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Young stars like Kaia Gerber and Zendaya look older than they really are, proving that women can never win
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In Short: Young stars like Kaia Gerber and Zendaya are facing criticism for looking older than their actual ages, a phenomenon that has sparked debate in the entertainment industry.
She looks like she’s old enough to be on one of those The Real Housewives of ____ shows.
Twenty-year-old women first started wearing the modern pencil skirt in the Fifties, after Christian Dior introduced the design in 1954. Even popular girls at school had an air of maturity that came from confidence or the beauty tips from an older sister. As such, the fact that a 24-year-old model like Kaia Gerber looks older than her age simply does not compute for many observers. Comparisons to her mother, Cindy Crawford, who was 25 at the 1991 Oscars, have also accumulated.
While women have long had the pressure to act beyond their years, any visual hint of sophistication is fair game for criticism and ridicule. Just because Gerber put on a pencil skirt, the internet acted like she’d had a facelift. Similarly, Florence Pugh, 30, and Kylie Jenner, 29, are among stars who are often seen as presenting older than they are.
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- After a visit to the US Open in a black midi dress and peep-toe heels last week, the comments came thick and fast: “I have to say she looks a lot older than 24,” one person observed.
- Ironic in an industry where women are celebrated for their youthful looks and actually anyone over 30 starts panicking about being too old.
- And it’s mostly the young women who’ve adopted this aesthetic who attract the same criticism as Gerber, including Kendall Jenner, who was spotted out in London in a Bottega Veneta midi dress alongside boyfriend Jacob Elordi, and Zendaya, who’s grown synonymous with the Christian Louboutin So Kate stilettos throughout her 20s.
- “I think I do have wisdom to offer,” Zendaya, who stepped into the spotlight on the Disney series Shake It Up at age 14, told Elle ahead of her 30th birthday this month.
- No matter your age, it’s easy to look at someone styled and polished and think “I hope I look like that when I grow up” – even if you’re already there.
- In this case, her sleek look was lined up beside photos of Crawford at the 1991 Oscars in a thigh-slit red Versace gown alongside her 41-year-old then-boyfriend Richard Gere, when she was a starlet of just 25.
Sources
- The Independentlink