Frump to Fab 2018 - Fabulous Dahhhhlings

lessonlearned

Hi Money.

Style and beauty are such personal things. Wasn't it the Bard who said "Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder".

If you are looking for inspiration I would google things like Best Dressed Women of All Time. Some of thecwomen are no longer with us but it will give you a good grounding. Then pick who you like the look of, google her and you should get quite a library of pictures.

There are hundreds of website and blogs who feature women over 40, 50 or 60. So again just google something like Stylish Women Over 50. Some are in the public eye, some are mere mortals like us.

However, having said that style and beauty are indefinable, there does seem to be a general consensus of who were the most stylish women of the 20th century. In no particular order you will see the same names crop up.....Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy/Onassis and Diana, Princess of Wales.

I'll give you a few of my favourites and in no particular order. I have tried to name the quality they have that I think is part of their appeal. My list is by no means complete. I have probably missed dozens of extremely chic, stylish and beautiful women.

As I said starting with Audrey and Jackie. Those women could probably have worn bin liners and still stood out from a crowd, with their sense of style and elegance. The just had that indefinable quality that turns heads.

Marilyn Monro was beautiful and is another great 20th century icon, probably the biggest of all time and yet we never think of her in the same way that Audrey and Jackie are admired for their style.

Like a lot of movie screen sex goddesses, Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot, Claudia Cardinale, Gina Lollabridgida, and our own beloved Dianor Dors, Jayne Mansfield etc they did "sexy" and "gorgeous" down to a T but nevertheless never quite nailed looking chic and elegant. Even the evergreen Joan Collins doesn't always get it right.

So just for a bit of fun, here are just a few of my favourite older ladies .....they are all wildly different.

Helen Mirren.....Elegant, sexy
Judi Dench - Stylish, funny
Charlotte Rampling - Cool and chic, dangerous and sexy
Angela Basset - athletic and powerful
Tina Turner - glamour, sex on legs
Christine Binkley.....ageless, she has to have a portrait in her attic
Elle McPherson ....Ditto. she was called "The Body". You can see why
Dianne Keaton - quirky
Rene Russo - stylish, sexy
Jane Fonda - healthy "All American"
Katherine Hepburn - great tailoring, practical
Kate Blancnett -cool, chic, ethereal beauty
Lauren Bacall - another fan of good tailoring

And then a few really left of field ones......they do not conform to ideas of standard female beauty and their style is definitely unique but it works for them.

Tilda Swinton. - androgenous, unusual
Yoko Ono - unusual, interesting
Grace Jones - statuesque, highly original

One thing that I often notice is that although there are some very beautiful Hollywood stars, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman etc they have the kind of beauty where they can veer from stunning to actually looking pretty awful.

I guess in the old days Hollywood screen goddess had it written into their contracts that they had to be a vision of loveliness at all times. They probably never left the house without full slap and being dressed to the nines. Modern day icons seem able to relax and have off duty days, although the paparazzi like to get the knives out when they do.

I don't have any particular favourite, I love them all. I think we can learn from them all.

They all "scrub up well". :rotfl:

Ps. There are loads of hairstyle websites too. So if you don't see a celeb one then just google something like best haircuts for older women, or best short, medium or long hairstyles.

Right coffee break over.

humptydumptybits

I heard someone being interviewed, can't remember who it was, and they had been a child actor/actress in Hollywood and went to the same studio school as Elizabeth Taylor. They said other kids would come out school with hair untidy, socks rolled down, dirty knees or whatever but Elizabeth Taylor was always immaculate regardless of what she had been doing all day, playing, running round, PE. I think it was a man and he said she came out exactly as she went in.

One of my kids went to school with a little girl who was exactly the same, anyone seeing her come out of school would assume she didn't play but she was actually quite a tomboy but it never seem to mess her up and she repelled dirt.

I've never figured that mystery out. My DD could go into school immaculate and come out looking like a refugee.

humptydumptybits

On the implants thing I remembered last night that I know someone who spent nearly £20k on them a couple of years ago and they failed, she struggled on for a year but eventually had to have them removed and dentures fitted. She was a smoker and was warned that smoking made it more likely they would fail. She did give up smoking but maybe the damage was already done to her gums.

sashybo

Hi all,

Have been reading along, just too lazy to post, have been the same with my own diary.

We've been busy out in the garden, have tomatoes, peppers & cucumbers in the greenhouse and courgettes, potatoes, runner beans, radish, beetroot & lettuce outside. Also have some chilli plants in the bathroom as a bit small for the greenhouse at the moment.

Have been trying to keep up my yoga but need to get into a routine and can't seem to do it. My days are all over the place with DH working different shifts all the time & I'm back at work two days a week (also shifts) and obviously I have to work around DS. I'm thinking it will need to be a case of as and when. :cool:

Hope you find a dentist you're happy with LL I've been very lucky so far & never needed any work on my teeth. Lunch with your DIL sounds nice, you must all be so excited at the baby being due so soon. :T

lessonlearned

Hello again.....I have had a busy day. The house has been blitzed from top to bottom ready for the viewings. Just need to nip out and get some flowers in the morning. Fingers crossed again.

Re Elizabeth Taylor. She was stunningly beautiful, even as a child but I don't think she was ever particularly well dressed as such. She made some hideous choices at times. I think for me the definition of good style is that it is ageless and timeless. Poor Liz was a bit of a fashion victim at times, often falling for gimmicks.

I think it was Channel who said that style never goes out of fashion. Slavishly following fashion, whether it's clothes, hairstyles or makeup is never a good idea. Whilst it is nice to keep an eye on trends I think we need to adapt them to suit ourselves, our body shapes, colouring, not just copy them without thinking.

I think Liz Taylor's great tragedy is that she destroyed herself and her exceptional beauty with drink, drugs, unhealthy living, and generally just a life of excess, suffering decades of ill health and an untimely death. Rather like Princess Margaret, another "ravaged beauty". Such a shame to see them end like that.

Ultimately good health is everything, so whilst healthy eating, exercise and a bit of self discipline might seem rather dull at times, good habits will hold back the years and keep us stronger, fitter, healthier and more attractive for longer.

Time for my beauty sleep.....:rotfl:

lessonlearned

Sashy...I missed out on both yoga and walking today. Sometimes we are just too busy. I think The odd day missed isn't the end of the world, it's when the odd couple of days stretches into weeks or perhaps even months. :rotfl:

I did manage to give myself a massage though. I also have a vibrating cushion type massager, which you place behind your back when seated. After I had finished my cleaning I was a mass of aches and pains, far too sore to even think about exercising, so I used both massagers and also a lavender wheat pack. Things feel a bit easier now.

I am three days into the CBD oil, still a bit too early to say if it will help much.

It was having babies which wrecked my teeth.......up until then they were fine.

humptydumptybits

lessonlearned wrote: »

Hello again.....I have had a busy day. The house has been blitzed from top to bottom ready for the viewings. Just need to nip out and get some flowers in the morning. Fingers crossed again.

Re Elizabeth Taylor. She was stunningly beautiful, even as a child but I don't think she was ever particularly well dressed as such. She made some hideous choices at times. I think for me the definition of good style is that it is ageless and timeless. Poor Liz was a bit of a fashion victim at times, often falling for gimmicks.

I think it was Channel who said that style never goes out of fashion. Slavishly following fashion, whether it's clothes, hairstyles or makeup is never a good idea. Whilst it is nice to keep an eye on trends I think we need to adapt them to suit ourselves, our body shapes, colouring, not just copy them without thinking.

I think Liz Taylor's great tragedy is that she destroyed herself and her exceptional beauty with drink, drugs, unhealthy living, and generally just a life of excess, suffering decades of ill health and an untimely death. Rather like Princess Margaret, another "ravaged beauty". Such a shame to see them end like that.

Ultimately good health is everything, so whilst healthy eating, exercise and a bit of self discipline might seem rather dull at times, good habits will hold back the years and keep us stronger, fitter, healthier and more attractive for longer.

Time for my beauty sleep.....:rotfl:

She was never scruffy and I think that was what the actor was referring to.

maman

Interesting that you should be talking about older women LL. I read a very similar article to this one in the newspaper this morning.


https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/entertainment/ageism-alive-and-well-studios-wanted-younger-stars-than-keaton-and-fonda-843382.html


Not sure how good or otherwise the film might be, maybe sugarbaby will let us know when it comes out!:D


I've been for a long walk this morning and had coffee with friends. I had a good compliment about how good my hair looked which is always nice to hear. I'm helping it along with a little highlighting spray on the dark roots.


http://www.boots.com/john-frieda-sheer-blonde-go-blonder-controlled-lightening-spray-100ml-10217282


I don't want to have my highlights done until after my holiday when it always gets bleached/lightened by the sun. Then I'll have rich caramel tones put in as well as blonde.


Hope you get some successful house viewings after all that effort!:)

chanie

I had my dentist appointment today. I had booked the children's check ups and thought I had arranged an appointment for myself at another time, but apparently, it was booked for today. Luckily, the dentist said my teeth are in good condition but recommend a deep clean, due to my tea addiction. I'll book that in a few weeks time.

lessonlearned

Today's viewers stayed for a total of 1.3/4hihrs. They had a little break whilst they met the EA to view one a couple of doors away and then came back to mine for a second viewing.

I am exhausted!!!

They loved it. Theres another viewing tomorrow with a single lady so we will just have to wait and see.

Spent a couple of hours on Rightmove looking for my onward purchase. Think I've narrowed it down to a few possibles. If I get good feedback tomorrow then I suppose I had better start viewings myself.

Book Club looks fun, I saw the trailer last time I went to the cinema.

Yes it doesn't surprise me that Male Hollywood moguls wanted younger women. It's often about their own vanity. Much as I love the Bond Films I really think Daniel Craig is now too old for Bond and yet apparently he's doing one more......You rarely hear men being criticised for being too old and they still get the action hero roles even when realistically past their sell by date.

I watched a recent Liam Neeson film the other night. Now I really like him, I'm quite a fan. I love tall men but even I found myself watching the action sequences and thinking, come on Liam you're too old for this now. You'll put your back out......:rotfl:

I do think Hollywood can still be rather prudish at times, they seem to have a problem with older women and the dreaded s.. word. Apparently older women score high on the "yuk" factor when it comes to sex, whereas men of course remain virile stallions....yeah right.

Didn't realise Fonda was 80, she's looking good. Although I hear she's more bionic than the bionic woman, two hip replacements as well as all the cosmetic stuff. Don't know about her knees. Mind it's her teeth ...... I have to,admit I have serious Fonda teeth envy. They must have cost a small fortune. :rotfl:

When you think about it some of these Hollywood stars, the men included, must spend the quivalent of a small country's GDP on maintenance. Tom Cruise wasn't born with those teeth. :rotfl:

Good luck to them. If I had £50k to spare them I'd be flashing a Hollywood smile too......

Maman...your hair colour sounds lovely.

As you know mine is pure white, I like it but Unfortunately it went very thin and whispy at one stage when I was under all that stress and feeling so ill. My hairdresser gave me some fibre stuff you sprinkle on and it really made a huge difference. At one time you could only get it at salons but I see Boots now stock it. Not cheap but a little goes a long way. Thankfully my hair does seem a bit thicker these days, so obviously I'm getting stronger and healthier.

Right off for a stroll, then cook a curry for dinner. Then fling all the windows open tomorrow before the next viewer.....