A Lovely writes:

I hear of so many celebs lying about their age in the biz? Do you think it’s worth it, or should people just accept their number?

I hope I speak for the majority of my peers in saying: I believe every decade can be done with grace and poise, and that there’s something really exciting about aging. At least that’s how I feel. And as I defend this notion, I suppose it’s only proper to begin at the beginning.

I hated being a kid. I probably won’t have any (those of you who are future mothers, I tip my hat to you — you are a greater woman than I) because being a youngster was such a detestable time for me. Not because my family life was rough or because I was unpopular, but because I felt like a spectator to my own emotions. In my head I was 10 going on 35 and I couldn’t wait to just get the whole ugly thing over with. And it was ugly. Adolescence is messy. Anyone who says they’d love to go back to being a teenager is, again, a stronger person than I, but the bottom line is that being a kid is no fun, but it’s cool because the more it sucks, the more character you build.

…Which comes in handy in your twenties. No matter what you decide to do, college or no college, travel or stay put, your twenties are all about letting the chips fall where they may and exhausting that last reserve of creative energy to find where you belong before that putting-down-roots instinct kicks in. I guess I’m not really speaking fairly. Some people start to feel that urge much earlier, and that’s cool, too. But I’m in my mid-twenties now, and I can say every day is confusing. “What does my future hold? The world sure is big! What should I do next? I have so many options! I have no money!” Yes, these are the thoughts swirling in my still-young brain all the time. All the time. So, I do look forward to my thirties, just like I look forward to the experiences and surprises of every coming day.

I’ve been told by my mother and my aunts that even your thirties are confusing (joy!), and that your forties are when you really start to feel like you’ve got life on lockdown. So that’s something to look forward to. Every year and decade you age, your words have a little more authority to them, too. Have you noticed that? I mean sure, plenty of things factor into how much clout you give a person who is influencing your life, but age definitely plays a role. You do naturally assume, “that forty-seven-year-old woman who appears to have her sh*t together and takes good care of herself probably knows what she’s talking about,” and her wisdom seems possibly even wiser to you for it. It’s not a trick, it’s a natural phenomenon that I trust now and will take full advantage of when I’m older and the roles are reversed. And I should say, I believe it’s an infinite equation — you get better as you get older, maybe even exponentially so as the years stack up.

So why lie about your age? To me it’s a medal of honor we should take pride in. If you’re dating a younger man, stand proud and say, “heck yes he likes me, not in spite of my age, but because of my age!” Or just saying yes I look great, and I’m such-and-such age. Time and aging are the great equalizer. None of us is going to escape it — facelifts, Botox or what have you — it’s just a fact of life. Just take good care of the goods you’ve got, and you’ll be proud to say you’re the age you are. You should be!

One of my favorite blogs is called Advanced Style, and it’s a blog of elderly ladies and gentlemen looking oh-so-chic in their golden years. It’s really awesome and inspiring. Check out a few photos from that blog and a couple of my favorite ladies who are aging awesomely, Betsey Johnston (69) and Iris Apfel (90).

What do you think, lovelies? Is there a reason to lie about your age? Or does age just give a number value to awesomeness?

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