There was a big hoo-hah on Twitter the other day when someone posted the selfies Vera Wang has been posting to her Instagram and everyone suddenly remembered she was 70, about to be 71. The photos that sent the public into the stratosphere were these:
Fact Check: Truth https://t.co/pN37eSfeqc
— Vera Wang (@VeraWang) May 7, 2020
You know I loathe putting a person’s appearance in context of their age, so I’ll simply say that Vera looks great. Period. But many of those commenting on this wanted to know where she’d found the fountain of youth and any other secrets Vera had for looking fab. And Vera felt generous enough to disclose them, one of which is found at the bottom of a bottle of vodka.
The esteemed designer, best known for her bridal gowns, has been wowing fans with the Instagram snaps she’s posted of herself from the Miami home where she’s spending lockdown.
Wang has been posing up a storm over the past few weeks, donning crop tops, shorts, and beautiful dresses while working from home.
But while fans love her designs, one thing many can’t seem to get over is her appearance.
“I need my stomach to be like yours. What’s your routine?” asked a woman named Rosalee.
To which Wang replied: “Work, sleep, a vodka cocktail, not much sun.”
Emily at DListed reminded us that Vera is a very successful designer and has been for decades. She has the resources to maintain a skin routine that most can’t. However, I’m reading Vera’s response to mean: don’t over think it. Stress is the biggest ager out there, whether physically, health-wise or mentally. If someone is killing themselves trying not to age or gain weight or whatever, it might do as much damage as time, maybe more. So indulge a little in the areas that bring you joy, and that joy will show on you.
Or maybe she’s being literal – work could keep someone young, I guess. It certainly exercises the mind. Sleep is a given. For me, if I can actually sleep away my dark circles instead of having to hide them under concealer, it makes a world of difference. As for the sun, I love getting my vitamin D and I was lousy about sunscreen most of my life, one look at my chest and arms will tell you that. So I’ve switched my skin routine to include a face cream with SPF and am accumulating an extensive large-brimmed hat collection. As for the vodka cocktail, I sure wish I’d heard this when I was bartending. I would’ve slapped a photo of Vera and this quote behind the bar and made a killing.
Photo credit: Instagram and Twitter
It’s genetics. I wish people would just accept that. 80% genetics, 20% lifestyle. My mom’s half of the family has always looked 20 years younger than they are. My aunt who married in also looks at most mid-50 but will actually be 77 this summer. My mother smoked for 25 years and never took care of her skin at all. Looks great.
I’m super diligent with my skincare and have, at 36, no lines yet. I’m not fooling myself into thinking it’s mostly that. It’s genetics and oily skin and yes, retinol and sunscreen. No ciggies.
But yeah, Vera looks amazing.
This.
I have been having a baby face until 34/35 now 39 I look like an adult woman but not remotely near around 40’s.
I unfortunately have like… combo / dehydrated but still oily skin haha. But the genetics is the key. I’m a vampire about the sun, I don’t smoke, drink only very moderately. But I’ve had a line between my brow since I was about 20, 22. I found a photo of my grandfather during WW2 – he’d have been in his mid 20s. Same exact line. We both also had the tendency to frown when concentrating – I try to catch myself now, but it’s hard to train yourself out of things like that.
Other than the eyebrow area, I don’t see much difference in my face yet, but I’m only turning 30 this month. I know some people I went to school with look much older – they just have partied really hard. I figure I’m about the ‘average’ as far as aging is going to go. My family looks a little younger than they are, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to cling to that for a bit. But at the same time, part of me doesn’t care either way? It’s a weird thing.
This does remind me that I wanted to pick up some retinol, though.
Dehydrated oily skin is a b*tch. I’m leaning into the shine these days, who cares. Dehydration is just too uncomfortable and I’ll be a little shiny no matter what so I might as well hydrate the crap out of it. But nothing makes the difference that retinol does.
Im exactly the same when I turner 35 and my line become more prominent I got botox between the eyebrows – I still frowned when concentrating but without making that wrinkle deeper.
My dermatologist told me it’s ok to prevent it getting in stage I will look like Gordon Ramsay.
I do get it only 2x a year tho.And works wonders for me.
exactly. agreed. a lot of it is genetics. i’m sure she’s had some help but a lot of it is hereditary. my parents both passed it down to me. they have oilier skin and that often helps to prevent wrinkles. my mom still has thick hair. my dad has always had high metabolism. i’m in my 40s and people think i’m in my 30s. and i’ve done nothing whatsoever to my face or my body. i don’t even have facials. good advice i got long ago, use a washcloth morning and night to exfoliate.
Yeah, it’s genetics. The women in my family all start getting pronounced jowls in middle age no matter how skinny they are. If we look at old family photos, we can see that even my great great grandmother had the same exact jowl line. Resigned myself to my fate.
As someone who has the type of skin that is more prone to sagging than some (according to my dermatologist) I think we need to come up with a new word for jowls. Maybe that will help. 🙂
@Esmom: How about lovechops?
Jaded, lol!
I agree, Emmy. I’m lucky to have good genes, and I hate being in the sun, so that’s never been a problem. Most people think I’m way younger than I am, which is nothing, compared to my lovely ex-brother-in-law. He’s Lao, and looks 30 years younger than his actual age. He hit the genetic jackpot.
This exactly. It is indeed just the luck of the draw for the most part. My mom is going to be 75 next month and she could pass for 15 years younger (though she does enjoy sitting out in the sun a bit too much, her neck / décolleté are starting to show it). I am in my early 40’s and generally also get taken for about 10 years younger, and I know it’s mostly just genetics…I do enjoy teasing my younger brother that he looks like the older sibling hahaha.
That said, I try to do what I can to maintain decent skin – I’ve never smoked, try to limit sun exposure, I drink water, get a good amount of sleep, and so on.
I look OK for 50, but I “look” 50. I have taken care of my skin, but everything underneath is going south. There’s only so much that Botox can do for me, so I’m saving up for a necklift some day.
And, yes, VW looks amazing for her age.
You know who “looks her age” ? Ines de la Fressange. And she looks AMAZING. Granted, she was a model but she didn’t mess with her face and she doesn’t look 40 and she’s beautiful. It’s probably also just attitude. I think looking younger doesn’t mean looking better.
I’m ready for a celebrity to say, “Y’know what? I’m just really lucky in the genes department.”
Exactly. I take after my father’s family, and the way we all seem to age is: we look fabulously younger than our real age until 40 and then bam…downhill. My dad and his sisters. His mother–from photos, as she was over 60 in my memory of her). All of us.
People carded me for alcohol until I was well over 35 and were astonished and thought my ID was fake looking at my birth date.
I’m 45 now, and I look absolutely my age.
We age how we age because of our genes. Full stop. You can accelerate it with bad living or terrible illness. You can slightly mitigate aging with diligent skin care and staying out of the sun. But we age how we age because of our DNA.
It’s interesting how much society is programmed to think thinness and fashion = young looking.
Vera’s face doesn’t look young.
Agreed!!!!!
Absolutely! Not to mention, in these photos, she’s hiding her face behind glasses, masks, and her hair. I imagine there’s also some filters and touchups happening.
She looks great, no question, but she doesn’t really look 25 like she’s trying to project here.
Yeah, we can’t see the area around her eyes, I bet there’s wrinkles there.
Yes! Was going to post the same thing. If you look at her face, she looks her age. But in the photos used here the styling makes her long significantly younger. In fact, some of the photos I saw when I googled her had pretty bad bags under her eyes and the wrinkles you would expect. No judgement! She’s still a beautiful woman and looks awesome! But I don’t need her aging tips is all I’m saying.
Agree! She’s skinny but my 71 year old sister looks far younger.
She looks like she has an eating disorder in these photos. Yay she’s skinny but my arm is bigger than her leg.
Saying it’s just vodka is baloney. I remember her looking a little worn (natural aging) a few years ago. The lady had tasteful plastic surgery.
The woman has OBVIOUSLY taken smashingly good care of her figure and fitness. Her face looks 70. A beautiful, lovely, and gloriously womanly…70. And there isn’t anything wrong with that. It’s very right. Fitness and fashion goals all wrapped up in one accomplished and impressive person.
QUOTE: “She looks like she has an eating disorder in these photos. ” /QUOTE
That’s really unfair and unkind. Many Asian women are built slight and small. It is a common body type amongst many Eastern people groups. And she has far too much muscle definition in her small frame to think she is underfed.
There is no way that body and that skin is only the result of sleeping well and lack of sun damage. She surely has good genes, but speaking as someone whose family has very youthful appearances, even that only goes so far past the age of 65. The skin especially has to be the work of some seriously talented medical staff.
Am I the only one that thinks it would be sad to feel like you need to be that thin and wearing crop tops for your whole adult life, even into 70? There has to come a point where you stop living your life for the visual and start living your life, right?
As I said below, Wang was also a competitive figure skater, competing at the US figure skating championship. Former athletes often stick to an aggressive fitness program for the rest of their lives. I suspect there is a great deal more than vodka responsible for her appearance
Some people are really just that thin, and some people are not that interested in eating. I am neither, but I have a cousin who has always been pretty indifferent about food. She eats, but never that much at one time, and junk food has never been her thing. If I hadn’t witnessed it from when she was a very young person, I might be more suspicious, but she’s just always been one of those people who picks at food. My brother is similarly ambivalent about food. I don’t get it at all, but I don’t think we need to assume that everyone who is very thin is somehow super purposeful about it.
I’ve seen a lot of older people, in their 60s and 70s, who have very young looking bodies, great legs, and they just aren’t into being scantily dressed in the sun, and they aren’t obsessed with food the way that a lot of us are. I have a friend whose face, like Wang’s, looks about 10-15 younger, but she doesn’t have a lot of lines. She is about 10 lbs heavier than when she was young, but just looks curvy instead of model thin. She has long hair. She dyes the grays a lighter brown than her natural dark brown hair. She doesn’t work hard to look like this. She just hasn’t yo-yo dieted, even after having twins and another baby.
My family genetics make me look just slightly younger, but a lot of my relatives are morbidly obese and they don’t use as much sunscreen because they have darker skin than I do. I’m very fair-skinned and have had some really bad burns, so I used more sunscreen, and I’ve avoided being morbidly obese because of a bad back. I’m a size 14 now. 40 years later, I look younger without fancy dermatologist visits or expensive routines. Simple things done daily can make a big difference. I know that I look older, but a lot of people who “knew me when” tell me that I look the same. And I didn’t gray much, but that’s genetic from my grandmother.
Sometimes it just is genetics. Both my parents were slender. I’m mid 70s, don’t diet or exercise much, weight is low 90s, about 5 pounds more than in high school. One of my sisters is the same. The other two yoyo.
Yeah, but also
– money
– genetics
– money
– probably some discreet surgery (which is totally fine)
– money
Plus covering her face in all new photos. Good, strategic camera angles and probably a professional or at least a skilled photographer. And all that without even mentioning Photoshop.
Totally true
Vera Wang was a competitive figure skater. Athletes very often maintain a regular exercise program for the rest of their lives so not surprised she is still in shape.
Yeah…go look at old pix of her. She barely resembles them now. Lots of help.
Yep.
I mean good genes and all (my mom is an Asian American woman in her 70s and looks like she’s in her 50s), but Vera has also had some serious help.
I think some of the work is pretty recent because she looks suddenly really different to me from some angles. Unless it’s just the filters she’s using in the photos, which seem fairly obvious even to my untrained eye.
At least Vera wasn’t obnoxious about it. I think she was trying to keep it simple.
She’s got an amazing body which has probably taken her a lifetime of discipline to maintain. And gorgeous hair which too takes maintenance. Both are signals for youth. On Instagram her face is more youthful because of filters, good angles and hiding behind sunglasses/masks/hair. The header picture is more accurate for her face, which looks like a beautiful 70yo women’s face. She’s taken amazing care of herself and looks amazing regardless of age. I think it’s great she shuns norms; kept her long hair, and wears current trends.
What maintenance do you think she does on her hair? Some people just have thick and straight hair and not everyone has hair loss or thinning hair. My mom has thick straight hair in her late 60s too. I’m guessing the only maintenance Vera would do is gently dying the roots and conditioner. I have thick hair too but it’s a bit wavy in parts and I dye it blonde so when I straighten it it doesn’t look like that healthy straight that naturally straight hair does 🙁
My hair is about her length – maybe a hint longer. It’s really fine, but there’s an okay amount of it lol. I had had my hair stylist do basically an ombre but in blue on it, so I still have lighter bits on the ends. I’ve been using a Verb hydrating mask on it in the shower – immediately slap it on and keep it on while shaving my legs and then just rinse it at the end. It’s definitely helped make it look healthier when I’m straightening it, and it’s one of the cheaper masks. I’ve also heard great things about some of the newer olaplex stuff for helping with bleached hair.
I do notice some breakage once in a while, though. I probably could use some sort of restorative treatment or something to nourish it. I think it’s partially because my hair is just really fine that it’s more prone to it because it’s so long.
I used to have ankle length hair, now it’s just butt length. I wash it twice a week with a cruelty free shampoo and conditioner. That’s all I do. Still thick and straight. I stopped coloring the roots about 15 years ago. Now it’s snow white.
I’ve never been inside a salon, no professional work ever.
I’d love to know her hair color routine. When people have dark and it starts to go gray, dark dye makes it look shoe-polish black. Or if brown color is used, then it gets brassy. Her color, at least in these pics, looks lovely.
She looks fantastic but I also suspect those pictures are heavily airbrushed. The skin starts to hang a bit when you get to that age, no matter how fit and tiny you are.
Yeah that woman likes her blur tool.
😂😂
Guys, it’s photoshop. It’s airbrush on your phone. She is using the magic and the smooth tools, just to begin with. I have friends who do this. I know it when I see it. At one point I became a bit despondent because I was like, wow, why do all my fb friends from hs look so much younger in pics than me? Then my friend who I see all the time started doing it. At first I was just like, wow she looks so great. Then one day I was like, wait a minute, those aren’t her teeth. They were blindingly white.
And that’s when I discovered these apps on your phone. I had never known about them before, that’s how out of it I am. Trust me, you can look like that too.
Don’t feel bad, idk about those tools!
There’s a woman I went to high school with who constantly posts selfies with all the filters, and she looks about 20 years old. Until you see a candid photo of her without all that, and yeah she’s 43 like the rest of us.
Isn’t it weird though? I always wonder, don’t they worry about the shock when they see people in person? I can’t do it. I want to be out and about, and I don’t want to run into someone and see the shock on their face when they find out, that no, I don’t look like a 32 yo movie star. lol I don’t say anything, but one of my closest friends is the biggest offender on this. And I see her in person all the time, and she’s quite attractive don’t get me wrong. But she looks her age. Which is early 50’s. Her fb pics? A 35 year old movie star. Since she is divorced and open to meeting people through her fb (like old high school and college mates), I just don’t get it. Well, better her than me!
@darla, I always wonder that too! I worked with a girl who did that and post them on her dating profile. I always wondered how the guys react when they saw what she really looked like. I would rather not even have someone click on my profile without knowing what I actually look like. That way, if they dont like how I look in real life, they won’t waste my time or theirs
My sister is the absolute worst at filtering or photoshopping all her photos, even changes her eye color! Unfortunately, the pics LOOK photoshopped and people always ask me what is wrong with her…I tell them I’ve been asking myself that for nearly 50 years!
What always gets me is when they airbrush their skin into oblivion. The people who are GOOD at using those tools know to try to scale it back a bit. But the people who aren’t just go in so heavily with the editing.
I will admit, I keep a photo editing app on my phone. I’ve only removed the odd blemish if I REALLY like a photo and I have a pretty prominent zit, or if I’m trying to remove like a leaf or branch or whatever that’s sticking into the frame. Mostly I’ll play with it to adjust contrast on specific items in the photo. It’s when people start changing the structure of their body and face that is really problematic.
If it helps, I literally grabbed the Vera photo and put it into Photoshop and upped the sharpness a bunch. It made the untouched areas look really obviously grainey, where the other areas still looked pretty smooth – so she’s 100% edited it. The entire back of her hands up to the knuckle, a few fingers, her abdomen, bicep, chest and face all have discrepancies where she didn’t manage to get RIIIIGHT to the edge of the skin.
Good catch, Darla.
Omg do a search on photos of her from the last 5 years-she doesn’t remotely look like these selfies! She’s very thin (I’ll give her that) otherwise this is totally fake and photoshopped.
Genetics, lifestyle and melanin
I’m a 58 year old black woman with no wrinkles. People think I’m in my 30’s. In my immediate family know one has wrinkles.
I use Dudu Osun black soap on my face. Used to work at a beauty wholesaler and all the Korean ladies used this soap and would ship cases to their families. Argan oil is good to use for fine lines.
So is that soap is ok for white skin too? If so. I might want to try it. You’re so lucky not to have wrinkles
“Black soap” refers to the color of the soap – not your skin.
Thanks for the tip Misa!
oh I feel dumb now. Oops 😊
You’re body is a vessel. Take care of it whenever you can. I am pushing 40 soon and people tell me how come I look so young. It maybe my oily skin or chubby cheeks but I tell them mostly is eat the right foods that is good for the body, exercise regularly and live a stress free lifestyle. Just live life how you want it.
P.S. Vera Wang looks amazing at 71… whether she has work done or not.
I also think clean living goes a long way. Stress is sometimes hard to avoid but if you’re consistent with your healthy practices, your body can withstand it.
Yeah when I was 40 I could pass for late 20’s. Even up until I was 50, I know people thought I was in my 30’s, because I had men ask me out once they realized I was in their appropriate age rage (or what they thought of as appropriate, but for me, nah!).
I take great care of myself. Sunscreen, healthy eating, tons of outdoor exercise . Now I’m in my early 50’s.
Let’s chat again when you get here. 🙂
Yep! It’s amazing what happens in your fifties. Suddenly, aging gets REAL.
You guys seventy is the new forty. No, seriously, these photos are retouched and filtered and photoshopped to hell and back. C’mon.
I know right?
Yes – especially her hands are photoshopped. Sorry, no 70-year-old has wrinkle-free hands.
I’ve lived my life and made my mistakes and look every single one of my 50 years. I feel great and that’s all that matters. No shade from me.
Asian don’t raisin. I’m Asian, 52, have barely just started going grey (you can still count the strands and have to look hard to find them), and friends think I look like I’m in my late 30s. Definitely genetics plays a huge part of Vera’s look. But she’s also right about work, sleep, and staying out of the sun. My mom was into her 70s and still had very smooth and soft skin too.
I think her work, which is a passion that gives her purpose, is a big part of it. I like her, always have, and these photos are entertaining. She’s having fun. And I bet she could make a killing with a line of masks.
Yea, she’s having fun and feeling herself. I don’t blame her for using the filters in the pics.
It looks like she used some sort of filter to make her skin (mostly her legs) look plastic. We need to remember none of these celebs look the same as their pics in real life.
It’s the Asian thing. I live in South Korea and most people look a LOT younger here compared to their white counterparts of same age.
Skin care top Hecate: use an SPF for the face – not a cream or moisturizer with SPF in it. They don’t provide enough protection. Also, make sure you are using your Vitamin C serum during the day. Vitamin C boosts the efficacy of sunscreen.
Good tip – I have a great Vit C/retinol serum with hyaluronic acid which helps it get absorbed into your skin cells. Am 67 and look like I’m in my forties.
Sorry to burst the bubble but those pictures are HEAVILY edited. Look at the spaces around her arms and legs. They’re fuzzy and blurred and she’s stretched her legs. I don’t doubt that she’s still quite slim but she’s not a 6’ 0” 18 year old supermodel.
I wouldn’t doubt that she looks great at 70 but not quite this amazing in real life.
As a black woman I will age well, but that has to do with the fact that I’ve always taken care of my skin. Since childhood. Black people usually are not sun worshipers either and I wear sunscreen. I took care of myself when I was young and my skin looks ok as I’m aging. You can’t do anything you want and look food as you age.
I know it’s a cliche but Asian women honestly seem to age so slow (along with other POC!) I know it’s genetics but also Asian diets are so healthy compared to most American diets and I always wonder if that’s part of it. She looks great!
My family is wrinkle free but prone to jowls. Right after I turned 45 I had the EmbraceRF treatment. No more jowls. Vera looks tucked in the face a little but def not 70.
Can’t believe no one mentioned the heavy use of editing in these photos, and it’s not even subtle!
I’ve mentioned before how African and Asian people are blessed with melanin and other genes which prevent or slow aging. I find South Korean are the most (probably thanx to seaweed soup or ginseng) youthful looking! A good example of melanin working wonders is how Doria Ragland and Meghan look so young in comparison to kate and Carol! Excessive sunbathing can do permanent damage to your skin.
But this doesn’t mean its general. People like Chris Hemsworth’s mother and Elsa are proof that with the right lifestyle+diet+less stress you can have similar results