Radical Old People

Is it wrong to say "old" people? I just looked up at the title of the post and somehow it doesn't seem very PC. But I'm thinking that's because we are so ageist here in the US. It is almost taboo to talk about getting old, unless you are hawking some inevitably ineffective cure for the pesky aging problem. Mortality is a reality, no matter how many cc's of botox a person feeds into their face, they're gonna get old. We are all gonna get old. Here's a plug for doing it gracefully courtesy of the Spring Summer '09 men's shows.

Check out the senior studs at Yamamoto:


And some more distinguished gentlemen at Demeulemeester's runway show:



I absolutely love it. One of my favorite memories of my travels through Europe was the impression that older people there carried themselves with dignity and an evolved sense of style that they had cultivated and honed through the years. I'd never seen the concept of elegance enacted so well and so pervasively. Here, when we are old we hike up our socks, wear high waisted trousers made of plastic fabrics, and tug a sun visor over our bald spots. I sense change in the air. The world is aging, here's to encouraging it to do so with dignity.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I don't think this same enthusiasm for the more wise among us would fly on the women's runways. However, I did just see Laurie Anderson in concert, and my hopes are high that if she can make 61 look as radical and beautiful as she does, there's a chance for us all.