WHY AGE NO LONGER MATTERS
WHEN THE LIKES OF
Reese and Goldie Witherspoon, Cindy Crawford out with Hawn are pictured hanging it’s pretty plain their mini-me daughters, matters. We that in 2016, age no longer body, Margot envy Helen Mirren’s beach Blue Ivy’s Robbie’s sophistication and of age-nostics sass. Welcome to the world apply. And – where age rules no longer Those it’s happening all around you. joining crochet-mad 20-somethings nostic. waiting lists for the WI? Age- who’s always That Lycra-clad 70-year-old agefront of the Pilates class? Totally why the nostic. Here, four writers explain exist… rules of middle age no longer
SHANE WATSON
Every generation thinks they’ll never get old. I interviewed Kate Moss when she was dating Johnny Depp, and when the conversation be at 30 she turned to where she might 30 was a looked appalled. Back then, the end milestone birthday that signified where we are of the good times. But look on magazine now. Kate Moss is 42, still and living covers, dating a 29-year-old, then – only the same life she was back no longer the with more control. Age is Lumley measure of who you are. Joanna dream party is 70 and on most people’s grey at 30 list. You can be retiring and can be Helen if that’s your bag – or you It’s not about Mirren or Susan Sarandon. Macpherson Botox or being as fit as Elle you want in your fifties, it’sabout what – how you choose to play it. age lark for I’ve been writing about this I am part of the over two decades, because had to live by first generation that hasn’t
the old age rules. I didn’t get married until I was in my forties. Ten years on and I am still going to festivals, wearing a bikini (not necessarily a good idea but Oh Well); I own a Mih Jeans denim dress, and wear the jumpsuits and clogs I was wearing first time around in the ’70s. The big change is not what ends but what’s opened up. I feel more age-fluid, and so does everyone I know. I go to more mixed generation parties than we ever did back in the day, when being young meant escaping everyone who wasn’t precisely your own age. My 20-something children are happy to go out dancing with us and we all want to spend time with my octogenarian parents, around a table at 1am in the morning. It’s a new world order.
MIRANDA SAWYER
I find it easy to be age-nostic most of the time, as most of the time I don’t feel any particular age at all. Mid-life is a busy time, with career and family to maintain, and, honestly, you’re so full-on that to find a moment to consider how old you are, and what that might mean, is as likely as you finding a spare evening on which to print out photos, frame them and put them on the wall. As if.
I’ve found that many of the trials of middle age have turned out to be assets. For instance, I like not being the subject of male assessment. Like all women, in my time, I’ve been groped and leered at – it’s a relief when that stops. I like not being noticed as I go about my everyday life. Being invisible is a superpower.
The other asset of middle age that I thought would be more of a trial is how to dress. At first, I thought that hitting 40 would mean a complete wardrobe overhaul – a casting out of inappropriate clothing and a move into proper jackets, a business-like heel, a ‘good white shirt’. But that hasn’t happened. The ‘I’ve just rolled out of bed’ look is harder to carry off, but otherwise, honestly, you can wear what you want. There’s a status and a freedom attached to growing older that means you can wear neon leopard print just as easily as a good waterproof jacket.
This is true of your taste in general. It used to be that you hit 35 and were meant to switch from Radio 1 to Radio 2, to change your listening pleasure from Beyoncé to Bublé. This no longer stands. The world has woken up to the fact that your taste doesn’t change as you age. I’ve liked alternative music since my mid-teens; I can’t change that now. I’ve always been interested in the new: new films, new music, new art, new ways of thinking; I still am. That curiosity about life is part of what keeps you age-nostic. ‘Out Of Time’ by Miranda Sawyer (£12.99, Fourth Estate) is out now
BIBI LYNCH
An agnostic doesn’t know if God exists. An age-nostic knows the more important question is: ‘Should God be wearing those robes at His/ Her age?’ To which the answer of course is: ‘Hell, yeah!’ Age ‘rules’ simply don’t apply anymore. And typing as someone who’s turned 50, I thank the Lord for that.
You’re 20 and want to stay home Instagramming photos of you rocking your new slippers? Fine. 50 and considering becoming a new Bond girl? Why not? (Bless you, Bellucci.) So what’s happened to blur these lines? Well, changing attitudes to health and beauty happened (we mustn’t kid ourselves: ours is still a youth-obsessed society, but if you look alright for your age, that frees you up to do/be whatever you want). And social media happened; all ages mixing, inspiring and influencing each other. And as judgemental as it can be, that energy can be positive #Donteventhinkof Tellingmeicantdosomething. The truth is, there are so many factors making this an age where our actual age is growing more and more irrelevant. And this is – cue the caps – A Good Thing.
I was dreading 50. I joked I’d buy a gun with my birthday money (yep, birthday money! My 80-year-old aunt is age-nostic too). But it’s fine. It’s better than fine; it’s fun. I’m not invisible. I’m very visible indeed. And for that I have to thank Bellucci, Cindy C, Mirren etc, for ‘letting’ 50+ be sexy and therefore valid.
At 50 I’m doing things no one over 35 ‘should’ be doing: losing my sh*t on online dating; sexting; waking a flatmate with 3am drunken attempts at hitting Minnie Riperton’s Lovin’ You top note. And, despite a friend telling me ‘We’re too old to be ambitious’, I’m kick-starting a radio and podcast career. Too old? My aged ears can’t hear you.
JEN PAUL
When I was months away from my 40th birthday, I had a breakdown of sorts. I felt past it and life felt like a monotonous routine of work, eat, bed – repeat. As my 40th birthday gift to myself I decided to change that – signing up for a series of ‘bucket list’ activities. I did a skydive, learned to play golf, went scuba-diving, took up knitting, made skincare a priority (not an afterthought). I even – don’t judge – went to a 6am booze-free rave on a boat (apparently it’s an LA exercise craze sweeping Europe).
I realised how good this could be: I was still going out, drinking wine and dancing on a Saturday night with friends – as in my twenties – but I was also eating healthily, drinking lots of water, having early nights and getting plenty of fresh air and exercise.
The depression lifted. I was waking up in the morning happy and motivated. Age doesn’t mean what it used to. Even advertisers are targeting people by their hobbies rather than their age group. Research shows that you age much faster if you’re not enjoying life, so now’s the time to join the age-nostic movement.
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