The fashion world might be obsessed
with youth but it seems no one has told 75-year-old Jean Woods, who has a
trendy Hoxton haircut and loves DMs.
Or
Daphne Selfe, who, at 85, is the world's oldest model - and one of the
most stylish, with a wardrobe cool enough to leave the likes of Cara
Delevingne looking on in envy.
Or Gillian Lynne, who says she will wear mini-skirts at 87 if she wants, adding that her legs are her 'best asset'.
And
they are not alone, as new Channel 4 documentary, Fabulous
Fashionistas, reveals. The film follows six spectacularly well-dressed
pensioners - none of whom is letting age get in the way of looking
stylish.
Glamorous granny: Jean Woods, 75, reinvented herself as a fashionista after being widowed at 70
Rock n' roll gran: Jean Woods, who lives in Bath, says she had always been passionate about fashion
Teenage kicks: Jean says her style inspiration comes from local youngsters - hence her love of DM boots
Fashion rebel: Jean says that she wears whatever she fancies and has no intention of toning things down
One of the most adventurous is Sue Kreitzman, 73, who has turned dressing into an art form - quite literally.
An artist by trade, she frequently designs her own clothes, which she describes as a release 'from the tyranny of fashion'.
With her bold red frames, chunky
bangles and penchant for black, she bears a striking resemblance to the
fashion world's grandmother-in-chief, Rosita Missoni, another
70-something still making her mark on the fashion world.
Then there's Jean Barker, Baroness
Trumpington, 91, a Conservative peer who has made a point of refusing to
go quietly into the fashion night and can regularly be spotted
intently, but stylishly, listening to debates from the comfort of the
Lords' iconic red benches.
'She snuck in under the wire but I
couldn’t resist because she is such a character,' says Sue Bourne, the
director behind the documentary.
'She is terrifically well put-together and she shops from catalogues. Actually she has a bit of an addiction to them.'
Advanced style: Bridget Sojourner, 75, (left) gets her clothes in charity shops while Daphne Selfe, 85, is a model
Fashionable: Jean Barker, Baroness Trumpington is 91 and stylish while Sue Kreitzman, 73 is a fashion rebel
Fabulous: (Left to right) Sue Kreitzman, Daphne Selfe and Jean Barker, Baroness Trumpington
For Bridget Sojourner, 75, it is not catalogues but charity shops that fuel her passion for fashion.
Despite subsisting on a pension of just £100 a week, she cuts a striking figure in her crimson turban and chunky jewels.
On
her shopping list are flowing dresses vibrant scarlet and black, which
she combines with eye-catching costume jewellery, uber-glamorous hats
and her most recent purchase, a £4 pair of Doc Marten boots.
'Style,
as one gets older, is more noticeable,' she explains. 'How I look is to
do with my identity and the fun of it. It’s nothing to do with looking
younger.'
It might not be about looking younger, but you'd never know it when looking at Gillian Lynne, 87.
A
former ballerina, Lynne, who looks at least 20 years younger than she
really is, exercises every day and still wears both mini-skirts and
leggings.
'You just mustn’t allow the ageing process in,' she reveals.
Her other secret for eternal youth is that she is married to a man 27 years younger than her.
'My
friends thought it was positively indecent when we started to see each
other, but since we are still together now, how silly they look now!'
Her main gripe with women 'giving up' at a certain age is that they let their posture go.
'You
see them hunched over, looking downward. Everything seems to sag. They
look dejected. My training as a dancer always taught me that you stand
up straight and get those shoulders back.
'To
be crude about it, the nipples should lead – and how can they do that
if they are pointing down towards the floor somewhere.'
Looking good: Jean Woods, Gillian Lynne and Bridget Sojourner show how to pose like you mean it
She has no issues about wearing
short skirts. Even minis are OK. 'I know people probably look at the
face and go "oh dear" but my legs have always been my best asset. Why
should I stop showing them off.'
It's a philosophy with which Woods can identify, although she admits that after a knee operation, mini-skirts are not for her anymore.
'Oh no. I don’t really go above the knee
with a skirt. Once you do that, at my age, you have to start thinking
about the scars from my knee replacement op.'
Resplendent
in her favourite scarlet T-shirt and grey-checked skirt, she's got hair
that owes more than a little to Mary Quant - and the attitude to match.
Widowed
at 70, she filled the hole left by her husband with a job at Gap before
taking herself - and her considerable styling skills - off to work at a
boutique in Bath.
'I'm
leading a different life,' adds Woods, who also runs three times a week,
despite having had her knee replaced. 'It's more adventurous.'
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