Let's Let Go of our Youth Obsession

The amazing Carmen Dell'Orefice

My dear friend Kerri Zane has written such a great blog today! Kerri is an award winning television producer and long time fitness advocate who has taken up the banner of her late baby boomers (our collective generation) now nicknamed "Generation Jones."

Kerri is becoming an articulate, knowledgeable and witty spokeswoman for the second half of the largest generation in the world - and guess what? We shouldn't be ignored by the fashion media or the designers. That is the subject matter of Kerri's post today, and how, happily, several designers including the super talented Marc Jacobs are heeding the omission and doing something about it.

Just fyi most of the real "super" models are now over 40, and the industry is courting them back. I personally am thrilled whenever Lauren Hutton shows up modeling anywhere. I love her look and I love her amazing attitude.

I don't know about you, but even when I was much younger I wanted to see fashion modeled by men and women who I could imagine actually living the life portrayed in the photos. I didn't want to see young young girls, not even when I was 18. I loved it when Bazaar ran photos of celebrities (this was in the early 80's and celebrities just didn't grace the fashion pages of fashion magazines often).

I have written about her before, but I simply must do so again. I love Carmen Dell'Orefice. She is 78 years old and she's showing us how it's done. She also lost her money to Bernie Maddof and his mad schemes, so any way that I can promote her and tell the world what a icon and treasure she is in any tiny way makes my day.

Honestly, I think it's time we collectively let go of our youth obsession. Oh, I love looking at beautiful young people as much as the next person, but I love celebrating beauty of all ages, shapes, etc.

It doesn't do our young people any good to feel all that pressure to do something big right at the time they should be given the space to figure things out. I always felt late in my 20's, always as if I was running behind and had to catch up. Now finally I'm happy to be where I am, but yes, sometimes I want to be fashionable about it, and I still want to be forward thinking, and sharp, and fun, and relevant.