Jerry Hall would rather retire than get plastic surgery: 'What's wrong with wrinkles? I have loads'
The model and It Girl also took aim at dowdy fashion and beauty trends aimed at older women
Jerry Hall has a problem with how people see older women, from the "hideous" trends aimed at women over 50 to rallying against the idea that one should have to hide their wrinkles and signs of age.
In an interview with British Vogue, the supermodel - and future star of the second season of the The Celebrity Traitors - offered her refreshing perspective on getting older, as she approaches her 70th birthday later in the year.
Rather than fearing the milestone, Jerry is proud to display every year of it. "I think we should be allowed to look 70. Why not? Why should we try to look 50"
She added, "What’s wrong with wrinkles? I have loads of wrinkles, but I don’t mind. I’m 70, I should have wrinkles. I don’t want to look weird, I don’t want to scare my grandchildren."
Taking it even further, Jerry wasn’t afraid to imply that many stars are making themselves look "scary" with surgery. She told the magazine, "Let’s face it, plastic surgery is not perfected. Look at the photos from the Oscars. Look at the women!
"They look scary. I guess some people have to do it for their career, but I would just rather retire."
Tweakments to the face aren’t the only issue Jerry has when it comes to people’s ideas of ageing. She outright dismisses the idea of "age appropriate" dressing and styling, labelling a lot of it "hideous".
She said, "There's always this thing - you get old and you have to cut your hair short and have this short blue-grey hair. I think it's a hideous look."
And as for the clothes offered to women over a certain age? "I think it’s terrible. That thing of an ‘older lady’ line and it’s all beige. It used to be ugly shoes that are comfortable, ugly clothes that are grey and beige and dull."
"I think it’s fun to be able to dress in a way that looks good on your figure. I’m very lucky I didn’t lose my figure. So I think I should be able to wear anything."
For the supermodel, turning 70 looks and feels a lot different to what her idea of being 70 might have been. She explained, "My grandmother, when she was in her 70s, she had grey hair, she was a bit fat - a lovely old granny. I love being a granny, I’m always babysitting, but I don’t really feel 70."
"I haven’t got anything wrong physically; I suppose that is to come. But who knows? My maternal great-grandmother lived to be 106 and she was still looking after the horses. The only reason she died was she fell down the stairs and broke her hip. So my main thing is just: don’t fall down."
As for the advice the icon would give her younger self - as she was starting out in the modelling world, hanging out with the likes of Andy Warhol at Studio 54 and meeting her husband-to-be Mick Jagger - Jerry kept it surprisingly pragmatic - "Maybe floss more?"
Don’t fall down and remember to floss - words to live by.
