The World's Oldest Yoga Teacher Turns 95 Today.

Master Tao Porchon-Lynch is a yoga master, ballroom dancer, oenophile (lover of wine)  former actress, and, without a doubt, my favorite model/person/woman/yogi in the whole world.

Tao surprised me last year and showed up for a shoot in a gorgeous red dress in New York City’s Central Park, shortly before she officially entered the Guinness Book of World Records, as the oldest living yoga teacher.

The following 16 images are from three separate shoots over the last year and a half. Each time, Tao wore a different color.

She is turning 95 today, August 13. And I just wanted to wish her a Happy Birthday and show her off to you.

I could go on and on about what an inspiring, bright & joyful human being she is, but my job is to tell peoples stories with images. And so, here’s a few from our last three shoots, all taking place at different locations around New England.

Yoga is a dance within…and then something inside you grows so big, it spills out like champagne, that’s when you dance on the outside.” ~ Tao Porchon-Lynch

“Autumn is a reminder that while the leaves die and fall,  there will always be Spring, a chance to replenish and be reborn again. We all have the opportunity to replenish ourselves, to be reborn.”~ Tao at 94.

“I never say goodbye, I say, “au-revoir.”  Goodbye is so final. Au-revoir means I will see you again.” ~ Tao Porchon-Lynch

You're Kidding, Right? Fashions in Vogue and Bazaar for 60's and 70+ , YUCK!!

I DON'T THINK SO!!!!

Vogue August 2013  

60-Something Director's Cut Marc Jacobs Starry Night Coat with Fox Collar

Bazaar August 2013

What 60 year old would be caught dead in these?

Obviously No One is Thinking, or They Just Don't Care.  If we analyze these outfits, it looks like they were thrown together at the last minute just so they could put something in for the 60 and 70 year olds.  At least they are trying, but how many fashion victims they are creating, it's nuts!!  Let's analyze these:

For the Women in their 60's from BAZAAR the red Dior coat is actually beautiful.  If the designers/editors had taken the time to dress the model appropriately and remove that silly dress from underneath, the coat would have been stunning and perfect for someone in their 60's.  The color is beautiful and the style is very sophisticated. (Furthermore, again my pet peeve, the model is not wearing stockings. Very few people over 60 can get away with this, and besides, it looks like it would be cold enough outside wearing this coat, that her legs would be freezing.)  And, how short is that dress underneath?  It is shorter than most minis and I would hesitate to even put it in the category of women in their 40's let alone 60's!!! That is a big faux-pas. It shows very little fashion sense.


Next, the photo of Danielle Steele is pathetic. Could she look any drabbier? If I were her, I would be really angry that Bazaar used this photo of me.  If this is supposed to be an inspiration to women in their 60's, I think Bazaar should just not add it . Either they think and take time to really care about what they post for women in their 60's, or just forget it.  And, it's hard to tell what the Prabal Gurung sweater really looks like, but it looks like a cheerleading outfit to me.  Not appropriate for ANY age.   


Let's analyze the column for the Women in their 70's +.  I guess that if you live to 80, no one really cares what you look like, so just give up.  I say, HARDLY. Women should never give up about how they look, no matter what age.  Self-respect and dignity are important at every age and perhaps even more important as a woman reaches 80, 90 or 100.

The outfit by the Row on the model is dreadful.  It looks terrible on the model who is probably in her 20's.  It is boxy, too long, unflattering, and the asymmetry in the skirt would be entirely wrong for someone in their 70's.  Who decided to put those ugly sandals with that long skirt?  Someone in their 70's would want clothes that elongate them, not make them look shorter, as I am sure many women at this age will be losing some of their height.  Again, this outfit is a nightmare. It looks like absolutely NO thought went in to putting it together.  Again, who are the women that can afford these clothes? I don't think many 20-30 somethings can afford these designer duds, so why aren't they targeting this audience more appropriately?  It makes no sense and it is INSULTING!!!  I will give them credit for including a lovely picture of Lee Radziwill who looks stylish and gorgeous, for any age.


NEXT: The Outfit in Vogue for the 60 Year Old:


Why doesn't anyone care how ridiculous these women look, at any age? The Marc Jacobs Starry Night Coat with Fox Collar would take a very tall woman to carry it off, and even then, it is really busy.  It is hard to imagine how a 60 year old could or would even want to handle this coat, but with that busy skirt, the entire outifit looks atrocious.  Why can't they make the models look a little bit more appropriate, also? The hairstyle, the big white bow, and those silly flats add up to one terrible outfit.  Is this meant to insult women in their 60's?  Is it meant to say that "you are so old it doesn't matter what you wear"? Or, is it meant to say that "when you get that old, you better dress with some real FLASH to counter your age"? What are these editors/designers thinking?  Why don't they hire someone in their upper 50's or 60's to give them a little advice?Better yet, why can't they get older models to model these clothes?         

These clothes make me so mad.  What kind of inspiration is this for getting older.  Everyone is going to get there one day, hopefully. Why can't they add some class, some thought, and some caring to what they publish?  This would be good for everyone.  Not only the women in their 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and beyond, but it would allow the younger generation to have respect for this age group. It would help them have less fear about being "over the hill". Some women will live 20, 30. 40 or 50 years after they turn 50. This culture needs to CHANGE. We need to help these women feel good about their age, and not try and make them look like they are still young.

Tina Turner Graces the Cover of 'Vogue' at 73 & Amazes Us All

In Germany, Someone Over SEVENTY!!!! beautifully graces the cover of Vogue!! 

Why not the US???

Take note, Anna Wintour (and most fashion editors for that matter!): I’ll be buying a copy of German Vogue this month, even though I won’t be able to understand much of the text. Why? 

Because Tina Turner, their gorgeous, accomplished cover model, has at least four decades on the typical face on the front of the vast majority of women’s magazines.

It’ll be the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll's first time on the cover of Vogue, and yes, of course, Turner’s officially the oldest person to do such a thing -- though you might remember last year’s 62-year-old U.S. Vogue cover girl ...
Meryl Streep! Yet another American "queen," Streep became Vogue’s then-oldest cover girl in January 2012. Shot by Annie Leibovitz, Streep looked both ravishing AND her age (more or less) in the photos, and for that I tip my hat to Wintour (not that she cares about my surely pedestrian headwear).
Though there have been a few notable "older" women on U.S. Vogue’s cover (like Michelle Obama in March 2009, at the ripe old age of 45; and a 47-year-old Madonna in August 2005), like the Streep cover, the median age of cover models since 2000 was 30. A more typical example would be someone like Rooney Mara or even Lady Gaga.
Now, 30 of course is considered ancient to anyone under 22, but in reality, 30 is a spring chicken! Thirty does NOT herald the beginning of the end of attractiveness and desirability, as our modern, youth-obsessed culture would make it seem: a destructive, depressing notion that cover girls like Meryl Streep and Tina Turner BLAST away.

Turner makes an ideal Vogue cover: she’s stylish, fascinating, accomplished, and beautiful -- the only thing that sets her apart from most fashion mag cover ladies are a few extra decades' worth of aging. Wearing a silk blue Armani dress, red lips, and her famous blond hair, Turner of course looks amazeballs on the cover; or, as they declare, "Simply the best!"

I don’t even care that it’s surely been Photoshopped, or that her hair is obviously not naturally that color (still? ever?). I understand that fashion is aspirational, and a certain amount of magic and art goes into looking gorgeous, in person and in print. 

The point is that she’s THERE, she looks fab. I wish we would see more covers like that, and not just in some hokey annual "FABULOUS AT ANY AGE" issue, when they trot out well-preserved celebs as examples of how even old fogies in their 40s, 50s, and -- gasp! -- 60s can still be attractive.

I’ll definitely get my hands on a copy of this magazine, if only so I can leave it around my house in the hopes that my 9-year-old daughter will spot it. What a great visual reminder -- for both of us -- that beauty doesn't end at ANY decade. It doesn't have to do with how old you are at all.


Do you think more magazines should put older women like Tina Turner on their covers?







Image via German Vogue

SHORTS FOR THE OVER FIFTY!!!!

Again, back to demographics.  The magazines are directing their styles and marketing to women in their 30's and 40's.  I had kids later in life, but I know that in my 40's I was busy with kids. I think most women who decide to have kids are also busy with them in their 30's and 40's, whether they work or not. Any "spare" money (none), went to my boys' hobbies.  They were into making models, and playing Japanese card games (I spent at least one Gucci bag on those alone.), and music and art lessons.  Activities like Paint-Balling, Go-Carting, taking all the friends to movies and lunch, etc. added up to sufficient amounts of money. If I had girls I can only imagine how much more I would have been spending on clothes.

More importantly, I not only didn't have the money, but I didn't have the time to go "Shopping" for the latest and greatest outfits. I would usually go in to Macy's which was right next door to my son's art lessons; I raced for an hour and a half to find something just to find something. Going through my closet I think I have given most of those things away: a) because they are now out of style; or b) because I was buying just to buy, and to keep myself from feeling deprived.

So, during the peak years when according to the magazines, I should have been buying Dolce and Gabana dresses or Gucci handbags, I wasn't able to.  Somehow, I think I speak for the 98% of  American's. 

If you are in the 2%, or you are Rachel Zoe and can take your baby to work with you while you design clothes, then this Blog is not for you.

By the time the kids are grown and off to college you are at least in your late 40's or early 50's and maybe in your late 50's and early 60's. By this time, your knees have begun to sag; it's impossible to wear the mid-rise jeans without a tummy tuck; and your legs are now showing lots of little spider veins that to you look like varicose veins. I actually have a couple of those.  Hence my obsession this summer and the past few summers with SHORTS!!! How to wear shorts?

Even Michelle Obama could not have found shorts at J. Crew this season.  Most of them would have looked ridiculous, and the shorts they called "Bermuda's" had only a 10 inch inseam.  That would make the shorts hit about 2-3 inches above the knee, depending on your height.  As you can see in my photo, my knees have begun to sag despite the fact that I think I exercised more than the average American woman throughout my life.  Yes, I did aerobics in the 80's. I did kick-boxing in the 90's.  Jeanette, Queen Latifa's ex-girlfriend, was my trainer and she kicked my butt.(She fired me because I couldn't keep up!)  In the 00's I did everything.  Spinning, kick-boxing, weight training, you name it.  And still, my knees are sagging.  Yes, some of this may be genetic but from what I can tell from the rest of my body, nothing is moving North. 

So, my mission was to find the perfect style of SHORTS. 

These are the rules:

---

The Rules for Shorts Over Fifty

1) the inseam should be no shorter than 12-13 inches depending on your height ;

2) the bottom of the shorts should hit about mid-knee cap;

3) you can roll them up, or shorten them, but it sometimes depends on the width of the leg 

4) try to find a waistband that is no lower than 2 inches below the belly button (almost impossible to find) and hopefully, even at the waist (can you imagine, a waistline at the waist?)  and;

5) be creative because there isn't a lot out there.

---

Summer of 2013's Best Shorts

KUT from Nordstrom's

INC. from Macy's

A. Goldschmeid Ex-Boyfriend

JAG from Marhsall's

Cut-off an old pair of Jeans

Boys/Men's Dept.

Diva from Old Navy

Vince

---

First, a picture of my beautiful saggy knees, and why I would like not to highlight them!!

The easiest trick of all is to go to the men's department.  Why is it they make long shorts for men but they don't make them for women? This makes no sense and honestly makes me so mad.  Anyway, I weigh between 115 and 120 depending on the week, month, year.. This generally translates in to a size 4.  Lucky for me, I found my boys' shorts that they were going to give away and I thought: "what about me?"  Their old size 18-20 shorts fit and the waist actually came up to my waist.  Consider that, they don't make men suffer like they do us women. Here is a pair that I found but because they were so baggy, I thought it looked better to make them a bit shorter. One leg is hemmed an inch shorter.

Another good trick is to find an old pair of jeans that are literally on their last legs.  Although today I think the jeans that sell for 200.00 and more, look like they are on their last legs, but what do I know?  Anyway, try them on and cut them longer than you want. Then, roll them up until you think they look right.  Keep cutting a little longer than you want until you are satisfied, because it is easy to cut them too short and then you are stuck.  Here is a photo of my favorite jeans that they don't even make anymore.  I cut them in to shorts and had patches sewn on  and I think patches are even back in style!!

The best brand I found this summer is a new one to me.  It is called KUT.  It is reasonably priced around 65.00 and the waist is almost at waist level!! I found them at Nordstrom's. They are narrow in the legs but comfortable. For me, these are the most stylish and comfortable.

Believe it or not, I found a longer pair at Old Navy. They are called the DIVA.  The waist is a little too low and the legs a little too long. But, you can roll the legs up to the desired length or have them shortened.  For women with longer legs, these would be a good design. You can even wear them longer too if you like the look. They were about 40.00.

 

At Marshall's I found the brand JAG.  There used to be a brand JAG in the 80's but I am not sure if these are the same.  They run a bit baggy, but the waist feels comfortable and they were no more than 20.00. They are not THE most stylish, but they look cute and they sure are comfortable.

 

I took a risk on a pair of Adriano Goldschmied Ex-Boyfriend shorts I found at the Outlet Mall. They really look more like culottes than shorts but because of the bagginess I think they can be worn a little shorter. The bagginess of the short is distracting from the bagginess of the knees!! Who thought bagginess could come in handy? I still think too many wrinkles are showing on my knees.  What do you think?   Your opinions would be appreciated.

Lastly, at Macy's I tried on the brand INC.  Sometimes I have good luck with this brand and others I don't; it's just too young.  But, I found these great shorts for about 67.00. They are really meant to be shorter, but if you roll them down, they will serve the purpose.

I did try Chico's but I didn't like what I tried on.  I am sorry, but I cannot wear NYDJ (Not your Daughter's Jeans). I feel like I am a sausage in a casing and they are so uncomfortable. They don't breath and the fabrics just are not soft to the touch. 

 STYLE ADVICE TO DESIGNERS:  A lovely pair of culottes that fits at the waist and falls mid-knee in a lovely silk fabric with a nice silk shirt to match would be great. Wouldn't that make a lovely outfit?  Comfortable but stylish. In a monochromatic washable silk, it is slimming, you can look stylish, youthful(that word rubs me the wrong way), and feel like a lady, not an old person trying to look young. Or, even better, a pair of shorts that has a 13 inch inseam made out of a nice quality cotton that hits at the waist. These would be a home run and I guarantee that the Baby Boomer's would be gobbling them up.

Good luck with your search.  Please let me know if you have found the perfect SHORT and I will post it  here.  Also, your comments on any of my fashion choices is appreciated.


Until next time, Wendy

At Age 86, She Is Amazing.

Age isn't the boundary, its your mind. 

Where there is a will, there is a way. 

At age 86 .....

Baby Boomers

• Have more discretionary income (wealth) than any other age group
• Control 70% of the total net worth of American households - $7 trillion of wealth
• Own 80% of all money in savings and loan associations
• Spend more money disproportionately to their numbers
• Are not fanatically loyal to brands
• Watch television more than any other age group
• Read newspapers more than any other age group
• Account for a dramatic 40% of total consumer demand




Previous Comments:

Lorilie

07/17/2013 8:27pm

Love this website. It's perfect for me. I go shopping and everything is geared toward the younger generation. Us "over fifty's" need a style of our own and this site displays it so well. When I dress young...I feel young. So important for our well being! Fashion is cool and so is being over 50!!!

It’s Fashion Week in New York for Fall 2014. What a painful thought, we haven’t even had spring or summe

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February 27, 2014 Fashion Blog, Over Fifty No comments
It’s Fashion Week in New York for Fall 2014. What a painful thought, we haven’t even had spring or summer


It’s Fashion Week in New York and the whole Fashion World is abuzz. With all the excitement you would think there were some really great fashions out there. Thanks to the Internet, I don’t have to go to New York and freeze my bu– off, instead, I can watch it from the internet here at home. so far, day 2, there isn’t much to show for the Woman Over Fifty. Here are some of the highlights and I really had to search for these!

MMisonni

MMissoni

MMissoni

Tome

Tome

Tome

Tome

Tome

Creatures of Comfort

Creatures of Comfort


That’s it for now!!

Fashion Week in Palm Desert. Cheryl Tiegs and Mariel Hemingway walk the Runway!!

Fashion Week in Palm Springs.

Cheryl Tiegs and Mariel Hemingway walk the Red Carpet!!

Every year one of my BFF’s from Grammar school meets me in Palm Desert
when she comes from the East Coast for vacation. We also meet up with another BFF from grammar school who happens to live in Ranch Mirage, Ca.

This week happens to be Fashion Week here, and we didn’t plan it either. Tonight we got free tickets from a friend of a friend, and it was so much fun.
The cocktail hour and red carpet were much more fun than the fashion show except for the big surprise!.

Rarely do you see so many beautiful women over 50 in the same spot. I was beyond ecstatic! It was hard to get as many photos as I would have liked because I can’t just snap and run. I like to tell each person the mission of the website, and why I have chosen them, which if course leads in to great conversations where I learn so much.

If you go on tony facebook page, you can see the beautiful women that I was able to capture. The photo quality is not to my liking but the logistics made it difficult to carry a camera. I hope you get the essence nonetheless.

The greatest thing happened in front of my eyes! It is my dream come true.
On the red carpet I happened to catch Cheryl Tiegs and Mariel Hemingway coming in. If you look at them on my FB page, you can see what wonderful figures they have. But, to my great surprise, at the end of the show, they actually modeled down the runway!!!!

The crowd was so excited to see them. After all, Cheryl Tiegs is a fashion icon! Icons are icons, no matter what age. It was great that they are still in such amazing shape, but just having them there was so important. For the older crowd, myself being one of them, they represent style and class and sophistication, which, frankly, is missing today.

So thank you Palm Desert for making the effort to bring these lovely women down to your Fashion Week. Seeing them I am willing to bet, made anyone over 50′s, night, if not week.