When creating individual fashion style, being over 40 is a powerful position to be in. In Australia we have no shortage of over 40 stylish Australian celebrities rocking their own unique style. The secret to their sassy swagger is age. With age there comes the freedom to write your own tune and dance it any way you choose.
Where once the fashion industry had a tendency to abandon women once they hit a certain age, the rules of the game have now changed.
And fashion companies (including Swish Fashion) throughout the world want their teams filled with women in the over 40 demographic. Last year, Stella magazine editor Marianne Jones coined an alternative title for the group, calling them the Diamond generation.
‘Women over 40 who have a high disposable income and are unsaddled by debt’ she said.
With the added bonus of living in Australia, we have developed the gift of inner confidence and this singular quality is the armour of every Stylish woman.
Kellie Hush, editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar says the fashion confidence of Australian women is driven by lifestyle and comfort. By seeking comfort we have learnt to be comfortable in our own skin.
There is no other country quite like Australia or indeed quite like the inner glow that exudes from our next three Australian Stylish Celebrities. Each share a lifetime of living in a sun kissed continent and each share that certain feisty will that arises as unmistakable star quality from a woman, comfortable in her own skin.
At 63 years, Stylish Australian actress, author and mentor, Noni Hazelhurst says that you care less and less about what other people think.
‘I wish someone had told me when I was 25 that I actually had the right to have thoughts and opinions and express them’. She said.
With age comes a lifetime of skills and experiences to share. As a mentor to younger women, Noni says,
‘Be yourself, don’t be afraid. If your boss tells you have to turn up to work in a skirt, tell him to drop off!’
No wilting flower to saying it like it is with her maverick grey streaked hair, signature lip sticked grin, over 40,Judith Lucy cuts a path through any red carpet event. As a best-selling author whose works in television and film and sell-out national tours have made her an Australian icon, Judith knows the joy of rocking her own tune.
‘There’s a part of me that really doesn’t give a shit anymore and that’s a good feeling’, she says.
When Comedian, Television and Children’s Theatre Actress, Denise Scott 61 years returned from LA after visiting her daughter Bonnie, she knew exactly what look she wanted and what look to avoid.
‘Everyone looks like they've had Botox, including older men - so my partner John and I looked ancient. I don't mind having wrinkles, but I don't want to be the only person with them. There are two looks in LA: Valium serene and permanently startled’.
Denise says when she quit teaching for her passion of acting she said for the first 18 years “I was terrified’. It wasn’t until her 40s that she a never-look-back decision. If she couldn’t enjoy show business then quit it she must. With age comes the silver lining of hindsight the ability to look back and laugh at how we got here.
Denise adds with age one must possess a great sense of humour.
‘My husband and I laugh at one another getting out of bed in the morning. Strange little things happen to your body, as you get older; laughing is the best way to deal with them.’
Style begins inside and when we stop dressing our external to please others and start dressing inside and outside for ourselves, we embrace our own uniqueness.
And we are more than equipped to be our own stylish role models.
Stylish Australian ladies go make and break your own rules an adage shared said by Marilyn Monroe.
‘If I’d observed all the rules I’d never have got anywhere’