Journalists Accidentally Confuse A 63-Year-Old Teacher With A Fashion Icon And It Ends Up Changing Her Life
3.1Mviews
When Fordham University professor Lyn Slater went to meet a friend for lunch outside the Lincoln Center during New York Fashion Week, she had no idea her life was about to be forever changed. Foreign journalists suddenly surrounded her, mistaking her for a fashion icon and attracting a crowd of spectators. It was a defining moment that turned Lyn into an Accidental Icon – and made her personal style blog of the same name shoot to the skies.
At 63 years old, Lyn Slater is not exactly a typical haute couture model, but that’s part of her style icon appeal. She decries age-based discrimination in both the fashion trends and in everyday life, including the tired notion of ‘dressing for one’s age.’ “I think, if you are comfortable in what you’re wearing, no matter how old you are and you’re owning it, you’re going to look completely fine,” Slater told Refinery29 in a 2016 interview. She is currently signed to Elite London, the world’s leading modeling company, and has worked as a fashion model with brands such as Mango and Uniqlo.
Lyn is admirable not only for her unstoppable attitude, but for her edgy and decidedly fashionable style, and her Instagram page now boasts over 132 thousand followers. A happy accident, indeed!
More info: Accidental Icon, Instagram (h/t: DYT | Bright Side)
Meet 63-year-old Lyn Slater, who has, until recently, been an ordinary professor at Fordham University
One day she went to meet a friend for lunch outside the Lincoln Center during New York Fashion Week
Foreign journalists suddenly surrounded her, mistaking her for a fashion icon and attracting spectators
It was a defining moment that turned Lyn into an Accidental Icon
Her blog of the same name, inspired by the experience, soon began making international waves
She is now a public voice against ageism in the fashion industry and the world
“Fashion and my style help me struggle against that invisibility that comes with age,” Lyn told Bright Side
She was once asked by Refinery29 about the old notion of ‘dressing for one’s age,’ and her response was clear
“…We use language to control people’s behavior… This phrase is a way of putting older women in their place”
“I’m certain that if you feel comfortable in your own clothes, it’s completely irrelevant how old you are”
Lyn is now signed with Elite, the world’s leading modeling agency, and is working with several brands
We love this lady’s edgy style and fearless attitude. Tell us what you think below!
3.1Mviews
Share on Facebook
Really Bored Panda? "Just an ordinary professor"? As if that's not an accomplishment in itself!
Am thinking the same :). Thumbs up for the stance against ageism, but this glorification of the transition from "ordinary" UNIVERSITY professor to model doesn't sit well with me - and I'm surprised it does with BP :(
You're right, ordinary is an unfortunate word choice, but this is that bit of sensational verbiage that journalists indulge in.
"Just" is the unfortunate word imo.
That is my sentiment exactly! As Lyn says, "We use language to control people's behaviour." Otherwise love the article.
I'm just wondering...is it possible that they used that term simply to distinguish between varius 'grades' (e.g. Professor ordinarius/ extraordinarius/emeritus etc.)??
Cool story but "just an ordinary professor" stuck in my craw, too.
That's what I say! That's a huge accomplishment!
My first thought as well...
@moto hdj
There's nothing ordinary about being a university professor. ☺
True 😎👍
I understand that what I'm going to say is not the point of this article, neither of her words. I also agree that one should be able to wear whatever s/he wants too. However, I still do see her as "dresses for her age". How so? Because this kind of elegance with a pinch of extravagance is universal for every adult woman who can afford to dress up.
That's why she looks so stylish!
agreed, I'm 51 and when I'm 63 I doubt I'll dress my age. But it will be t-shirts & jeans, maybe a bandana sometime, cause I'm an old metalhead and I'm poor.
not a fan of that style for any age - i can afford it but it's boring - i can't get over the age appropriate label still being used even after her article
I agree 100%. The fabrics, tailoring, all of it is extremely age appropriate.
age appropriate is what shes speaking against - why has her age got anything to do with what she wears - you've just turned her message around from wear what you like to make sure you dress for your age
I totally agree that whatever makes you look elegant and styling is age-appropriate. But the phrase "dress for your age" conjures up a stereotype. Two years ago, at 69, I went to oening night at live theater and a mid-sized city. One of the ushers said, "Wow! You look fabulous! Are you somebody special?" To which I replied, "Yes. Aren't we all?"
A big factor in the question of "dressing for your age" is that teens and 20-somethings can wear trendy clothing without other people jumping to conclusions based on their current outfit. If a 25-year-old wears artfully ripped jeans, she has no reason to worry that she'll be perceived as ratty, poor, and unfashionable. If she wears loose, hippie-style dresses, she doesn't have to worry that anyone who sees her will assume she's a vegan artist who ONLY wears clothes like that. Older women don't have that luxury, so they usually just choose a pigeon-hole they're comfortable with. The odds are of your average 60+ woman feeling comfortable wearing that floor-length, billowy pink floral dress AND wearing fitted black leather jackets/tops are incredibly slim. But both are fashionable, and there's no reason for them to be mutually exclusive.
I'm not certain the affording it bit is really fitting though; I'm impressed by her courage, but many of those clothes could be found in thrift stores. I have a lovely blouse of the same style of that one with long flowing sleeves. I found it for less than 2 bucks, and have only worn it once. I love it, with it's full on flowery flow I felt to, ah, conspicuous. Seeing her however, is about to change my mind.
Completely agree that she can only dress this way due to a lot of money in her pocket.
She own the clothes, she wears them, she is dressing her age. I can only aspire to do the same
It's available to anyone who actually has a sense of style. Much can be found in thrift stores, including knock-offs.
what about the leather dress? I don't see my grandma wearing any of this and in the past we certainly wouldn't see a model in a magazine at this age, or dressed like this for her age.
I'm 68 and would certainly wear it!
Agreed. I rarely see women her age wearing leather dresses or rocking eccentric hair styles in Midwestern USA. Of course, there are exceptions of every rule and styles vary from region to region.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
similarly as Brandon addressed I didnt realize that somebody can make $7043 in fourteen days on the PC . look at the post right here........../ www.99homejobs . c o mᴵᴵᴵᴵᴵᴵᴵᴵᴵᴵ
I'm blown away right now. Lyn was my grad school professor at Fordham 10 years ago and I had no idea she was this fierce. She looks amazing, but more importantly, she's also whip-smart and a great educator!
How dare you call this woman ordinary.. fuck the hierarchy
"Just ordinary " - even worse
Fuck the fashion folks. Women can wear and should wear their own style and trends. Amen to over 25. I agree with the professor. i still wear leather and I am merely 70.
How come the title talks about her being a teacher? She's a professor at a university!!! Kind of downgrading her accomplishments here
I'm a teacher, and being a professor isn't much better than me. She teaches adults, and I teach the ones that grow up to be her students... :/ Don't take away my accomplishments either...
I differentiate, not because of a gap in importance/impact of the job, but because becoming a professor at university requires you to do a PhD + more shit, which is not necessary if you're a school teacher. So yes, that does make a difference to me.
Lucky you..I was seen as 3rd class as a woman Soldier. Suck it up, Buttercup. Be proud of whoever you are and don't count the status the world gives you or you will go nuts. You are woman, just roar and be #1. The Professor is not counting and look at her. WOW
You know this is wrong, she has had much more education than you! Has devoted much more time and energy than you! Big deal you're a teacher, so am I and I do acknowledge her accomplishment!
Professor's don't teach? Huh. I learn something new everyday (but not from a professor, obviously, since they don't teach).
Good for her!! But really WHY do we pay more attention to her fashion than her being a Professor?!! No wonder Women are second class citizens - We are TRAPPED by the BEAUTY INDUSTRY!!
It's all about vanity isn't it :(
"Mistaken for a fashion idol"? She IS a fashion icon.
She is now. Maybe then wasn't.
"She was just blah, a boring professor, but finally someone discovered that she also dresses well! Yeah, now she's worth something!"
Funny!
I'm more impressed that she's a scholar and professor at Fordham. I think her fashion sense is delightful but, perhaps, on occasion tries a little too hard.
She looks GORGEOUS! <3
nothing about being a professor at Fordham university is "ordinary"...someone please slap the writer of this article....Nothing is "ordinary" about being 63 and a professor...being a "model" does not make you "extra" ordinary....if she never graced a magazine in cool hip clothes...she would still yet be EXTRAORDINARY for being a mother, grandmother and professor....I think its great to try to abolish AGEISM just be careful how you drive this article with Pathos and Fallacies on how to arrive at the eradication of Ageism...Eradication of Ageism is not through the methods of wearing fashionable clothes or magazine spreads(not all can do this)....Eradication of Ageism is changing the narrative on how we view older individuals and what they have to offer beyond the assimilation of looking younger, hip and being a model...ijs
Yes, being a Fordham Professor is profound!
Okay, what about large older women? They are much more invisible than these slender ones that get all the attention!
I agree with Sarah -- that's a great idea for a blog. There aren't many plus-sized fashion ones geared towards young women, let alone older ones, yet the few that exist are very popular. The fashion world treats us like so much garbage, but for some of us, that's actually made us unusually determined and skilled when it comes to developing great personal style.
That sounds like a niche that's ready to be filled!
Someone should start a blog...
As the Baby Boomer age, they will bring style and chic with them. They have numbers and buying power. ;D
Spot on comments! I certainly hope the fashion industry agrees - close to her age, I find much of fashion today a challenge and I am very fit, have a doctorate as well, and funds to procure attractive clothes.
I can't afford to dress like this, but people comment on my style. Being an old babe doesn't mean you have to dress like a soccer granny.
What I want to know is, what fashion icon did they think she was????
lol
Me too!
I'm thinking Iris Apfel if she had the round glasses on- but shes in her 90's.
I'm guessing Vivienne Westwood......looks a lot like her x
GREAT 💋❤️😍😘
I like her!
Lyn Slater has dedicated her professional life to improving how children and their families are treated under the law, and now she shares that hard-earned, on-the-ground experience to develop interdisciplinary teams uniting social and the law at one of the top schools in New York. She also happens to have an awesome sense of style.
she dresses waaay better than me and I'm 14. Where do you get this magic called "style" and or "sense of fashion"?
I think this is awesome!!!!!!!! Age is just a number!!
63? she looks more like 73 to me
Please do go on- what is a 63 year old supposed to look like? If I have the wrong number of wrinkles when I'm 63, is it ok for me to dress stylishly or not?
Why? Because she hasn't had a facelift or a bunch of needles stuck in her face? She is absolutely gorgeous, and looks much better than most people I've met in her sixties, you can tell she takes good care of herself.
Thank you! She definitely looks rough for 63. Side note: My mother likes to tell people she's 10 years older than she is so they can marvel at how young she looks
Dressing inappropriately for your age is only a valid concern if you are 5'9" and trying to fit into an infant's onesie.
While I love, love, LOVE her boldness and her style, there is nothing "ordinary" about this woman. Starting with her genes -- they are the luck of the draw, but hers are exemplary. Then there's her education -- that takes smarts (again, luck of the draw) and determination. No, there's nothing "ordinary" about her.
LOVE this woman and the article! I am 68, have a replaced hip, rod in my leg, screws in my toe and three tooth implants AND I hiked 3 miles yesterday with flambuoyance on my body including a hat with many feathers in it I decorated! I wear glitter every day, find dressing myself creatively is enlivening and have a fun way to respond to those who think I do not 'dress my age.' I simply say, "Thank you! I don't feel an age. I just feel like I always have!" I blog on AWESOME AGING for newspapers in in southern Oregon, am the winged fairy in Ashland's notorious parades, wear costumes when teaching children self-help skills with fun dramatics and love being called Grandma Boom! www.grandmaboom.com I promise I'll be very alive the day I die! #lovinlifeisgreat@68 20170307_1...060627.jpg
Its all in the shades that she is wearing, all in the shades
Look at the Idiosyncratic Fashionistas who also dress couture, and they are ordinary people. Just because it's couture and on the edge of fashion does not mean they pay full price. These women not only have an artistic, edgy, fearless sense of style, they are savvy shoppers who accumulate quality pieces over the years. They know couture names past and present, have probably read Vogue for decades, and their maturity and life experiences add to the richness of their fashion expression. No designers or brands are scouting college professors to model their clothes, but her style is so on point that she was assumed to be a fashion elite. And now she is.
All ages have their beauty as do all sizes. Let us just enjoy our lives and lift each other up. 2 thumbs up!!!
Ok. I mean.... this is awesome that she is a model for anti-ageism. It is wonderful that this woman is expressing herself in a new outlet and being recognized for it... But, "she was just an ordinary university professor" ? What? No. What did she teach? This is part of what makes this woman awesome, too. Downplaying her intellectual side because omg now she gets to be a model is such the wrong angle for this article..
Not all of those fashion choices are my taste nor do they look particularly flattering on her but she is a stunning woman.
Love her - love the pink dress more...but love her
she is getting well paid even after her retirement I guess!
I want grandmother like her! so cool.
Where do I get those white sandles in the last photo - I think at `almost` 73 I can rock them AND some of the other clothes as well - Loving the black pants with the white laces too 💕
She's beautiful!!! My grandmother looked like her, and was edgy too.
Dressing her age isn't the problem. Her problem is that a few--A VERY FEW--pieces of her wardrobe are butt-ugly and should be burned immediately.
She is beautiful, accomplished, has her own style. The only thing wrong is the article about her. Ordinary professor and now she is somehow more than she was before since fashion "discovered" her. Come on. Now she is just making more money, but it looks to me she has always been a style icon.
I love her style and she looks amazing, but i'm concerned that she's only newsworthy now that she's a model and successful because she has instagram followers as opposed to when she was working as a professor....this article in itself just set equality back by about 20 years and keeps encouraging the vacuous life of selfies and seeking likes...sigh
I think her style is amazing...but it concerns me that she is more newsworthy & seen as more successful & important to write about now that she is a model & has instagram followers as opposed to when she was working as a professor. sign...this article in itself has set back equality by another 50 years....
She sounds like an AMAZING woman before and after the camera found her. An inspiration.
Luv it
I love everything about her style. She is unique and owns it
LOVE her..I'm in that age group as well..and I will never dress a certain age..she has Beauty,Class and great STYLE..a real icon!!!!!!!
You see, we are all prisoners of our culture. Two steps forward and one back is better than the opposite.
One needs a university professor's income to be able to afford such nice styled outfits.
She looks great, but much older than 63.
63? Only? She looks much older.
She is fabulous. Doesn't hurt being tall and thin to carry off the styles pictured. I love love love the pants with the bows all up the sides. Very cool.
I happen to believe that being a university professor is far more remarkable and admirable than being a fashion model. This article illustrates how the media still values women more for their appearance than anything else. A step backwards.
Sorry, but I sthink being a university professor is far more remarkable than being a model! The media is still valuing women more for their appearance apparently.
Sweg
I think she is awesome, beautiful and daring. But i kind of like being invisible. Especially when I hear what my daughter goes through with guys harassing her on the street.
she has good sense of style and deserves it, but being a University Professor is an accomplishment on it's own.
10k thumbs up
Well done her, they say you shouldn't wear jeans after the age of 50, I'm 67 and I live in jeans !!
I'm 67 and I wear what I WANT as well! I am a Latina-American. I dress in anything from Mexican inspired to Bohemian, to American Hippie. I live in California, so shorts and a T are a mainstay. My motto has always been, Age is an Attitude! Plus, I always get complimented on my specs (funky but classy eyewear) and the hot pink and raspberry stripes in my snow white hair! Love it!!!!
I'm torn about this article although I love this lady and what she has to say. I have a lot of respect for her and what she's doing however; I find the fashion company to be the ones we should thank for this. It's about time someone put an older woman on the runway and into magazine ads. It's a huge market. I think she does have a unique style but it's not necessarily a 'young' style so I wouldn't say she isn't 'dressing her age'. What I do think is that she has the perfect fashion model body and great hair. That helps. She's a lucky woman and obviously very intelligent which makes her a wonderful role model for other older women. I'm 40 myself and I still need people older than myself to look up to. I aspire to be like her when I get to that point where I'm successful enough to buy clothes from somewhere other than discount stores!
She use fashion to fight against the INVISIBILITY THAT COMES WITH AGE. When we get old, society thinks we've outlived our purpose and we're not viewed as important, sexy or trendy. She's still getting a fight now, most people don't think she should be in the industry at all. It's a club for young people with tight, hot bodies, etc. She's doing her part in trying to break down the myths and that's a good thing. But in this society? NO!
This woman looks great!! Love her attitude and I want to go shopping with her!!
So I have been getting replies from my post on this page bet cannot access them ------ ergh!
I have a friend, Lynda Barber who is exactly the same. Being skinny helps.
Let me give a piece of advice: take journalism 101.
She is a lady with balls and works as a high end conversation piece. I don't see a whole lot more to this than that. Novelty. Don't quit your day job lady. It is actually a very good one and reflects intelligence. Fun to see though.
She looks fabulous...the greatest part of it is how she carries herself....wish more people did...they'd be happier....thanks....
Good for her. She is representing women all over the world and signafing older women are not over the hill at all! Yeah
I want to become her when I grow up!
RIGHT ON SISTA!!
RIGHT ON SISTA!!
kudos to her; a very great academic accomplishment and some style and creativity mixed in with it. Although a great many professors out there are as unencumbered by traditional dressing as she is.
Lyn is amazing in so many ways. She certainly isn't 'ordinary'. And age is merely a number, not a state of mind.
WOW! I love her style! I love all her clothes :D
cool lady
Fabulous! More women should have the confidence to do exactly the same.
What vervelende said!! "Ordinary professor at Fordham?!" Do you have any idea what that takes, esp. for a woman of my generation (i'm 61)? Good for her to say fuck you to words that limit women, period!!!
Maybe it's because I just rewatched the series, but it looks like Patsy and Eddy's styles combined!
She Killed it... Like she had been doing all along. "just in a different profession...
amazing..good for her and every other women who struts her pride, attitude and confidence!...i wish i had her clothes!
Fashion is outdated and boring, but this lovely lady is stunning in anything she wears!
Way to go. Always think young at heart no matter what age you are. I am also in my 60's and I never think of what an older person should wear. I was a model and I stand against ageism.
She's a stunning, accomplished woman. Far from ordinary.
She is my new SHERO! She shows one can be "of a certain age" and still be beautiful, funky and highly intelligent!! Love her!
BAD ASS!! You GO Madam Slater!!...Nothing is "ordinary" about you!!
you GO,girl!! <3
you GO,girl!!
She's fabulous
She's fabulous
She is really cool!
Love how on the last page the first photo that they've used mixed sized models and not just one and they're all beautiful
This is awesome. Life truly begins at 40. This is the same premise behind the new video for the hit U.K. song entitled How Do You Do. The video features an almost entire cast of 40+ grown and sexy adults. Watch here:https://youtu.be/fjdb3LOyecE
Wow!! Her fashion sense is strong yet extraordinary!!! Impressive!!
OMG I LOVE HER!!!
Fantastic! Why should we let other people dictate what we should be wearing! She looks edgy, fun and very glamorous I wish I had the money to be able to dress well. Good on you lady have fun youlook blinking marvlous xxx
Love the way she looks, good for her. But have to say that had I dressed like that when I was teaching at university I would have got tangled up in the media equipment or fallen down the stairs. Would have had the students' attention though.
I think there is effectively a trend to not notice aged people but a scar makes it obsessional. Are we going to live to shaow the others that we struggle invisibility by making ourselves enormously (and sometimes ridiculously) visible or are we just going to live our lives being comfortable anf free to wear the clothes we like, sayinf the words we love, doing gestures we care for, and accomplisging our dreams no mater what the others oppinion?
I'm 80 years old and since I am a cat person 95% of my clothes are printed with cats. On a cat forum I read the next: I don't know how to act my age, I've never had that age before. That sentence I us when someone says something about it.
I like how this article said the same things over and over yet said nothing. If you are going to claim she was mistaken for a fashion icon several times, how about saying who it was at least once.
The way she dresses is stunning. Other than that she looks no different from any other grandmother.
She may be a sassy granny with her haute couture, but model I don't think so. She has one expression...she looks pissed off in all of these photos.
If she were ordinary she wouldn't be where she is and who she is.
I probably wouldn't wear what she is wearing, just cos it's not my style, but I do love her attitude, and I certainly agree with her statement “Fashion and my style help me struggle against that invisibility that comes with age,” We do, probably men too, become invisible with age. Grace and Frankie has addressed this as well. Well maybe there are more oldies who will be more vocal, in one way or another, as there are more and more of us and we won't be as invisible as our grandparents were
"As soon as you're interested in what is good taste, then you're in bad taste land already. What's comfortable and what represents your life-what's unique and individual about you-that's style." -Jeff Goldblum
"Ordinary Professor?" What sort of professor? What are her specialties? I love when she wears her hair up!
Love her on every level!
Amazing in so many ways...
wheres the pictures they took that day of her?
Holy shit she looks amazing! I literally gasped at the second picture!
Absolutely Fabulous!
love it!
She's a babe fur sure!
I hope those were not her clothes as I think they looked very silly on her. I adore individuals = ADVANCED STYLE by Ari Seth Cohen= but I fail to see her appeal. She has great hair however.
She's smashing! I agree with her philosophy re age and dressing. She has two careers/ major accomplishments. So good for her.
I think she's fabulous! She's beautiful,stylish,no wonder you took her for a Fashion Icon!!
Isn't this just a continuation of objectification? They choose a skinny physically attractive female because it might make them some money. They would not discuss this with a slightly overweight 60 year old bloke, because they continue to pursue a particular stereotype.
Like to see someone say the same thing about a slightly overweight 60 year old bloke wearing young bloke's clothes... Further. Some of us like to be invisible.
Go Lyn go, you have it and they don'!. I love almost every single shot, elegantly dressed worn with pride and grace, and you get paid for this, wonderful! Keep on trucking !!!!!!!!
I love her style
wpw/// I adore her...love her style
Lyn is flipping amazing! I must admit I now have my hair styled to mimic hers (I am stepping on 61 years old) - and I have dressed, danced and beat to my own drum for my whole life! Seeing Lyn out there doing her own thing is wonderfully inspirational for women of all ages! Brava!
AND she is brilliant, accomplished and out there teaching!
simply amazing....
LOVE!!!
While I LOVE what she does with fashion and with her hair and glasses ... there's nothing "ordinary" about this woman. Starting from her genes -- she's extremely lucky. By her education, she is both smart and very determined. None of those three attributes are "ordinary".
LOVE this lady! ABSOLUTELY! She is a radiant beautiful life force... LOVE her style and essence! What a FANTASTIC ROLE MODEL for all!
It's not just the style, it's the attitude. She's fantastic!
Nothing ordinary about being a professor! And nothing ordinary about her!! I love this woman, more people should be like her!
I like her and her look. I don't care what age she is.
She is effin... KILLIN IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She reminds me of baddie winkle from Instagram.
At least give her a push up...
At least give her a push up...
I vote for her as the next Dr. Who.
She is a professor, that means she is probably extremely bright and by her statements she proves that, but she is also profoundly fashionable, where it took foreigners to recognize a person's ability to cross perceived boundaries, which speaks to America's prejudices. We have our culturally and creatively inept, the whole slew of homophobic, puritanical, racist, constitutionally-and-Declaration-of-Independence-challenged and we have someone, who is also confronting one of the many threatened protected classes. Not only is she a professor and model, but she is an American true to the bone.
Age 63? Holy Shit, that’s just 8 years ahead of me! 8-O
I noticed she was "stylin'" Trump's mother's hairdo!! CoPm9WWWEA...7e3d3e.jpg
I noticed she was "wearing" Trump's mother's hairdo!!
Woow i love her!
Love this - thank you for this - it helps others of us who do think we need to wear our age. Kudos for being a role model to us middle and older age women!
I love it! Like I always say.... You wear the clothes the clothes don't wear you. It's all about attitude and confidence!
Lyn is a shining example for all of us middle age-ist women to aspire to. We do not have to graduate to the stretch pants and moomoo tops.
Beautiful style, lovely lady. AGELESS XOX
I wouldn't say they confused her with a fashion icon. I would say she was a fashion icon waiting to be discovered.
Love this! Be the best YOU, YOU can be! One of a kind ,no one like you ever!
That's incredible! "Go head with your bad self "❤💋
nice pics.
ALL SUPER..THANK YOU VERY MUCH....
I'd say being a Professor is a lot harder than a fashion blogger so you should delete the word 'ordinary' from your post.
She IS dressing her age. I see no short skirts, unnecessary amounts of book, ridiculously high heels or hidden hair colour. Blinkin' good for her I say!
Love it.
cool
She is just great. I feel inspired by her.
Yebbut she's wearing those ridiculous factory-ripped jeans, so that's the end of fashion icon status in my book. Every chav on the underground is going about in those. Why not just add a Burberry baseball cap?
Woman looks AMAZING. Inspiration...
I totally believe dress like you feel. Yes it does help you feel young, but it helps the young except who you are. She stands out because she embraces her sexuality and not her age. Bright minds don't age.
heads up to all the future lady be who you are. Learnt from her and transcend your unique styles not a slave to fashion but let fashion be your slave.
Owning it! What a sexy woman.
Love it!!!!
I have two girlfriends in that stream, both are lovely and lively fashion fish. One 49, one 64 tell me which is which? LOL
If only I was skinny and wealthy.
Devil wears prada
Beautiful!!! I love it all! Good for her!
Inspirational!!!!
if she's 63, I'm looking like 20, looks more like in her 70's
Relevance?
LOVE this woman and the article! Bravo! I am 68, bionic with replaced hip, rod in leg, screws in a toe and three tooth implants and I hiked 3 miles yesterday plus enjoy swimming 20 laps at a time. I wear hats with lots of feathers, am the winged fairy in Ashland, Oregon's parades, have worn glitter every day for over 15 years, and love flambuoyance. I cannot afford the extravagant outfits seen in this article so I get very creative and have fun dressing every single day! When others suggest I am not dressing my age I simply say, 'thank you' and 'I don't feel any age - just feel like I always have.' Someone once told me she thought it was our responsibility to decorate the world. I figure why wait for Xmas! I can decorate me every day and it keeps me more alive to use that creativity and feel my spirit rise and shine. My work for children inspires me to be a vibrant role model at 68, dressing in costumes teaching self-help skills. Janai Mestrovich aka Grandma Boom www.grandmaboom.com 20170307_1...529a45.jpg
You should post yourself so we can know more about you. Congrats your gorgeous.
I want to be like her when i grow up
I think it's fantastic! Good for you …good for her! What is wrong with people in this world? Waaaay too much negativity and judgement. If it was any one of you…you wouldn't complain…..imho….
Totally dig this woman's style- as an over 50 artist with turquoise hair I absolutely agree that style is ageless & smart woman rule!
I want to be her when I grow up. :)
NO professor is ever ordinary, puhleez!
Sign me up...I'm 59 and was just an ordinary nurse.
Goes to show, that models are ordinary ppl too! It's aaaall in the mind and attitude towards life!
It's the shoes! I can wear a t-shirt and Bermuda shorts, but with a pair of funky, cool shoes, you have a statement! Why don't they focus more on older women of size? I've seen quite a few quirky fashionable big women here in L.A. Size discrimination still exists.
I LOVE it because I'm older it's wonderful and she looks with It come puck some more out there, good for yall.
She slayed it😊! Cheers to you model professor👒👢👚💼🍸
I think she is AMAZING! Love her!
Sorry for being dense, but exactly which 'fashion icon' was she mistaken for...?
I think she's beautiful and gorgeous, but the fact that most of the comments are saying she didn't dress like this when she was 'discovered' are probably right on. This is a photo shoot for the article. However, she was wearing something that day, and carrying herself rather well also, to be noticed as a possible fashion icon. I give it to her. I think she's completely awesome! :)
I want to grow up to be her....
absolutely, adorably love this article and she is the coolest chick ever. good to see ageless and making 60 and beyond much more interesting. is she her own stylist. I love the opposites attract dressing. sleek and strategically disheveled. Bring on the 60.
Love this woman and her style! She is right on target with wearing what you like when you like!!
Classy ladie, her portrait on the first picture depicts her natural beauty.
My new hero! I love that she is unapologetically her. We live in a society that thinks younger is better, this woman blows that idea out of the water.
I think this is just great and also that she had the guts to turn this into something so unusual for her age. I am a bit older and also do something in films, commercials and for TV and am proud of being able to do this.
I think she's FAB-U-LOUS!
I am thinking Sexy sensual incredible Andy Warhol Woodstock fashionista. Keep bringing it Lady.
this is wonderful...I refuse to age gracefully...I will fight it every step of the way.!! I do not want to wear "granny" clothes! She is edgier that I will ever be, but good for her!!
Professor: yes. Ordinary: NEVER!!
What the article meant by "Ordinary professor" wasn't an insult people, it was a statement of popularity. Not too many people know the name of a university professor unless they were in their class, and half of those people forget them anyway. Her job is majorly important, but NOW SO MANY MORE PEOPLE KNOW WHO SHE IS and instead of just TEACHING young adults university information, she's teaching the WORLD that you can be closing in at a century and still be the most beautiful person in the room and rock some beastly outfits.
Bullshit!
At age 63, she is hardly closing in on a century...
Great attitude! Now try being old AND disabled. Talk about invisibility.
professor of what? just curious
Love the brown 1930s inspired specs (spectacles, eye glasses) in pictures 3 and 4. Anyone know the brand or where/ how to get them? Thanks!
Bored Panda, just put everything in one page!!
She looks AMAZING!!!! I love her style!
i would hope she is a university professor first. and thank goodness they didn't run across a non-skinny 63 year old dressed fashionably. (no offense, professor!)
I was thinking this same thing....
I think she's fucking rad and this amost 50 year old broad says "suck it ageism" while wearing pig tails in my hair and Chuck Taylors on my feet!
Who would've thought I'd find a new role model at "my age."
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Lyn's attitude! This is something we should all strive for! To feel young and vibrant at all ages!
Are these model pictures or her daily wardrobe? She looks stunning!
She is so beautiful! ^_^ Aaaand being a professor isn't ordinary at all! :)
She is so beautiful! ^_^
Just unique. X
I absolutely love this as people should get whatever fashion no matter how old
You go, rock the cat walk..magazines...ect
She is simply fabulous. :)
there's hope 4 moi yet!
Love her!
She could be Tilda Swintons mother.
Right on, Lyn!
I'm in love with her style! She's my kind of person! <3
She is true to herself.
Perhaps it's her dressing but she reminds me somewhat of Edna Mole from the Incredibles
She does look fantastic! And definitely nothing of the "Ordinary" sense at all. Having said that, I do feel though, that some of the clothing that has been selected for her could be a little more class and less brass ... not trying to defeat anyone's age appropriate comments! I consider myself to be quite a stylish trendsetter and don't I don't think I would allow my age to defy how I feel. All I'm simply stating is tone it down just a little!
I'm sure that the company that discovered her is supplying all her clothes and I think she looks AWESOME!!! and I think it's wonderful she was discovered..I just HOPE and PRAY as a PROFESSOR teaching our next generation SHE WASN'T A LIBERAL!!! :)
Personally, I think she looks as bit ludicrous. There is something refined and dignified about dressing for one's age---oh not in the old fashioned way, as matters were when 'I' was young but one degrades oneself donning teeny-bopper outfits in one's sixties or seventies. I do not think older people get enough respect in our youth oriented culture, so that trying to dress 40 years younger than one's age only worsens matters.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
haha cool. I don't really agree that invisibility comes with age. Why would that be the case? It's your decision if you want to take more or less part in society. If you stay at home yes. If you go do stuff with friends or join a club how are you insivible? And everyone I know will think she's awesome for doing what she enjoys.
I've heard many women day they've felt invisible as they got older, as they are perceived as less attractive and relevant than younger women. It can be as simple as not being given the attention they used to be when shopping; not being treated as a priority. I haven't noticed it myself, but my features aren't consistent with what society deems attractive, so it might be a case of "you can't miss what you've never had" for me! ;)
Captain Planet, I don't know how you got the impression "it's only about msle attention" - I didn't even mention men! I mean society's general response to people deemed attractive. Young women are more likely to be used in advertisements for products and services that are not age-specific. They are often viewed as more desirable consumers, hence the lack of attention in stores that I referred to. Men, seeing you bring them up, are by conparison still considered attractive as they age. Older men have a huge public presence in thst they tend to dominate senior public roles. They are also considered more physically attractive, hence the term 'silver fox.'
I think there is a misunderstanding then if it's only about "male" attention. I thought/asumed it was about general attention/loneleyness/social isolation. Offcourse there will be less attention for women if women are getting less attractive due to one reason or the other. This is what nature is all about. All animals try to get the best mate for the best offspring results. Will we also get boredpanda posts of women in their prime getting "too much" attention? I think not. Also what about guys/women who never got much attention in their entire life because they were not born that attractive. Will they also get a boredpanda post? I think the only people whining are the ones that "lost" something and are sour about it and wish to regain it using other methods. Well that's fine. But in no way are they people to feel sorry for imo. If you want to feel sorry for people not getting enough attention feel sorry for all people who are not getting attention. This is cherry picking.
Are you a woman over a 'certain age'? If answer is no, perhaps talk to some or do some research before assuming this one is making it up.