Can Beauty Be Ageless?

July 21, 2006 — -- If you ask people to describe what they consider makes a woman beautiful, you're likely to get a lot of different answers. But if you look at the glossy fashion magazine pages, or check out Hollywood's big-screen movies, you'll be hard-pressed to find much variation on beauty that goes beyond young and thin.

"Many people define beauty very narrowly," says Dr. Nancy Etcoff, psychologist and the author of "Survival of the Prettiest: the Science of Beauty." She explains beauty as often defined "as a physical stereotype, as a woman who is tall, thin, young and blond."

Along comes the August issue of Vogue magazine to challenge at least one of those stereotypes. On the cover is 41-year-old former supermodel Linda Evangelista, and pregnant to boot. Inside the magazine, some of the other supermodels of her day -- 36-year-old Naomi Campbell and 37-year-old Christy Turlington.

Vogue's director of communications, Patrick O'Connell, admits most of the models that appear regularly in the magazine are in their early 20s. In fact, the magazine has had only one other cover model who was in her 40s -- 45-year-old Iman, who was pictured with other younger models.

The August issue is dedicated to aging gracefully and even features women in their 90s who are still described as beautiful. When asked if older cover girls are a trend, O'Connell candidly replies, "Let's put it this way, chances are higher we wouldn't do it, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't."

But Vogue also recognizes its readership is aging. This is Vogue's fifth annual issue focusing on aging, and O'Connell says it grows more popular every year.

"The reality is," he points out, "women who read Vogue come in all ages and they want to look great, no matter how old they are."

Which brings out another reality about older women gracing the pages of Vogue. They have the money to pay for personal trainers, the best fashion, nutritionists and cooks, and of course, cosmetic surgery. All of which makes "aging gracefully" a whole lot easier.