Rules to Ignore Over 50

With the whole of the Boomer Generation looking at the age of 60 square in the eye, give or take a few years, there are now countless books on What To Wear to Be Youthful, How to Look Younger, How to Date Younger, and well, in short, How Not To Be Yourself at Any Cost. As we all know from seeing photographs from the recent Academy Awards, there are many aging actresses who have succumbed to plastic surgery pressure and what they are told are current trends, and are looking more like circus freaks than elegant older women, who have had successful movie careers.

I have read a few silly rules recently, masquerading as "sensible advice", in magazine articles or from a chapter in a book, that I believe we should ignore. It is high time to buck the trends, question both so-called "good" and ridiculous advice, and just BE...and whether than BEing means wearing a little eyeliner, or hauling out a shorter skirt from years gone by, is completely up to you.

I have listed below a few of these no-no's by which my never-say-die generation is supposed to adhere, and which, I believe, should be cast aside.

1. Cut Your Hair after 40. This one has made a resurgence, having been very popular in the 1950's, when the last thing a woman was supposed to want was hair anywhere near her shoulders in her later decades. However, we have seen several aging celebrities who look great with shoulder-length and longer hair. If your hair is in good shape, if you have time to cater to it, if you keep it trimmed on a regular basis, go ahead and leave it long, I say. I worked briefly as ....um, well, the word is "mature model", and one of the models with me had long gray hair with some of her original black streaks in it. It was shoulder length and so suited her complexion, she looked absolutely fabulous. If you want to wear your hair long, do so. Who are these people who say this is such a crime?