EDGY DESIGNER CLOTHES V CLASSIC STYLE

‘Who says I have to dress like a grandma?’

At 50, I don’t feel any different to how I felt at 30 or 40. With a 12-year-old son and a busy work and social life, I just don’t feel old. My grandmother died at 96 – now that’s old. But 50 is not old at all. And our generation has seen that change.

I’ve not changed my look at all as I’ve got older. I like hardto-find trainers and clothes from Net-a-Porter and independent stores, and I really don’t see why I should cover up. I work hard to keep fit by going to the gym and walking everywhere. I choose clothes based on looking good, not based on age, and I wear bikinis and short skirts on holiday – why not? How you dress shouldn’t be about someone else’s judgment but your own.

I dyed my hair from my 20s to cover a white streak. When I shaved it off in solidarity with a friend who had cancer, I thought it looked great with that dash of white. I keep it short now and it’s liberating. You never have a bad hair day – just get up and go.

I don’t mind wrinkles, but if my face fundamentally changed and I didn’t look like myself anymore – if I looked really miserable or angry – I wouldn’t rule out a cosmetic tweak.

I find it really insulting when people say “But you’re really cool” when they find out my age – like, why wouldn’t I be? I don’t see why there’s this expectation that at 50 you wake up and start dressing like a grandma, in housecoat and polyester slacks. There is no age label in clothes.