Barbra Streisand, 81, says she's 'too old to care' what people think of her
With a career spanning 60 years, Barbra Streisand has well and truly earned herself 'legendary' status - but at 81 years old, she's 'too old to care'.
Streisand began her successful career in the 1960s as she performed in nightclubs and theatres before being signed by Columbia Records.
Over the years, she went on to become one of the few stars to achieve an 'EGOT' thanks to her awards at the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and Tonys, and she's since reflected on her life in her memoir, My Name Is Barbra.
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The book details Streisand's love for fashion in a time before she would have easy access to a celebrity stylist, as she told the New York Times: "I guess I looked different, I dressed different.
"I never just went with the style of the day. I had other images in my head. I was inspired by period films, paintings in museums and those fabulous Mucha posters of Sarah Bernhardt that I first saw when I was a teenager.”
The singer and actor expressed belief no one would look at her and think, 'that girl should a movie star,' but she embraced her appearance and her differences.
“I didn’t relate to the conventional kind of gown most nightclub singers wore," she explained. "Instead, I took a men's wear fabric — a black-and-white herringbone tweed — and designed a vest, which I wore with a white chiffon blouse and a matching tweed skirt, floor-length with a slit up the side, and lined in red. I’ve been wearing a version of that suit ever since.”
Her fashion choices have raised some eyebrows over the years, with one writer accusing her of sending a 'disturbing signal' with a low-cut top and skirt with a slit which she wore to President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural gala.
However, Streisand hit back: “Like I wrote in my book, ‘Why can’t women be accomplished and attractive, strong and sensitive, intelligent and sensual?’”
Now in her 80s, Streisand is dismissive of the concept that people should 'dress their age', and instead believes people 'should express themselves and wear whatever they feel on any given day'. Clearly, Streisand feels she's got nothing to be guilty of.
"That has nothing to do with age," she said.
A few years ago, she suggested posing for a W cover in nothing but a fresh white shirt 'and no pants'.
Previously, she was 'too afraid to be seen that way'.
“Now I’m too old to care," she said.
Streisand's age hasn't slowed her down, as she continues to amass treasures including film costumes, vintage clothes and antique dolls.
“Some of those dolls are 100 years old,” she said. “Once in a while they need a new pair of shoes, don’t they?”
Emily Brown