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"    Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton The latest Louis Vuitton campaign features two iconic French women: actress Catherine Deneuve and It-girl/model Caroline de Maigret. The former is 70-years-old and the latter is reaching a sudden peak as she is about to turn 39. Both share the same sultry eyes, bed hair, and undeniable sex appeal. Although in fashion, youth never gets old, French luxury brands have tend to choose models that are a tad more mature. Recent examples include 47-year-old actress Sophie Marceau wearing nothing but bed sheets and a Chaumet watch for the brand&amp;#039;s campaign or a seemingly topless 46-year-old former French first lady Carla Bruni for Bulgari. Related:  What Happens When French Women Do Get Fat Not only are these women closer to the customers&amp;#039; age, they also mirror the local belief that seductiveness and sexuality don&amp;#039;t go down the drain after the age of 40. In fact, Gallic culture is peppered with post-menopausal bombshells. Take fashion: 59-year-old Carine Roitfeld (no need to introduce her) stills rock her stilettos and slit skirts; former model and Schiaparelli ambassador Farida Khelfa (51 years old) continues to close Jean Paul Gaultier shows.    Carine Roitfeld Photo: Getty Images The same goes for many actresses who still appeal to the entire nation as the years go by. Isabelle Huppert, age 60, specialized in provocative, controversial roles in The Piano Teacher and Ma M\u00E8re, where she played a mother that introduces her own son to S&amp;amp;amp;M sex. As for Catherine Deneuve, she has a raunchy lesbian encounter with her maid in Eight Women. Related: How French Women Curb Cravings: This 5-Minute Breakfast On red carpets, 64-year-old Fanny Ardant frequently opts for a silk blouse and obvious black bra, and B\u00E9atrice Dalle (49) is a known fan of bondage-y fashion. &amp;quot;Aging is a rather American fear\u2014a young country afraid to get old. Here, buildings are old and forever beautiful&amp;quot; says Alice Litscher, a professor in fashion communication at Paris&amp;#039; Institut Fran\u00E7ais de la Mode. &amp;quot;Historically, women&amp;#039;s appearances reflected the social status and well being of their home. To this day, if a woman looks chic and sexy, it probably means her husband does well and [that she] is having lots of sex.&amp;quot; In other words, a seductive older (generally married, generally bourgeois) woman is a fabulous mascot for a Catholic, strong, respectable, middle-class country.    Caroline de Maigret Photo: Getty Images Here is the key difference: In American cinema, if a woman old enough to be a grandmother is portrayed looking for love or lust, it becomes the topic of the entire film\u2014see: Something&amp;#039;s Gotta Give. Icons like Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, and Jane Fonda are no longer given roles where beauty and seduction are at the core of their characters. Typically in French cinema, sexuality and sex appeal are viewed as an intrinsic quality within women, which evolves with age but doesn&amp;#039;t fade. &amp;quot;Sex appeal doesn&amp;#039;t go away because we don&amp;#039;t have such a precise definition of beauty. Quirkiness and charm are more valued than a static idea of perfection. In the United States, beauty is almost mathematical and can only be achieved in your 20s,&amp;quot; says Laurence Vely, an editor at Vanity Fair France, who feels a lot of women become more attractive with age. &amp;quot;Once you hit 40, you finally know yourself and what suits you. [You] have real confidence.&amp;quot;    Sophie Marceau Photo: Getty Images Here is the ultimate clue: Remember and believe you can be an object of desire throughout your life, but don&amp;#039;t pretend you are forever 25. Mademoiselle Chanel told us that &amp;quot;fashion fades but style is eternal.&amp;quot; Why not, then, say the same about youth and sex appeal? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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