How to grow old beautifully: 10 lessons from French under 50
These women calmly wear skirts above the knee, they look great, even if their skin is not perfect by California standards, they are not afraid to grow old and feel comfortable at their age.
Factum tells how the French women cope with aging.
In his famous monologue "Where do women disappear after fifty" Zhvanetsky speaks about the phenomenon that is typical for our latitudes - girls grow into girls, then into young women, and then disappear. They are not in the cafe, there are no on the streets, there are not in the fashion stores, they are not visible and can not be heard.In fact, this phenomenon is typical not only for Russia - American journalist Rebecca Plantier wrote the book "Lessons of beautiful aging: the secret of French women", where it opposes French society to the American. After forty years, American women often waved their hands and "go into the shadows," Rebecca writes, and that they are strikingly different from French women who continue to live to their fullest in 50, 60 and 70 years.
"When I just moved to France, I was amazed at the number of beautiful and elegant women in the streets, in cafes, in exhibitions, in expensive shops. These women calmly wear skirts above the knee, they look great, even if their skin is not perfect by California standards, they are not afraid to grow old and feel comfortable at their age .
Having studied this phenomenon, the American woman came to the conclusion that "noble aging" is a consequence of a very special attitude to life and to oneself, peculiar to the French as a whole. Savoir vivre - "the ability to live beautifully" - has nothing to do with money and status, it is the ability to fill your life with pleasures, which ultimately prolongs the "female age".
The active way of life remains active until the oldest age
In France, active leisure is a part of national culture, and with age it is not accepted to refuse it. The French go on hikes, climb mountains, adore kayaks, play tennis, run in parks, ski, etc. It's a way of life, not a commitment to sport - it's just that in society it is customary to ski in winter with the whole family, and in the summer to do something else in moderation sporty, but active. And even on vacation, the French prefer to travel somewhere where you need to do something, and not just lie on the sun in the upside belly. At the same time, French women do not overdo themselves with serious sport, unlike some turned American women, Rebecca points out - any violence against oneself is harmful to women's well-being.
Sense of humor as a powerful antioxidant
Famous French sarcasm helps French women not to perceive their age and aging as a drama. In no other language is there such a number of proverbs and jokes about the "woman again" and the second period of "passion" that comes in 40-50 years.
Food as a religion
Everyone knows that the French are obsessed with food, but unlike Americans, they have this obsession with a desire to eat exquisitely and beautifully, not much. French women in general eat very little, enviously writes Rebecca. And with age, when financial opportunities allow, the obsession with the beauty of the process and the taste only intensifies - French women often eat in restaurants and cafes, enjoying mini-portions, wine and a good company. All this, of course, helps more or less to keep in the original sizes, such a critical difference in weight at 20 and at 40 that is observed in American women, the French do not, the journalist sighs.
With age, French women allow themselves more, not less
The feeling is, Rebecca writes, that French girls absorb healthy selfishness with their mother's milk. With age, when children grew up and require less attention, the French women quietly switch to themselves. They spend more money on their pleasures, allow themselves to travel without a family, buy more expensive clothes. A French woman of forty will not be tormented by the torture of conscience by buying her good shoes instead of a game console for her teenage son. And even consider this the only true solution: "Do you want a prefix - go work." Sitting with grandchildren in France is not accepted, no one perceives grandmothers as free nannies.
With age, clothes in the wardrobe are smaller, but it is much more expensive
And better quality. Even women with average income buy themselves expensive and comfortable things - cashmere, silk, good shoes and at least one expensive bag. Together, this is the elegant style of mature women, who are so admired by tourists.
With age, social life does not come to naught, but quite the contrary
Unlike American women, who often prefer television and home leisure of social life, French women, especially in large cities, are becoming more active. Children have grown and do not require constant attention, life is adjusted - it's time to go to parties, guests, good bars, movies, biennale and so on. Active social life keeps in tone - haircut, styling, well-groomed hands, beautiful clothes on the way out and - necessarily - comfortable shoes with heels.
Age is not a disease, and does not require treatment
Frenchwomen (and the French) are calm about age and wrinkles, too obvious artificial pull-ups cause a rather contemptuous smile (as in the case of Catherine Deneuve, for example). Unlike American women who are obsessed with the idea of preserving youth, French women believe that at a certain age, the absence of wrinkles in women is more a sign of the presence of mental problems than an occasion for envy. In France, hardware supportive cosmetology is very well developed, and cosmetic surgery and botox are much less popular.
At any age you can wear what you are wearing
Frenchwomen quite calmly wear skirts above the knee and tight leggings to the most advanced years. In France, there is no concept of "clothes out of age," a mother and daughter can often buy clothes of the same brand. It is clear that with age, taste and financial opportunities are changing, and more expensive classical style is preferred, but in no other country in the world is there so many women of 40-60 years old in small dresses and tight jeans trousers.
No age limits for sexuality or sex life
On the contrary, in France it is considered that after the forty comes the second youth - much is achieved, much is learned, it's time to enjoy still a good physical form and experience, the son of difficult mistakes. This is good and bad, Rebecca writes, well - because it affects the woman's self-awareness, it's bad - because it is during this age period that the peak of divorce comes.
With age you can do everything, but in moderation
Wine, late feasts and even cigarettes - Rebecca describes her 52-year-old French girlfriend, who smokes one cigarette a day with coffee after breakfast. This girlfriend smoked for many years and quit, but felt that the pleasure of coffee with a cigarette is more useful than stress from total rejection.
In general, the American concludes, the most important thing is respect for oneself and for one's age. And the main lesson from French women aging beautifully is not to be lazy to live with pleasure. This concept includes everything from delicious food and sex to beautiful things, favorite hobbies and travel. This is the manifesto of the beautiful Frenchwoman of fifty, who drinks his glass of wine in a cafe overlooking the Champs-Elysées: "I am a woman under 50, I have achieved and achieved a lot by myself, the city and this moment."