There are some celebrities I like to keep a particularly watchful eye on. Specifically, Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Lana Del Rey and Amanda Seyfried. It’s not a random “ultimate dinner party guest” wishlist, but because they are the same age as me (I’ll wait while you Google it).
Of course we’re all aware after a decade of scrolling manically through Instagram that comparison is the thief of joy, yet compare myself I do to these four. Not their careers and achievements — I’m not actively trying to reach new levels of self-loathing — but I monitor how they’re growing older.
I forensically chart the changes in their faces. How they’re approaching ageing. Are they starting to paper over the slowly emerging cracks or are they allowing the lines to form and the grey hairs to multiply? I once interviewed Seyfried — she was lovely, beautiful and I was pleased to see wrinkles on her expressive forehead. I saw the gorgeous Carey Mulligan walking through Soho not long ago and noted, happily, that she too looked like how most of my friends and I look — natural and like a woman of a certain age.
In a magazine interview this week, Knightley, 37 (there you go, saved you the Googling), said the topic of ageing had come to dominate her chats with friends. “A lot of the conversations I’ll have with my girlfriends are, ‘oh, my God, I’ve got a line!!” Same, Keira, I thought. I also find myself having the “Is It Time?” [for Botox/chemical peels/injectables] conversation. My friends veer from the “not just yet” to those who are already Botoxed up to their immovable eyebrows.
The problem is that women still aren’t really allowed to age. We’re damned if we do (remember the bullying Madonna received after her appearance at the Grammys?) and damned if we don’t (cut to an older female celebrity being labelled “unrecognisable” online). There is a special brand of misogyny aimed at women post-45. As Keira said this week, “Change is always tricky. We’re taught that it’s bad. We’re taught that we don’t want grey hair. How are we, culturally, meant to age?” It’s a good question. The only example she could think of — of a woman ageing well — was Dame Helen Mirren. The perennial mid-life pin-up, who is apparently the only woman in the world who has nailed the art of getting older.
It’s not just vacuous vanity (though I certainly have a bit of that) — but gendered ageism is very real. It’s not just beautiful women in the public eye, like Keira, who have to worry about the onset of crow’s feet and dwindling collagen, meaning they miss out on movie parts and suffer trolling on social media.
Studies show that as women show visible signs of ageing they are seen as less competent and valuable in the workplace; men, though, gain respect as their hair thins and faces become craggy.
So how best to approach ageing? However the hell you want — just don’t beat yourself up for worrying about it.
Me, I’ll be watching Keira and Co for my next move. No pressure, ladies.
Victoria’s Secret show is back
Famous for its skinny models and unachievable aesthetic, the Victoria’s Secret fashion show was — not that long ago — a highlight of the showbiz calendar. The likes of Adriana Lima, Gisele and Heidi Klum would shimmy down the runway while journalists asked questions like “what’s the first thing you’re going to eat after the show”? After a number of controversies, the show was axed.
Well, like all bad smells, it’s back. The lingerie brand has announced it will put on “a new version of our fashion show” this year. A teaser video showed more than one “plus-size” model and some unsexy pyjamas,
along with the usual supermodel suspects like Bella Hadid.
Singer Lizzo labelled it “inclusivity for inclusivity’s sake”. I’m inclined to agree.
