Don't forget, "cool" started with you, ergo, it's hip to be you. Here's why:
1. Betty White might just be the epitome of hip right now. True, she's outside our age group, but it's nothing but encouraging: She's got a new TV series, Hot in Cleveland, and movie, the Sigourney Weaver/Jamie Lee Curtis comedy, You Again. She just signed a two-book deal to pen her memoirs. She's a pin-up girl! She had the most popular Super Bowl commercial, launched a line of hoodies and T-shirts, played beer pong with Jimmy Fallon... and a ferocious Facebook campaign landed her the host slot on Saturday Night Live — which nabbed her another Emmy. A has-been at 88? Hardly. We should all learn from her attitude, adaptability and energy!
2. On the Runway – I mentioned a while ago that designers should be putting gray-haired mavens on the runway, and lo and behold they "heard" me. Chanel had streaks, designer Alber Elbaz professes to love gray hair and wrinkles, and alongside Elle MacPherson and Ines de la Fressange, older models are hailed as the "new black." At 45, with a full head of long gray hair, model Kristen McMenamy insists, "You can get older and still be rock 'n' roll".
3. On magazine covers – Much has been made of this year's September issues comprising mainly older women, from Julia Roberts (Elle) to Halle Berry on the cover of Vogue. And while I can't really consider Jennifer Anniston "old" — I myself went for Mariska Hargitay on Good Housekeeping — the point is taken that cover girls over 40 sell just as well, if not better, than the younger set.
4. Money honeys in the movies – Figures out from Forbes this summer confirm female film high-earners as over-40 femmes: 46-year-old Sandra Bullock leading the pack, with Anniston, 41, and Sarah Jessica Parker, at 45, rounding out the top five.
5. Makeup specifically for us – There's a panoply of makeup available specially designed to treat our skin needs, high-end to affordable, drugstore to department store, from Maybelline Instant Age-Rewind and CoverGirl Simply Ageless to Tarte ReCreate Natural Anti-Aging Foundation.
6. Skin care is better than ever – Like makeup, everybody and their sister-company is spending billions on research to bring you the best anti-aging, extra-hydrating, wrinkle-removing skin care. Not to mention the new technologies in cosmetic procedures to make everything less invasive; 25 years ago, pretty much your only option was a face lift.
7. You're the biggest segment of the population: By 2010, women between the ages of 40 and 64 will be the largest age demographic in America — that's a force to be reckoned with.
8. Younger men find you attractive — and not because you're a cougar! Let's face it, Ashton Kutcher is no dufus (even though he played one on That '70s Show). And though we don't all look like Demi Moore, or Susan Sarandon for that matter (she and Tim Robbins had a long run of 23 years with a 11-year age gap), age disparity is now a two-way street, meaning it's not just men who get to hook up with much younger women. (Moore may spill her secrets in her new memoir due in 2012.) This means the dating pool is a little wider if you're putting your toe in the water.
9. The job field is wider too – Women are climbing the charts in politics and as CEOs. These may be isolated cases — but let's look at this: Mick Jagger is still rocking because he can. So is Madonna. What separates us from our parent's generation is that the Beatles were markedly different than Benny Goodman. Since then, there hasn't been that drastic a change, so we're all still rockin' out to the cool stuff. (Although apparently Beach Boy Brian Wilson has just discovered Gershwin.) The key is reinvention.
10. Role models abound to support whatever life choices you want to make, whether it's adopting children over 50 (Diane Keaton), being classic (Diane von Fürstenberg), being kooky (Betsey Johnson), challenging yourself to physical feats (Diana Nyad), or finding out how you can make a difference in the world, a la Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Tina Brown, Marie Wilson, and oh-so many more.
Your time is now.