AGE, I've realised, might be no advantage whatsoever in negotiating the complexities of life.
While on some issues it gives you a minor heads-up, for others it just complicates the matter.
My best friend and Matthew are widely spaced on life's experience scale, but last week brought social dilemmas for both of them.
Closest friend has just turned 40 and was less than enthusiastic from a desperate seek out something to wear to her party.
"Everything is either at the same time frumpy or at the same time mutton," she moaned. "Why doesn't anyone make clothes for females of our age who've still got some life left in them?" And she includes a point. I've lost count of the times I've returned home from shopping trips empty handed. The irony is, after i had no cash to cover the anything, I liked absolutely everything and everything liked me. Now I've a little disposable income I find it difficult to dump it.
One of the main problems is the whole retro trend. There's, as we know, a hard and fast rule that you really shouldn't wear anything latex catsuit second time around meaning basically, personally and many of my friends, all 80s revivalism is quite much a no-no.
Or, to become more precise, oh, inside name of God, no. That's my reaction when closest friend continued to announce: "there is simply one thing I have seen ... it's really a catsuit."
No, no, a thousand times no.
Catsuits on the over 40s are plainly a homage to Margo Leadbetter, and anyone tall enough to have that reference should run much like the wind inside other from their store.
To ensure that was it, party strike-out.
Meanwhile, Matthew was wrestling using a problem of a more romantic nature, albeit a hypothetical one.
"How you need to that you fancy someone who fancies you?" he enquired.
Pumpin' For Iron
SCARLETT Johansson admits it took months of efforts during a workout session to squeeze into her catsuit for The wolfman.
The 24-year-old, who plays saucy Russian spy the Black Widow, said: "It only agreed to be many, much time, days and months of stunt and strength training.
"But it's fun because I'd a target - transpire was that Lycra catsuit."
She says the hard work was worth every penny when she saw the admiring glances of crew members when she stepped onto towards the set.
"It was crazy to determine it the very first time, " she said."Everything all zipped up and all sorts of the weapons inside, bracelets on - the whole look.
"It was pretty sweet.
A lot of the people working on the film were super excited to determine the Black Widow."Ah, now, there's among life's little imponderables at any time there was one. The answer then is, needless to say, you cannot, otherwise hearts would remain unbroken and we'd all have got a trial at George Clooney.
I asked why.
"No reason," he shrugged.
"I was just attempting to decide what to say if a person experimented with kiss me who had been ugly, in order to not hurt their feelings. However it is alright, I've decided."
So what was the gentle avoidance tactic he'd so planned well? "I thought I'd say 'no thanks, for the cheek will do'."
2012 ©