Stealing Style: Bette Midler vs. Lady Gaga

Recent news has Bette Midler, 65, venting her ire at Lady Gaga, 25, for stealing her style. The specific style in question? Wearing a mermaid outfit in a wheelchair. For performance purposes, don't worry; it wasn't to shop at the local mall.

But that's kind of the issue: For fun or profit? Identiity theft or homage?

We might enjoy taking a tip or two from a celebrity's style for our everyday life. But the intellectual property aspect comes in on whether there's money involved. Or some combination of creativity/originality.

I'm not sure @ladygaga knows that I've performed my mermaid in a wheelchair for millions of people — and many of them are still alive," Bette Midler tweeted.

A host of clichés come up: Steal from the best… There's nothing new under the sun… Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…

Although she never mentioned it, the Huffington Post reports that Midler was also miffed at Madonna for stealing her spot as the "queen of vulgar" back in the '80s.

And Madonna, 52, was miffed at Lady Gaga for stealing her style (and "Born This Way" music.)

It gets dizzying.

The other dark fear it all this brings up is what I call All About Eve syndrome – the fear that younger women are coming to supplant your position at work, with your significant other, etc.

And it's just this dynamic that has midlife women wary of younger ones. And it's just this dynamic that keeps women, who are now over 50% of the population, in a subjunctive role.

Organizations like the Blue Thong Society seek to blur these lines. The group formed when Mary Jo Wallo realized she wasn't ready for a "red hat" at 50. Midlife women are vibrant and involved now and she wanted her organization to reflect that.

They opened it up to younger women to teach them that getting old is nothing to be afraid of. And the underlying lesson is that if you don't feel threatened, you can be allies.

"Younger women are going to be where we are, and it would behoove them to help and support us so they have somewhere to go," said a friend of mine matter-of-factly.

So are the Emmy Awards secretly the Karma Awards? Both Midler and Gaga are nominated for performance awards – Bette Midler for The Showgirl Must Go On and Lady Gaga for her Monster Ball Tour: at Madison Square Garden.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Bette Midler did the mature thing. Good for her for setting the record straight, then letting the wisdom of her years shine through:

Let's drink this over at the Emmys in September. Fabulous mermaids can coexist!" she said.

That's pretty stylish. Have you ever stolen someone's style? Or paid homage to it?

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