At 91 Iris Apfel is a Fashion Icon. In her 80's She designed Purses, Makeup, and has remained a prominent Icon in the Fashion World

Fashion Bio: Style icon Iris Apfel!
Socialite, fashion icon, interior designer, business woman …. Need I say more? Hope I’m not forgetting anything! This is the only and only Iris Apfel.





Socialite, fashion icon, interior designer, business woman …. Need I say more? Hope I’m not forgetting anything!


Her spectacles, signature look, lend Iris Apfel a startled look. If she seems surprised, she has good reason. Mrs. Apfel, the subject of a string of museum exhibitions, a coffee table book and even a fashion advertising campaign, has long been a magnet to those devotees of fashion who worship her style.


Born August 29, 1921 Iris Barrel in Astoria, Queens, New York, Apfel is the only child of Samuel Barrel, whose family owned a glass-and-mirror business, and his Russian-born wife, Sadye, who owned a fashion boutique.


She studied art history at New York University and attended art school at the University of Wisconsin.


In 1948, she married Carl Apfel. Two years later they launched the textile firm Old World Weavers and ran it until they retired in 1992. During this time, Iris Apfel took part in several design restoration projects, including work at the White House for nine presidents: Truman, Eisenhower, Nixon, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Reagan, and Clinton.


Apfel now 91 clearly hasn’t let age quash her unique and timeless sense of natural style.


Straight people, gay people, students of art and social history, tourists and chattering adolescents, “even little kids,” she noted, gravitate to her lectures!


She’s been described as “a blend of passion, energy and determination”… the president of products at Maysles Films. “She’s wonderfully strong-willed, opinionated and single-minded,” Mr. Kaplan said. “She’s not a waffler.”


Mrs. Apfel is the discerning curator of her own wardrobe. Sorted and stowed in a vast nearby warehouse, can you imagine? She even donated 900 pieces of her famous wardrobe back in May to a Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.


Her personal wardrobe incorporates pieces commemorating high points in her life. “She’s a great storyteller,” said Mindy Grossman, the chief executive of HSN. “Every single thing she wears, she remembers a story behind it.”


Her wardrobe was lavishly documented by the photographer Eric Boman in “Rare Bird of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel,” in 2007. She is a fixture of the society columns. Swathed in longhair fur, she was the improbable star of a 2008 Coach advertising campaign.


Women view her as a role model: “A lot of them have told me, ‘Now that I’ve met you, I feel so liberated.’ ” Secret eccentrics, they have learned, Mrs. Apfel maintained, “that when you don’t dress like everybody else, you don’t have to think like everybody else.” That is so true, I think that’s part of her secret.


Wow! And you would think this lady should be slowing down … Well think again! She recently teamed-up with Henri Bendel to debut her first luxury handbag collection! “Extinctions” The line features colorful bags rendered in Mongolian lamb hair, calf hair, and snakeskin.


Always reflecting her personality she said: “I’m a color person, I’ve never been known to play it safe. Plus I like big bags. My eyeglasses are so big; they don’t fit into smaller bags.” For sure she hasn’t lost her sense of humor! Crazy! What an inspiring spirit!


Check out her website http://irisapfelcollection.com/


Think again before getting dress and learn some great tips! You never know you could be the next Iris!

It is Vital to Make a Difference in this Life. Marci Alboher Writes About How to Make A Difference in The Second Half of LIfe!!

Marci Alboher -- The Encore Career Handbook -- Gables


SECOND ACTS FOR THE GREATER GOOD: Until recently, most Americans equated the end of a successful career with the beginning of retirement. No more. Now they want to stay in the game (or better, change the game). They want to leave a mark. Make a difference and continue to make money. From Encore.org, the leading organization in the field, comes a road map to every step of the encore career journey -- The Encore Career Handbook (Workman, $15.95) by Marci Alboher. A comprehensive, nuts-and-bolts guide, filled with inspiring stories and answering in extensive FAQ sections the concerns of its readers, this book is everything you need to help you strike a balance between doing good and doing well--in a way that will sustain you through this new stage of life. Tonight, Alboher is joined by award-winning business journalist Cindy Krischer Goodman for a conversation that willexplore many topics, including the transition involved in an encore career, how much you need to make, the pros and cons of going back to school, when to volunteer or intern, how to network effectively and harness the power of social media and who is hiring and for what jobs?

About the Author:
MARCI ALBOHER is a leading authority on the changing face of work and a Vice President at Encore.org, a nonprofit making it easier for millions of people to pursue second acts for the greater good. A former blogger and columnist for The New York Times, she is the author of One Person/Multiple Careers: The Original Guide to the Slash “/” Career. Marci has appeared on or been quoted by countless media outlets, including NBC’s Today and Nightly News, The Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio. Marci is on the advisory boards of The Op-Ed Project, which focuses on increasing the number of women and minority voices in public conversations, and SheWrites.com, an online community for women writers. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from The University of Pennsylvania and a law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University. She lives in New York City.

About the Interviewer:


CINDY KRISCHER GOODMAN is an award-winning business journalist. Her nationally distributed column and blog, The Work Life Balancing Act, appears weekly in The Miami Herald and more than 100 newspapers. Cindy publishes a monthly e-newsletter on work life balance and contributes to widely read publications such as Money Magazine, Florida Trend and The Miami Herald’s Business Monday. Cindy also participates in the blogger communities for MomsMiami.com and Lifetime Channel’s The Balancing Act and has her own blog, Raising Teens. She graduated from University of Florida and lives in Broward County with her husband and three children.

The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life (Paperback)


By Marci Alboher


$15.95

ISBN-13: 9780761167624

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 days

Published: Workman Publishing, 12/2012

Johnnye Valien-88 Year Old Woman still Competing in Track:Hurdles, Pole Vaulting,and Long Jump

Hot List: Sexy over 60 (and 70 ... and 80!)

It has been a few years since her iconic 'One Million Years B.C.' performance in 1966, but Raquel still looks amazing for a lady of 72.

 Although she's not modeling for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue anymore, Cheryl still looks great at 64.

Ann-Margret is a show-biz veteran whose career spans five decades with starring roles in everything from 'Bye-Bye Birdie' to 'Grumpy Old Men,' but it's still hard to believe that the gorgeous actress is 71.

You'd never guess that this lovely redhead is 62. 

Private Benjamin is 66. Deal with that too.

Murphy Brown is 66. We know, right?

Sandra Dee is 63. That rhymes.

The 'Charlie's Angels' stars are 61 and 66, respectively.

Dolly is still the cute Queen of Country Music at age 66.

The Flying Nun is 65 and does commercials for arthritis medicine. But she's still cute as a button!

The well-known liberal activist and star of films like 'Dead Man Walking' looks fabulous at 65. Maybe that's why she has attracted the attention of a thirtysomething ping pong entrepreneur. No seriously, that's a real thing.

Streep received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Harvard University in 2010 - and in her commencement gown, Meryl looks almost young enough to be a college student herself. Hard to believe she is 63 years old!

She's 67 and still looks good in a bikini. Weird.

http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/entertainment/2012/09/05/sexy-over-sixty-liam-neeson/#slide=1

At 93, this Rosie is still riveting

Elinor Otto picked up a riveting gun in World War II, joining the wave of women taking what had been men's jobs. These days she's building the C-17.

 

Elinor Otto braces her slight frame and grips the riveting gun with both hands, her bright red hair and flowered sweater a blossom of color in Long Beach's clanking Boeing C-17 plant.

Boom, boom, boom.

She leans back as the gun's hammer quickly smacks the fasteners into place.

Then she puts the tool in a holster and zips around a wing spar to grab a handful of colorful screw-on backs, picking up another gun along the way to finish them off. Her movements are deft and precise.

"Don't get in her way, she'll run you over," a co-worker says with a smile.

Otto finishes a section of fasteners, looks up and shrugs.

"That's it."

Just another day at the office for a 93-year-old "Rosie the Riveter" who stepped into a San Diego County factory in 1942 — and is still working on the assembly line today.

Otto is something of a legend among her co-workers on the state's last large military aircraft production line. And her legend is growing: She was recently honored when Long Beach opened Rosie the Riveter Park next to the site of the former Douglas Aircraft Co. plant, where women worked during World War II.

"She says, 'We can do it!' and I'm doing it!" Otto says, flexing her thin arm and laughing, mimicking the iconic poster.

If she were younger, she jokes, she would look at herself now and wonder, "What's that old bag still doing here?"

But Otto seems to have more energy than those half a century younger.

"I wish I was in as gooda shape as she's in at my age," says fellow structural mechanic Kim Kearns — who is 56.

Otto is out of bed at 4 a.m. and drives to work early to grab a coffee and a newspaper before the 6 a.m. meeting. In the Boeing lot, she parks as far from the plant as possible so she can get some exercise. Every Thursday, she brings in cookies and goes to the beauty parlor to have her hair and nails touched up after her shift ends.

"She's an inspiration," says Craig Ryba, another structural mechanic. "She just enjoys working and enjoys life."

Otto was beautiful, with bright blue eyes and dark hair piled high, when she joined a small group of women at Rohr Aircraft Corp. in Chula Vista during World War II. The bosses threatened to give demerits to the men who stood around trying to talk to her — so Otto's suitors left notes for her in the phone booth, where she called her mother every day.

Back then, everyone worked for the war effort, Otto says, so they didn't think much of their jobs — it was tough to find good ones. World War II was all-consuming, with product rationing and scrap metal collections, and men leaving for the war.

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-c1-rosie-riveter-20130918-dto,0,850841.htmlstory

8 Anti-Aging Makeup Tricks

With all due respect to wrinkle cream, the right foundation or lipcolor can make you look younger—instantly. See for yourself with these super-fast solutions. 

 

Fight gravity with eyeliner

"After age 40, eyelids can start to droop at the outer corners," says Sandy Linter, a Lancôme makeup artist who works with Christie Brinkley. Her fix: Line your top lash line with a creamy black pencil, then use a pointed Q-tip to smudge the line slightly up and out past the outer corner "to create a subtle lift."

 

Try a pink pucker

 

 

"Everyone looks younger with cherubic rosy lips," says makeup artist Christian McCulloch, who works with Demi Moore and Naomi Watts. If you're fair, slick on a mauve-y rose shade such as Revlon ColorBurst Lip Butter in Sugar Plum, $7.49; for deeper skin tones, go with a bolder color like Berry Smoothie.

 

 

 

 

If your skin seems dull, try a foundation with light-reflecting particles (they're tiny, so you won't look like a showgirl). "They hide flaws and make skin look radiant," says makeup artist Sonia Kashuk. Any formula labeled illuminating, brightening, or luminous will do the trick. Try Sonia Kashuk Perfecting Luminous Foundation, $10.49.

 

 

Smooth lids with shimmer

 

 

 

A neutral-colored shimmery shadow is like Spanx for crepe-y eyelids: It gives the illusion of tautness. Use a powder — not cream — shadow one shade lighter than your skin, such as Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Sin (for light skin), Baked (for medium), or Smog (for dark), $17 each.

 

 

Use cream blush

 

 

Powder blushes, which sit on the skin's surface, can exaggerate the look of fine lines, "but cream formulas sink into skin to give a dewy finish," says Kashuk. Try Illamasqua Cream Blusher, $24.

Brighten eyes with beige pencil

 

 

"Big, sparkling eyes convey youth and happiness," McCulloch says. No kidding! His trick: Line the inner rims of your eyes with a cream-colored eye pencil (we like Tarte Inner Rim Brightener, $18).

Laugh off lip lines

 

 

"When you apply lipstick so it has a crisp border, it draws attention to fine lines around your mouth," says Kashuk. Try lightly dabbing your finger around your lip line after swiping on your shade: It'll make the edges soft — and your smile juicier.

Airbrush skin with primer

 

 

It makes you look like you're always standing in flattering light, says makeup artist Maria Verel, whose clients include Diane Sawyer. "Primer blurs the appearance of uneven skin and fine lines, so your face seems smoother." Rub on a pea-size drop after moisturizing — even if you don't wear foundation over it. Verel likes Make Up For Ever HD Microperfecting Primer, $32.

http://www.redbookmag.com/beauty-fashion/tips-advice/anti-aging-makeup-ideas#slide-8

These AMAZING Women are an Inspiration to everyone who is over FIFTY AND FABULOUS!! What's keeping you from starting your own CLUB?

If real life was like a Dove commercial, every person would be considered physically beautiful, regardless of age, skin tone and size. But in reality, the media is sending the 50-and-older crowd plenty of messages about conventional beauty—and the answer isn’t frown lines and stretch marks, despite what marketing tools the Dove folks use.

What is beauty, according to those standards? It’s youth, says 56-year-old Raven Valdes, a Scottsdale-based marketing specialist and event planner. Valdes is a member of “50 and Fabulous,” a social club all about embracing hitting the big 5-0, and she’s not happy about the media’s emphasis on youth.

Pick up any magazine by the checkout and take a look at the young, beaming girl on the cover. Flip inside to the ads for wrinkle-reversing serums and night creams boasting massive results, all the while having a 30-something model as the face of the brand. You know that spread commending that aging actress on how great she looks? What they’re really saying is how young she looks. And for every successful, “distinguished” leading man, there are dozens of “washed up” actresses.

Outside forces be damned. As the average American lifespan continues to rise, the 50-and-older set can still feel great, even as they age. Modern medicine and exercise science allow us to maintain a lengthy life and often that means looking youthful well into your older years, as the ladies of 50 and Fabulous know well.

The dozen women who comprise the Scottsdale social group know aging is about much more than maintaining a certain level of beauty (although there is something to be said for the confidence in looking great, Valdes says). It’s also about learning to live your life for you, finally coming into your own, and doing the things you enjoy with people you love to be around.

Valdes and her fellow club members get together at least once a week for drinks and dinners, often celebrating birthdays and indulging in the occasional “staycation” as a way to meet with like-minded ladies who are living well in their 50s, maintaining career, family and most of all, having fun with each other. Together, they offer insight into accepting age—and sometimes outright ignoring it.

Name Your Own Age Thirty years ago, when the ladies of 50 and Fabulous were in their 20s, they readily admit the word that came to mind when they thought of a 50-year-old woman was “old.” But today, Salpie Tatka, a petite 52-year-old Scottsdale makeup artist and cosmetology teacher with sassy shoulder length brown layers, doesn’t stop to think about how “old” she might be. In fact, she rarely has time to slow down at all. Between being a mother and running her own business, she doesn’t exactly have down time to dwell on her age. Even if she did, she wouldn’t want to. 

“When you say it out loud, it makes it true,” Tatka says. “Then you start to feel that age.”

And feeling old just isn’t part of the 50 and Fabulous attitude. The ladies spend their time keeping active. They don’t have the space in their club for anyone who focuses on the negative side of aging. Instead, they’re open to anyone who has a positive attitude and is committed to enjoying life. For them, that doesn’t mean restricting themselves to “age-appropriate” activities.

Michelle Pfeiffer: A Healthy Attitude in Hollywood

Michelle Pfeiffer might not have always been immune to the pressures Hollywood puts on women, but these days she is no longer worried about aging in the limelight. 

The 55-year-old has been referred to as one of the world's most beautiful women over the course of her career. Now that she is getting older, Pfeiffer told Ladies Home Journal she has gotten past the pressures she used to feel.

"Having to watch yourself age on a giant movie screen is simply not natural," the "Family" star told the magazine for the October 2013 issue. "It can wreak havoc on your psyche. My dermatologist said to me once, 'You know that 10X magnifying mirror that you have in the bathroom? Throw it away.' It was the best advice anybody ever gave me. Of course, now my eyes are weaker and I can't see to put my makeup on without that mirror!"

"But once you get over a certain hump there actually is less pressure," Pfeiffer added. "You can begin to look great for your age. You don't have to look young anymore. I've moved over to that other side -- I'm 55, which is a little too close to 60, but looking great for my age is okay now."

Thirty years ago, Pfeiffer used to treat her body differently. When she was in her 20s, she lived on Coca Cola and Marlboro Lights cigarettes. Today, she leads a vegan lifestyle and works out five days a week, running and doing free weights.

Last year, Pfeiffer told SheKnows that her secrets to ageless beauty are eating well, managing her stress levels and good lighting.

Pfeiffer is not the only actress to open up about aging in the limelight recently. Last month, Melanie Griffith took a swipe at Hollywood's youth obsession.

“It is what I never thought would happen when I was in my 20s and 30s, hearing actresses bitch about not getting any work when they turned 50. Now I understand it, it is just different. In a lot of ways, [Hollywood] a very superficial place,” she told Fox News. “It is all about youth and beauty, for women anyway. You just have to keep biting and pushing your way through, doing theater. I believe in just being really good and working on my craft which is how I started in the first place. I really like that as opposed to the fame part of it.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/16/michelle-pfeiffer-aging-hollywood_n_3934242.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

After FIFTY there are so many Second Chances to get it right.

Last Friday I was asked to go on the Today show to talk about second acts. Which got me thinking. The standard notion is that it starts with an itch for something better --  a better job, a better spouse, a better face, a better whatever-it-is-you’re-missing. But after talking to hundreds of people who’ve made big changes at midlife, I’m now convinced that the most successful second (and third) acts are motivated by an urge to fix something that’s broken – in your community or beyond.

So it’s as much about a better world as it is about a better version of you.

I encourage people to find their second acts by starting small and exploring the intersection of what they have and what the world needs.

The adage that with experience comes wisdom could not be more true: there’s a reason why many people would only see a therapist who’s over 40.  So if you’re searching for your second act, focus on the stuff that improves with age – empathy, wisdom, deep social networks, emotional stability, the ability to lead, mentor, and coach. You may not be a wiz on Twitter (though plenty of us in our second and third acts are!), but once you’ve amassed a few years, you’re at the height of your ability to guide others.

All kinds of research supports the idea that doing good feels good, that giving and helping others are the easiest way to infuse your life with purpose. Which is why volunteering and “giving yourself away” are the best gateways to a meaningful second act. They are also one of the best ways to find paying work that you’ll feel good about.

http://www.encore.org/learn/act-2-better-you-or

A New Vision for Retirement: Productive and Meaningful

As the great midlife migration of baby boomers gathers momentum and scale, long-predicted revolutions in longevity and demography are unfolding in front of us. By 2015 we’ll have more Americans over 60 than under 15 — and that’s just the beginning. Demographers are predicting that more than half the children born in the developed world since 2000 will live to 100.

For the most part this transformation is portrayed as a source of coming economic, fiscal, and generational strife. In this scenario, boomers are entering their 60′s, morphing overnight into retirees, and proceeding to weigh down a small group of workers in their middle years — producing an unbearable dependency ratio in the process.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Today tens of millions of 50-, 60-, and 70-somethings say they are eager to apply their accumulated skills in areas like education, health, and the environment.According to research from 2011, some 31 million people ages 44 to 70 want encore careers that allow them to continue earning a living and give them meaning that has an impact beyond themselves. They want to create a better world for future generations.

Turning dependence into abundance begins with breaking free from the “golden years” narrative of retirement. This is a tale first pioneered by insurance companies in the 1950s to convince older Americans that they weren’t being ejected from the productive workforce, but rather had the freedomfrom work. This storyline is enjoying a resurgence today.

Consider Prudential’s recent marketing campaign, prominently featuring Day One stories — tales of the first day of retirement. The company’s ads and billboards warn of longer retirements. One tells us that we can expect to spend 6,000 days — nearly two decades — in retirement, while others state the first person to live to 150 is already alive. The tagline: “Let’s get ready for a longer retirement.” The billboards are paired with other ads that paint a picture of a perfect retirement. One individual featured suggests we should work to live, not the other way around. But can anyone afford an 85-year retirement? Is that sustainable for the nation?

In light of new data showing that extended working lives are far more likely than a massive expansion of the retirement years, it’s time for a more workable vision — and a more socially productive one.

Instead of a barrage of Day One tales, how about more One Day stories? One Day is the rallying cry of Teach For America. The nonprofit helps thousands of young people apply their talents to solving significant social problems, starting by working in schools that need more support. The organization’s motto: “One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.”

This One Day dream is not exclusively for young people. Take Paula Lopez Crespin a 50-something woman in Denver whose daughter had joined Teach for America. Crespin sat at the back of her daughter’s classroom in inner city Los Angeles, watching the young woman educate low income kids, when she had an epiphany: She wanted to do the same thing.

So she followed in her daughter’s footsteps and applied to TFA. To her amazement, she was accepted. Soon she was working from dawn until midnight at the TFA training, sharing a Houston dorm room (and a bathroom down the hall) with three 22-year olds. But she made it through, and became a Denver elementary school teacher.

Crespin isn’t alone. There was another woman at the TFA boot camp — a former phone company employee — who was 62 at the time. In fact, TFA reports that there is a gradual but steady increase in post-midlife individuals entering the program — something that the organization hopes will expand as it attempts to attract a diverse corps of talented and committed people of all ages.

Realizing the promise represented by people like Crespin requires leading organizations like TFA to open their doors widely. It will likewise demand new opportunities and innovations, if we are to help those many millions seeking encore careers.

Another such route — and rite — of passage to these second acts is the Encore Fellowships program. These year-long, half-time fellowships, help individuals (mostly) from the corporate sector transition to new chapters in nonprofit and social impact organizations. For example, the California Health Care Foundation is matching Encore Fellows with community health clinics across that state. The program has spread rapidly over the past couple of years.

On the corporate side, companies like Cisco and Intel are offering Encore Fellowships to their seasoned employees. In late 2011 Intel announced that all retirement eligible employees in the U.S. who want to do an Encore Fellowship, and are matched, will be supported with a $25,000 stipend and health coverage. They are pioneering a whole new human resources approach to longer working lives — recognizing the reality that 21st century careers will entail multiple chapters, even into what was once the retirement years.

Creating these new paths to continued, meaningful work will help realize a sustainable and appealing vision for this period in life, but even these efforts won’t be enough. We’ll need new ways to help individuals finance the frequently costly transition to what’s next. Currently this is a do-it-yourself process most manageable for those with extensive assets or the willingness to drastically cut back. There are reports of boomers tapping into their kids 529 accounts to finance their own shift.

Here’s where financial services companies can help in ways that go beyond reframing their marketing messages. Why not create new financial products to enable people to save for the inevitable retooling that more transitions and longer working lives require? We’ve got Individual Retirement Accounts — IRAs — to save for retirement. We need Individual Purpose Accounts — IPAs — to help defray the costs of transitioning to new chapters in the middle years and beyond. What’s more, we need financial advisors able to assist people in planning for alternatives to the “golden years.” Since a balloon payment of leisure at the end of midlife is less and less likely, why not help individuals envision what comes next and finance it along the way?

With 10,000 boomers turning 60 each day, these changes are overdue. This population represents a human capital bonanza for the social impact sector and for the nation more broadly. It’s time to fulfill the true promise of longer lives — which is a better society.

http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/02/a-new-vision-for-retirement-pr/

30 Awe-Inspiring Hairstyles For Women Over 60

A perfect hairstyle is one that suits your face shape and flatters your age. As you advance in years, hair tresses also follow suit and wear out in terms of shine and volume but that does not mean you should chop them off. It is true that women go for short hairstyles as they age to protect them from more wear and tear but every woman need not do that. The point is you must listen to your hair, if they are fine don’t mess up with them. Leave them as long as they are and take a little extra care. This would be sufficient to retain the charm of your crowning glory.

Hairstyles for women over 60 can be as glamorous and sexy as the girls who are in their sweet sixteen. You can wear them in any length and add highlights and colors which are also a great way of adding volume. The styling does not stop here. You can bring much more to your looks with these 30 hairstyles for women over 60, which feature fantastic hairdo including that of celebrities. Take a look and rock on with their inspiration and ideas.

Size Doesn't Matter. Confidence Does.

Why did these gorgeous, brave readers agree to pose in their undies? To inspire you to feel good about your body.

Joann Abranowicz, 52

"I'm a runner so I love that my body makes me feel strong. I started when I had my children, because it was easy to just grab the sneakers and go. Now I've done four marathons and 21 half-marathons. So even after two kids I feel pretty good about my body. I think I'm in better shape now than I was in high school!"

Barbara Chen, 60

"I've always felt like I had a pretty good body. But would I have posed in my underwear when I was 25? Probably not. Now I think about the younger girls I know who really aren't confident in their bodies. I decided to go for it to inspire them. If you smile, you're beautiful no matter what. Even at 60 with no clothes on."

Manon True, 55

"It's more than feeling good about your body -- it's feeling good about yourself, inside and out. It does take a lot of work to really like yourself and be able to look past the imperfections. It can take years. But I'm so happy with my body at this age, I wouldn't want to go back. It's so much smoother sailing, even with a little tummy."

http://www.lhj.com/health/conditions/mental-health/beautifull-real-women-body-confidence/?page=1

Lying about your age in Los Angeles is more common than you may think

Actors aren't the only ones. In this youth-oriented city, people get creative about their age for many reasons, including work and dating. Is it ethical? Well...

Everyone in L.A. lies about his or her age, says the author of the book "Career Comeback — Repackage Yourself to Get the Job You Want."

"This is the most youth-oriented city on the planet, where you're only as old as your cosmetic dermatologist makes you look," says Lisa Johnson Mandell (no relation to the writer of this story). "This might be the only city where people use professionally Photo Shopped head shots not just for acting, but on their LinkedIn profiles, Facebook pages, and of course on their online dating profiles."

Is it worth it?

"Yes, yes, oh yes," Mandell says. "Being open and honest about your age can cost you a job. When a 20-something assistant looks at your resume and sees that you graduated over 20 years ago, they automatically think of their parents, or worse, their grandparents. Visions of bad gray perms, polyester pants and sensible shoes pop into their heads, regardless of how current and stylish you may be."

She cites a couple of reasons — sun and screen — why Angelenos might lie about their age more than people in other places.

"Hollywood has a heavy influence here," Mandell says. "Waiters, real estate agents, teachers, receptionists, grocery store checkers — there is youth and beauty everywhere you look, and we've started to believe our own hype."

And while the weather draws people to L.A., "it also works against us when it comes to revealing our true ages," Mandell says. "Unlike cities such as New York and Chicago, we can't hide under boots, hats, gloves and puffy coats six months out of the year."

Frank Anthony Polito began lying about his age when he was pursuing an acting career. At 30, he read for the role of 24-year-old Jackie Jr. on "The Sopranos" — "so I told the casting director, when she asked, that I was 24," Polito says. "She smiled and said 'Perfect!' The next time I went in — for the same woman — I told her I was 27 because the role I was auditioning for was 27. Soon I started telling everyone that I was born in 1976, and that I graduated high school in 1994. I even went so far as to educate myself on what songs, movies, TV shows were popular when I would have supposedly been in high school, just in case anyone wanted to discuss."

No surprise that actors get a pass to some extent.

"We can — and do — forgive actors who lie about their age to get work in a system that discriminates against older actors; if they convincingly play the role, who cares if they're off by a few years?" says Craig Malkin, a clinical psychologist and instructor in psychology at Harvard Medical School. "Nevertheless, actors who lie about their age are cheating a system that tries to cheat them — robbing them of opportunities based on a number on a page. When people are unfairly cut off from opportunities because of age, they're bound to lie."

How old does a person have to be to make lying even on the table?

"That all depends on which way you're going," says Mandell. "If you're 20 or 21 and just graduated college, you want people to assume you're older and more experienced in a professional setting. If you're over 45, you want people to know you're still young, hip, energetic and relevant."

Carolyn Brundage has been telling people for several years that she is 40. She's actually 39.

"Forty just seems a lot more exciting than 36 or 37," Brundage says. "I guess the only question now is, when I really turn 40, what will I say my new age is?"

Is lying about your age ethical?

"It's too common an occurrence for us to be shocked or morally outraged when it happens," Malkin says. "Research suggests that our tolerance for lies depends entirely on their nature and frequency."

BJ Gallagher not only lies about her age, but she also lies about her son's age.

When she met a younger man she found attractive and he asked her son's age, "I put my hand to my cheek, looked up to the ceiling as if I was trying to remember, and stammered, 'Let's see. ... He's ... he's 20-something. Oh, isn't that terrible when you forget your kid's age?' I've been lying about my son's age ever since."

If a person is thriving and accomplished, age may matter less. Take Betty Kreisel Shubert. She published her first book at 88, "Out-of-Style: A Modern Perspective of How, Why and When Vintage Fashions Evolved," with more than 700 of her own illustrations.

And then there's Mel Brake, the executive director of a mentoring nonprofit near Philadelphia called MPW Foundation, who says his age is like the temperature — it goes up and it goes down.

"We are all old from the first day we are born and we are young when we die. How many times has someone said after a death, he or she was young even if that someone was 100 years old? And please do not ask my age."

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-lie-age-20130907,0,707941.story