugging frocks which perfectly showcase her age-defying silhouette, the 70-year-old oozes body confidence. And why they heck wouldn't she?
Though the actress stated in interviews that she doesn't like the word "sexy", when she hits the red carpet it's tricky to come up with an alternative that describes her better.
And she's not the only one. Cindy Crawford, Goldie Hawn, Debbie Harry, Diane Keaton and our very own Carol Vorderman are all examples of more mature ladies rocking the world with their sartorial choices. And who could forget Susan Sarandon's storm in a DD-cup at last year's SAG Awards?
"At long last, we're celebrating age, not youth, but the privilege of growing older," says Ashling McCloy, style editor and co-founder of blog-zine, triplemelt.co.uk. "Women are finally allowed to be sexy, fabulous and beautiful beyond fifty. The result is gorgeous and pretty momentous: stunning women are embracing their looks, their bodies and their age."
"To see the likes of Goldie Hawn (she's 71! who knew?!) and Cindy Crawford owning the red carpet in sexy designer dresses is a huge step forward for women and the fashion world," Ashling continues.
"Designers want their creations to be seen on these stars - that alone spells a shift in how we've conventionally viewed beauty. It screams 'you do not have to disappear', 'you mean something', 'you are a woman'. Sex appeal is no longer reserved for nubile 20-year-olds; these older leading ladies are paving the way for women the world over. And I for one, feel thankful to be growing older (disgracefully, of course)."
It seems this new found sixty-plus sex appeal has come just in the nick of time as a recent research by MyVoucherCodes.co.uk revealed that style confidence in older women is most definitely on the wane. They surveyed 1,711 women between the ages of 18-65 about their fashion spending habits, and found that that 53% felt they'd lost their confidence in their personal style at the average age of 42, partly due to having difficulty finding 'age-appropriate' clothes.
We could go on a long old, preachy rant about how there really is no such thing as 'age-appropriate' clothes, but instead we've decided to let the gals themselves do the talking. So sit back and feast your eyes on the super sexy women whose style is only getting better with age.
Has your style changed as you’ve got older? Let us know @YahooStyleUK
70 is the new 40: Meet the female members of the sensational seventy-plus club
Meet the 61-year-old proving age doesn’t have to be a boundary to beauty
