No need to be says Abc news in a recent article, “Forget 20, forget 30. 40 is hot!”
Contrary to popular opinion, women don’t hit an expiration date at 40. Just look at what’s happening for supermodels, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Claudia Schiffer. Witness, too, the continued rise of actresses, Brooke Shields, Mary-Louise Parker and Debra Messing. And what about Christie Brinkley, who, at 51, renewed her association with Cover Girl and is now the face for its Advanced Radiance cosmetics for older women.
The faces of these icons of beauty may be “Botoxed” in time but their careers sure aren’t. Why, according Albert Lee, a senior editor at US Weekly, and obviously an expert on older women, "Women aren't as afraid to grow older."
Of course they’re not afraid to grow old. They’re not actually doing it. The opinion of Mr. Lee notwithstanding, trends in models and actresses are not barometers of important sociological phenomena. They just tell you where advertisers are banking these days: on the older woman with cash.
I guess they’re finally getting that we command a trillion dollars in spending power, and by the year 2010 will control 60% of the country’s wealth. Not sure what took them so long to figure it out, but now that they have, the inevitable is happening.
In our twenties, we were supposed to aspire to anorexia. Now in our forties, it’s wrinklorexia. If you’re not wrinkle-free, age-free, and fat-free by the time you hit your fifties, look out. You’re heading for the expiration list.
Thankfully there are products for your every aging anxiety, which may turn out to be worse than body image anxiety. Prada and Chanel know this and are marketing directly to you. And why not? What 20-year old could by a $5,000 product?