Feeling Fabulous at Every Age: Harper's Bazaar & Estée Lauder's Bash

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Harper's Bazaar editor-in-chief Glenda Bailey, a stunning Elizabeth Hurley, model and blogger Coco Rocha, a bevy of Lauders and a multitude of impossibly chic women of all ages celebrated timeless style last night at the Fabulous at Every Age party thrown by Harper's Bazaar and Estée Lauder in New York. On the third floor of the super swanky Hearst Building (we'd call it a cafeteria, but then that would be like referring to Roman Abramovich's mega-yacht as a "boat"), a crowd gathered to fête the finalists of the "Fabulous at Every Age" contest. Six finalists and magazine readers ranging from age 20's to 60's (and an Honorable Mention to 102-year old Margaret Bonner) were chosen to represent America's chicest women, never mind that pesky birth date on their driver's license. And may we say, they all looked fantastic.

During the red carpet frenzy, overheard snippets of conversation amongst the celebs, execs and finalists were pretty amusing. After Glenda Bailey erroneously mentioned to Fox News that Elizabeth Hurley was cast as the new Wonder Woman, Liz Hurley good-naturedly corrected the editrix later with something like, "No, no, it's some 24-year old sex pot." While Lauder executive chairman William Lauder was happily sandwiched in a photo-op between Liz and 50-something, but looking-way-younger finalist Angela Paul, he paid Angela the ultimate compliment in the way that only a beauty exec can: "You must use the right products."

With so much fabulous-ness at every age going on, we asked Glenda Bailey (looking glam in Erdem), what her secret is. "Oh my goodness, the best thing about 'Fabulous at Every Age' is actually is when readers see me in the street, they don't go, 'Hello Glenda' or 'Harper's Bazaar', they tend to go, 'Fabulous at Every Age!'", Glenda Bailey enthusiastically explained.

"I feel like I'm fabulous at every age by default just because they so recognize the franchise as something that women feel good about. Because you know we all love to see wonderful pictures of glorious models—of course we do—and beautiful celebrities, but at the end of the day there's something marvelous about feeling good about who you are—regardless of how many birthdays you've had or regardless of your shape. I think it's more to do with the confidence and the joy of living and that's reflected in the way that you look and the way that you put yourself together."

She motioned over to a ridiculously hot Liz Hurley (rocking a body-con one shoulder Cushnie et Ochs LBD and peep-toe Loubies like it was nobody's business), who was gamely pouting and smoldering for the paps on the red carpet. "Gosh, she looks fantastic," Glenda marveled. Earlier, we observed a silver-haired Estée Lauder executive work his way into a photo à deux with the brand's model and new Wonder Woman arch-nemesis, and, wow, did he look as giddy as a teenage boy flipping through a Victoria's Secret catalog.

On the flip side, we thought we'd ask Glenda which young ingenues have the potential of being agelessly fabulous like Liz Hurley. "Carey Mulligan. Keira Knightley," she said and then paused realizing, "They're British, I don't think they're American." And, yes, there are the models.

"Joan Smalls. She's very young, but she looks so beautiful," Glenda related. "My particular favorites tend to have been around for awhile. I'm a great fan of Lily Donaldson and Doutzen [Kroes]. I love." Considering that Lily was born in 1987 and Doutzen in 1985, we suppose being around for awhile is all relative when it comes to fashion.

"I tend to like those girls who are blessed with exquisite beauty that is timeless," Glenda further explained. "Like Christy Turlington. She is somebody who has a timeless beauty that we would all love to aspire to."

So there's the final question that's on everyone's mind these days. What predictions does Glenda—who also counts the honor of Officer of the Order of the British Empire on her resumé—have on Kate Middleton's wedding dress?

"For sure it's going to be fabulous," Glenda diplomatically surmised with a laugh. "She's a young beauty that's going to have a timeless celebration throughout her life. She's going to look great at every age for sure. I would say she's the epitomy of someone that I would look at right now and say, 'My goodness that girl is going to look so beautiful regardless of her age.'"
·Meet Our Fabulous at Every Age Finalists and See Who Won [Harper's Bazaar]
· Harper's Bazaar [Official Site]