Fashion icon Maye Musk makes aging look good
It’s hard to believe that Maye Musk was once a struggling single mom, fresh out of abusive marriage, with little money.
She fed her family a lot of peanut butter sandwiches and beef stew. She would have been the perfect client for Dress for Success, she says, had the organization been around.
Now an ambassador for the organization, which provides women in need with career attire and development, Musk was featured in Dress for Success Houston’s recent virtual Power Conversation. She talked about her new memoir, “A Woman Makes a Plan: Advice for a Lifetime of Adventure, Beauty and Success” (Viking, $22).
At 72, the former dietitian is a fashion icon — she became CoverGirl’s oldest spokesmodel at age 69. She has starred in a Beyoncé video and has nearly 350,000 Instagram followers.
Musk is also the mother of a billionaire entrepreneur (Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla), a restaurateur and philanthropist (Kimbal Musk) and a Hollywood filmmaker (Tosca Musk).
And she’s a grandmother. She calls Elon’s son, named X AE A-12, simply “X.”
The native of Canada moved to South Africa as a child, and she has an identical twin sister.
Musk talked with the Houston Chronicle about her book, motherhood and being a socialmedia star.
Q: What does “A Woman Makes a Plan” mean?
A: When I was at my poorest and all I could afford was a rent-controlled apartment, I don’t know how I would have survived if my work was taken away from me. You have to do what you have to do. I always knew life was going to get better. You always have to be fluid. You make a plan; if it doesn’t go right, you make another plan.
Q: After your divorce, you and your children moved back to Toronto. What was life like then?
A: When I got divorced and had no money, the children could eat peanut butter sandwiches and were happy to have that for dinner. I could do my own manicure for modeling jobs. I could do my own hair and makeup. I don’t recall ever taking my children out for dinner. We couldn’t go to a movie. I just kept on working and going for it. Sometimes my kids would sit in the front row of my fashion shows because I didn’t have a nanny. They would just sit and read.
Q: You write that you did not have any guilt about working while being a single parent. Why not?
A: I had no idea women would have a guilt for working. I had to feed three kids. I had to work. Not only me but my parents never felt guilty about working. We only saw them at 6 at night. We were completely independent. We didn’t want to let them down. And with Canadian parents, you really don’t want to hurt their feelings.
Q: What dreams did you have for your children when they were young?
A: Being a dietitian, I just wanted them all to be dietitians and live next door to me. That’s a mother’s dream. It didn’t happen. They went their own way, and I let them do it. I encouraged them, but they had to get their own scholarships and loans. And they survived very well.
Q: How did you get into modeling?
A: When I was 15, my mom’s friend asked me to model in a department store. They paid me. They paid me to walk around in a pretty dress. During
the holidays, I did print jobs. I didn’t take it seriously. Then at 20, I won a beauty competition and got a modeling contract in Johannesburg. I got my college degree at 21, married at 22 and had three kids in three years.
Q: It’s hard to believe you were a plus-size model at one point.
A: I was a plus-size model in my 30s, then I started having poor health, high cholesterol and back pain. Either I had to take medicine and pain killers or start eating well. That’s when I stopped eating ice cream, fried chicken, burgers and fries. I stopped all the high-fat, delicious food.
Q: Is it difficult to maintain now?
A: At 72, I’m a size 6. I’m not a skinny person. I’m a slim person. I still eat a flexitarian diet, which is vegetarian at home and if I eat out, meat, fish or chicken. I do cook some meat, fish or chicken because I need some animal protein as well. I do eat very well.
Q: Let’s talk about your hair.
A: When I stopped coloring my hair, it got thicker and healthier, not that frizzy dry look. I need a haircut now. I have to keep it short for high fashion and all.
Q: How do you stay fit?
A: I have to be active. Otherwise your bones start creaking. I walk Del Rey (her dog) three times a day. I do stretches on the floor. I have weights. Then I do Be Move dance (bemoveconnect.com). These are movements I can do without hurting myself. It’s more flowing and dancing and moving around. It makes you stretch long. Definitely in your 70s, you don’t want to hurt yourself. You need to do things that don’t hurt you.
Q: What is it like being a grandmother?
A: I’ve got 12 grandchildren. I just love it. I see them often. Not often enough, of course, not now. When they’re together, they play together. But I just like to see them playing together, being polite and kind to each other, and that’s important to me.
Q: What do they call you? A: Ouma is an Afrikaans name. It’s a Dutch name and German name, too. And I’m not Afrikaans, Dutch or German, but that’s just what children and grandchildren call their grandmothers in South Africa.
Q: Wardrobe staples? A: White shirts, T-shirts, my favorite leather jacket that I wore to the SpaceX launch ( June 3). I have suits for my presentations around the world, but those have been canceled.
Q: What lessons have you learned about style?
A: My friend Julia told me years ago that if you dress better, you do better. She wanted me to look better when I saw my clients (as a dietitian). I told her I couldn’t because I had to feed my kids. We went and bought one black suit, a pair of shoes and a handbag. I wore that every day until I could afford another. Gradually, as I earned a better income, I could buy better clothes.
Q: Do you still go on auditions?
A: Now, because I’m Instagram famous, I don’t do auditions anymore. I did that driving around and lining up with 300 women trying to get a job for the newest drug on the market. Now, things have changed, but that only started at 67 and with social media.
Q: How do you feel about being a fashion icon?
A: At 72, it’s about time.