FOREVER YOUNG?

I am a huge fan of Peter Alexander pyjamas. Yes, I know they are overpriced, but they are so CUTE. And I have grandchildren. And little kids always need PJ's. PLUS it's so easy to shop on-line; it's the friendliest website ever. And because I am a good customer, I also get a printed catalogue which has immensely high production values and is bright and cheery and full of pretty girls and boys modelling their jammies and trackies and bootees, as if anyone actually looks like that when slopping around in these clothes, in bed or out.
So, as Mothers' Day (please note placement of apostrophe; it is MOTHERS' not Mother's. I always feel a surge of rage and despair at poor apostrophic placement. I am not alone. There is a world of punctuation nerds out there. But I digress.) is around the corner, the catalogue featured stuff for Mum too, modelled by the famous 'femme d'un age certain', (older lady- in this case VERY older lady) Carmen Dell'Orefice who is 82. Yes, you read that right- 82.

http://www.peteralexander.com.au/shop/en/peteralexander/catalogue

Now, the thing about Carmen is that she does not resemble in any way, any 82-year-old woman I have ever seen. There is no way that she has not had 'work' done, no matter what G-d gave her. And G-d did bestow upon her height, slenderness and great cheekbones. But you don't get that smoothness of complexion without a fair bit of nip and tuck. The catalogue states that there was no photoshopping used on the images so one can only assume that she herself has been - well, photoshopped for real.
So when it says 'Beauty is Ageless', I can only agree; but in the end, it's a pretty limited view of what beauty is.

http://www.peteralexander.com.au/shop/en/peteralexander/catalogue?utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=PA1305WK3D&utm_source=Shop+Catalogue+Footer&cm_mmc=Email-_-PA1305WK3D-_-Shop+Catalogue+Footer-_-NA&link#look12

Because it's still all the same 'beauty' isn't it?! She is trying, pretty successfully, to hang onto the chimera of youth, right? Smooth skin, tall and straight and slender. Ageless. With some help.

She has been modelling since age 15 and has had an interesting (read 'difficult') life, so good on her for her long and successful career, even though now it's not the catwalk or Vogue, it's Peter Alexander and his PJ's;  but you can see the humour and the elegance.

But beauty has to come in more diverse packages than youth, or faux-youth. It has to.