There is something about getting older in France that is actually a good thing. Wine, cheese, solid wood furniture, ancient churches, statues, rugs, paintings, museums; all of them celebrating the soulfulness that age bestows.
So where better to have a birthday? Especially when one is heading into the lower end of the fifties. 52 to be exact.
In North America, women are not supposed to get old. (If you ever wonder if this is true, look at the news anchors. Women are Barbie-dolled and young. Men can be old and jowly and even, God forbid, chubby…I dare you to find me a news women with a belly! Worse than that, look at the movies with those old leading men seducing the young actresses. Imagine it turned around. Exactly. You’re never going to see that movie made).
The constant message to women is that we are to ‘fight it every step of the way’!
Lifts, enhancements, tucks and injections are required to arrest us in the perpetual youth that is held up as the perfect ideal. I am as overwhelmed and sucked in by this message as anyone. I have bought the lotions and the potions and the makeup that was guaranteed to somehow give me the dewy complexion of youth…I’m still waiting for it to kick in.
Which is why it’s cool to have had this birthday in France. French women celebrate who they are. They have a style, an individuality that exudes confidence in who they have become and who they are still becoming.
They don’t do a fade out because they’re getting older. Hell no, the lipstick might get redder, or the jewellry bigger and the belt a little funkier. These women are rocking it.
I’ve decided I’m bringing a little bit of that French attitude home with me.
You can call me Collette.
Okay, but I’m still going for the potions.
Ah oui! J’adore la potions (surely potions is a feminine word?). I think these French women are growing old gracefully but slathered with nothing but the best creams and lotions and of course, lovely parfums, non?
Right on Collette!I feel empowered just reading your blog.
I love the French attitude to be comfortable with the woman
you are and are becoming.
It is so attractive to be around people who are comfortable
in their own skin. Lovely!
Laurie, I am continually inspired by the women around here and how they hold themselves. All that happens as they get older is they look even more interesting and confident. It’s a good lesson that I’m hoping to remember once I’m back home.
Happy Birthday Colleen, or should I say Colette ! French women learn early on in their youths to apply make-up and look after themselves. They also choose their clothes with style and care. As they become older, beautiful women are inspirational and make you feel more secure about your own future to see how attractive and confident it is possible to be even even when you are no longer a girl. If more women felt like this in the world, we would all feel a little more relaxed about the passing years because we could feel that we have something to look forward to with pleasure.
Thank you for your great comment Catherine. I know you have spent a lot of time in France and have observed with care. If there is only one thing we could learn from the French, it is how to grow into being a confident woman. It is something to look forward to when you see it done up right. This morning in Nice,I saw one woman in particular who summed it up. I’m guessing she was in her late 60s; great big sunglasses, fabulous haircut, swingy dress, bright orange lips and a fresh pedicure glowing from within her bright orange Roman sandals. I wanted to applaud!
Happy Birthday, Colleen. No matter how old you are, I’ll always be a year older.
I SO GET what you are saying about men and women and aging in this country. Not sure where I fall – if my hair was gray, would I feel differently about coloring it? If my wrinkles were really pronounced, would I have a different view of botox?
I am trying to just be thankful for my health, do the best I can with my looks without obsessing, and move on.
Sigh.
Hey Jana, My hair is mostly very-pronounced grey and white. Mostly I embrace it and then there are days when I sincerely wish I could flash it all back to my previous life as a blonde.
It’s tricky learning how to be truly thankful for where I’m at right NOW. Glad to know you feel the same. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Way to go, Collette! I frequently say that I’m glad to have reached an age at which I really don’t care (so much) what others think of me. I wrote on my sketchbook a quote I am unable to attribute at the moment: What other people think of me is none of my business!
Hey Sharry! That quote is similar to Eleanor Roosevelt’s that went something like this, “No one can make me feel inferior without my full consent.”
On the topic of sketchbooks…I’m so inspired by the art museums and the galleries and the architecture everywhere that I feel like simmering pot is heading to a full boil!
Amen amen amen Collette!!! I’m way ahead of you in the age department, but marching along beside in the attitude. Maiden, mother, crone–we need to learn to embrace all these stages of our lives and revel in who we’ve become.
Hey Mandy, where is Helen Reddy when you need her? “I am woman, hear me roar!”
Flair & Fabulousness. I think we need to get more outrageous every second we’re still here and kicking 🙂 Glad to have your company on this glorious ride.