Time has a curious effect on the geometry of our bodies as we get older. As I storm through my 50s my hair is definitely getting shorter (long, greying hair, in my opinion, only works for Halloween).
Same with my eyelashes: it takes several layers of volumising mascara to banish the ‘mole rat’ from the mirror each morning. My necklines are positively Puritan: no one wants to see a crepey bosom, least of all me.
But at the same time, I’ve noticed as my necklines head north, they are taking my hemlines with them. Excitingly, for the first time in my life, I’ve found I can ‘get away with’ a miniskirt.
And before anyone accuses me of self-delusion, or dismisses this observation as the embarrassing whimsy of mid-life crisis in full swing, this is something many other women over 50 are discovering too. We’re finding that, beyond a certain age — with a little bit of maintenance — our legs can become our best asset. And now is the time to show them off.
With the Christmas party season approaching, the shops are full of some beautiful sequinned dresses, many decadently and defiantly above the knee. And it’s not just partywear. After years of boho midi dresses, fashion, it seems, has fallen back in love with the mini.
In the past I wouldn’t have given them a second look, or I’d have pointed them out to my 25-year-old daughter, but this year I am fully intending to try them on myself.
‘Excitingly, for the first time in my life, I’ve found I can ‘get away with’ a miniskirt,’ Julia Lawrence says
Look at the celebrity 50-somethings, too. Gwyneth Paltrow turned 50 last month with a nude photoshoot in which her pins appeared ultra-toned and shapely, while Nicole Kidman, aged 55, chose the tiniest, of microskirts for a Vanity Fair cover picture earlier this year. I defy anyone to say both didn’t look fantastic.
Apparently it’s all to do with fat distribution. As oestrogen and progesterone levels drop during the menopause, there is a propensity for fat to shift from hips and thighs — the ‘gynoid’ shape of our fertile years — to the abdomen, making us thick around the middle, but leaving legs leaner.
That has certainly been the case with me. I never wore miniskirts in my 20s. I hated my thighs. I always considered them too meaty and chunky — certainly not things to be showcased in a short skirt. My ‘look’ was jeans, Dr Martens boots and a hand-knitted, mohair jumper trained to fall artfully off one shoulder.
My stomach, meanwhile, was the Royal Marine of body parts: no matter how many glasses of wine, late-night takeaways or tubs of ice-cream I threw at it, it remained defiantly flat. Even two pregnancies in my late 20s and early 30s didn’t faze it.
Towards the end of my 40s, however, I started to notice the balance was shifting. For the first time, I had a ‘tummy’. I balefully bought my first pair of Spanx, pounded the streets and swam lengths in the pool to try and shift it — to no avail.
Pictured, celebs now in or nearing their 50s – like Gwyneth Paltrow (left) and Heidi Klum (right) – have been flaunting their legs
Meanwhile. something different was happening to my legs. I first started to realise this when I fell from a mountain bike five years ago and posted the pictures of my impressive bruises on social media. Among the expected replies expressing sympathy, one friend wrote: ‘Nice legs.’
I was immediately embarrassed and deleted the picture . . . but did I really have nice legs? I’d always shoved them in trousers and forgotten about them. But on inspection, they were definitely leaner.
According to 58-year-old Lucinda Meade, physiotherapist and personal trainer at Twenty Two Training in London, the loss of that subcutaneous fat from our legs means it’s the perfect time to build a really outstanding pair of pins. Though muscle wastage also hits at this age, it’s never too late to work on strength and shape.
Beware, however, running or cycling alone won’t cut it, explains Lucinda. Building muscle can only be achieved through weight training, which means using the weight of your body, or free weights, to work specific muscle groups.
‘You should be weight training about two to three times a week — while also incorporating stretching and balancing exercises,’ she says.
Nowadays, I don’t run as much as I used to; it exhausts me too much. Instead, I’ve joined a gym and try to go at least two or three times a week. I’ll do short, fast blasts on the treadmill, or a spin class (at the back) for the endorphin hit, and then spend about 45 minutes doing a series of squats, lunges and heel raises, while holding two 5kg dumb bells.
As my legs have grown stronger and sturdier, I found a few nagging aches and pains started to subside and, excitingly, I’ve added not only miniskirts but shorts to my wardrobe too. My uniform this summer was a pair of denim shorts and scoop-neck T-shirts.
I’ve set a few ‘mutton’ rules, however, around the wearing of a short skirt post 50. Never, ever go ‘all out’ — by which I mean, your legs should be the only body part on display. Never team them with a skimpy top or plunging V-neck, as you can easily stray into ‘desperate divorcee on the prowl’ look.
Likewise, footwear: don’t teeter and totter in a pair of stilettos — keep heels chunky or opt for boots. Underwear always must be robust and substantial: nothing less than cycling shorts or control pants.
When it was first introduced 60 years ago, the miniskirt was heralded as a symbol of freedom, for women to throw off the sartorial constraints of their parents’ generation.
Nowadays, I like to think the mini is doing the same for my generation. We are free to wear what we want, how we want, at whatever age.
As Lucinda puts it, when devising an exercise plan or seeking to change habits: ‘Think long-term. Think, ‘how do I want my last decades to look and what sort of life do I want to be living?’ and work towards that.’
For me, the answer to that question is ‘independent, healthy and active — and wearing a miniskirt for as long as possible’. Now, about that short sequin dress . . .
THREE MOVES TO MARVELLOUS LEGS
For balance, flexibility — and legs in tip-top condition — try these exercises from 52-year-old personal trainer Sarah Overall, who specialises in fitness for post-menopausal women.
ONE-LEGGED DEAD LIFT
Stand on one leg and bend forward, stretching your free leg behind you. Raise it high enough so it is parallel to the floor, while flexing your foot and maintaining a flat back. Try to touch the floor with the opposite hand to your standing leg. Repeat ten times on each leg. As you get stronger hold a kettle bell in the hand used to touch the ground.
SQUATS
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with toes pointing forward. Stand in front of a chair or a sofa, as if you are about to sit down. Place weight on your heels, and lower your bottom towards the seat, going as low as you can without sitting down. Try three sets of ten.
LUNGES
Stand with both feet facing forwards. Take a step forward with your right foot, and a step back with your left — ensuring your torso is directly in the middle, and your shoulders are back. Come up onto the toes of your back leg and lower your knee close to the floor and then push up with your front leg. Try three sets of ten on each leg.
OR SIMPLER STILL
Try standing on one leg while brushing your teeth in the morning. Hold the position for as long as you can before swapping legs.
At night, while brushing your teeth, do sets of ten ‘calf raises’: raising yourself onto your tiptoes, while squeezing your buttocks, then lowering your heels gently to the floor.
HEMLINES ARE ON THE RISE – HERE’S OUR PICK
Wool, £68, boden.co.uk
Suede, £19.99, mango.com
Slits, £69.95, massimodutti. com
Button up, £89, whistles.com
Pleated, £79, cos.com
Bouclé, £85, stories.com
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