Dench... Dame Judi Dench

Some days I picture Judi and myself sitting in an English garden full of roses, snapdragons and heather, drinking tea and chatting about girlfriend things. BFFs.

I ask her about Daniel and Pierce, she asks me about Jean-Baptiste and Louis, and we laugh and roll our eyes about the various men in our lives.

 

At five pm, we change to G&Ts. With slices of fresh lime. And a nice curry.

One of the reasons I think this could happen is because Dench has always been a smart, stylish woman who laughs a lot and thinks a lot. She chose a flattering and sophisticated hairstyle early on. As she aged and her body shape changed, she adopted a distinctive and elegant clothing style.

I love her in the role of M. Her style as the head of MI-5, as a woman in charge of her own world and in competition with belligerent and bellicose men (mostly politicians and military leaders), she is distinctive. A role model. A sexy Madeleine Albright with cleavage and the royal glare of Elizabeth I.

And, BTW, I do think she and James had a fling a while back. You could go with the Brosnan-Bond or the Craig-Bond, no matter: it happened.

Oh, yessssss.

Judi's style: She focuses on her eyes, which are remarkable, and adopted a striking hairstyle long ago. Kept it, through brunette to graying salt-and-pepper to white. Her sea-green eyes are indeed remarkable and she uses make-up to focus on those and her cheekbones (smile!).

In clothing, she is a winter-based palette, and -- again, early on, adopted a consistent use of white blouses with open collars, solid color dress-and-coat ensembles or jacket-and skirt ensembles (not suits), and dark, textured fabrics. Black, grays, and browns (see above). Whites and pale turquoises. Fantastic jewelry that includes chokers, collars and closely-fitting necklaces as well as small, well-shaped earrings. In real metals and diamonds.

She also focuses attention on her cleavage and throat, despite having the same aging of her skin in that area that most women have. Judi apparently doesn't care.

What she hides: her ankles, her waist, her height.