Barbra Streisand Rejects Idea That People Should Dress Their Age: ‘I’m Too Old to Care’

Barbra Streisand is getting candid about her views on age-appropriate dressing.

The 81-year-old singer and actress opened up about all things fashion in an interview with The New York Times published on Monday, December 25. The interview follows the November 7 release of her memoir, My Name Is Barbra.

Streisand asserted that she believes that the art of self expression through clothing should not be limited based on a person’s age. “People should express themselves and wear whatever they feel on any given day,” she told the publication. ”And that has nothing to do with age.”

She went on to explain that as a young rising star, she didn’t feel comfortable wearing revealing clothing or posing for photoshoots that showed off her sensual side. “I was too afraid to be seen that way at that time,” Streisand said. “Now I’m too old to care.”

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In 2016, the Academy Award winner proved this when she posed for the cover of W Magazine in nothing but a white button-down shirt, tie, high heels and a blazer slung over one shoulder. “No pants,” Streisand told The New York Times. “Just legs.”

Although Streisand’s career has been centered around singing and acting, her influence in the fashion world has arguably been just as integral to her success.

From the beginning of her career, Streisand naturally stood out from the crowd with her distinctive clothing choices. Instead of wearing gowns, she preferred to fashion her own clothes together from menswear fabric.

Her uniqueness caught the attention of Diana Vreeland, the editor-in-chief of Vogue from 1962 to 1971, who put a 23-year-old Streisand on the cover of the magazine in March 1966.

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“She saw something in me, when other people were making jokes,” Streisand wrote in her memoir. “She spoke of me as a fashion icon, long before I imagined I’d ever make the best-dressed list.”

My Name Is Barbra is a long-awaited memoir that chronicles Streisand’s life experiences, from growing up in Brooklyn to finding fame with her role as Fanny Brice in the 1964 musical Funny Girl and her marriage to James Brolin.

The title of the book is the same title as the first-ever TV special that Streisand starred in in 1965. It is also the title of the studio album that she released that same year.