EXCLUSIVE The age of 47 is when we should stop wearing bikinis - apparently. Three of these women are over 47 and three are younger. Who's who?

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From right to left: Joanna Hall, Sharan Sunner, Angie Drake, Iris Murray, Catherine Williams and Vicky Amao (Pic: Martin Spaven)

My bikini days aren't over

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Joanna Hall lives in Shedfield, Southampton, with husband Tony, 48. Joanna is a beauty therapist and the couple have a daughter, 20.

It's a difficult one this 'what age should you stop wearing a bikini' question. It depends on your figure and whether a swimsuit is flattering. I still don't think anyone else has a right to tell you what to do though.

Just because I'm in my 50s doesn't mean my days of wearing a bikini are gone. I was a marathon runner but now I run five miles twice a week. I drink lots of water, eat five a day and that's how my weight stays at 10st 13lbs.

I don't smoke but I do love to tan - my only aging vice - and I'm religious about body buffing. I also don't believe if something's expensive it will necessarily work. In terms of beautiful bodies, Angelina Jolie's is amazing but I don't want to look like anyone else.

I have a lovely J-Lo bum!

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Sharan Sunner lives in Leeds and works in PR. Her partner, Justin, 28, is in the military.

If you've looked after your body why shouldn't you wear a bikini? If you've got it, flaunt it, that's what I say!

I've gained a few pounds recently but I don't care. I'm 5ft 6ins and comfortable in my 11st frame. I have a lovely J-Lo bum!

Life's too short not to eat fish and chips. I'd rather be a 12/14 than a size 10 and not have my white wine spritzers!

Sometimes I get fed up with my 34E boobs as they feel disproportionate and give me backache but not enough to have a reduction.

I like my sleep too much to spend hours moisturising and I dress for my shape. I don't worry about how I'll look in the years to come. If I had to swap my body for anyone else's it'd be Kelly Brook's.

I'm a shower and go girl.

Men still check me out

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Angie Drake lives in Petersfield, Hampshire with husband, Chris, 50. She helps him with his property business and is also a hairdresser and mum to four children aged 15 to 28.

No bikini after 47? Ridiculous. I'll wear one when I'm 80! It's how you feel not what your birth certificate says.

I go out with my eldest daughter, Malise, 28, and she complains men are too busy checking me out to look at her. I have to say that makes me feel proud. Being a 5ft 9ins size 12 and staying 11.5 stone gets harder as the years go by.

I have worked out in the gym and on a cross trainer at home for the last 25 years.

Six years ago I paid £4,000 for a tummy tuck. Now I have a lovely flat stomach and if anything else needs doing I'll definitely consider it. I'm also a great believer in curves - thin can be so ageing.

I've got eight children!

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Catherine Williams is a mum and lives in Ross-On-Wye, Herefordshire, with husband Gareth, 47. They have eight children aged six to 20.

I work hard to look like this and it's not up to anyone else to say whether I should wear a bikini or not.

No-one believes I've got eight kids and am in my 40s. But it takes work - I exercise most days and am a black belt kick-boxer.

I ran until eighth months of pregnancy and never gained more than a stone each time.

I'd do sit-ups to get my stomach flat and I'd soon go back to my 5ft 4ins 10st frame and a size 8 to 10.

I think surgery is a waste of money - just put the time in. If I had to swap bodies it would be with athlete Pauline Nordin.

Age is on my side

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Vicky Amao works in promotions and lives in Derby with boyfriend Matthew, 30.

No-one wants to see a saggy old lady in a bikini but neither do they want to see a saggy young woman. Many older women work hard to look after themselves so why shouldn't they show that off?

I believe in 'everything in moderation'. I like a glass of wine and the occasional takeaway prom dresses affordable , too.

I used to do sport at university but now I only do sit-ups and tricep dips in front of the TV. I'm 5ft 5ins and have remained a 10st size 10 for ages.

I moisturise my skin but don't go for treatments. I'm happy with my body though I'd take Beyoncé's any day!

I won't have surgery either - I guess I'll just have to work harder if things head south!

Only discipline will keep you youthful

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Iris Murray is divorced and lives in Watford, silver prom dresses silver prom dresses summer wedding guest dress summer wedding guest dress Hertfordshire. She's retired with five children between 42 and 51.

The whole 'no bikini after 47' thing? What a load of rubbish. There are girls much younger than 47 wearing a bikini who are big or have cellulite. These people ought to have a look at my body before saying such a silly thing.

I still get out at 74 and get compliments. After each child I got back in the gym and I still go for an hour four times a week.

I eat porridge for breakfast and chicken or fish with salad for lunch and dinner and have remained an 8st 10lbs size 8 for years.

Only discipline will keep you trim. I don't touch cakes, biscuits or crisps and never have takeaways.

I think I've got good legs but I'm careful not to be mutton dressed as lamb. I do consider myself lucky though. Genes play a part but other than that it's pride in myself and refusing to get old.

FASHION:  The Chinese Garden at this weekend’s Bloom festival in Dublin’s Phoenix Park serves as a backdrop for this celebration of oriental fashion. Kimonos are in, don’ red halter dresses prom red halter dresses promt you know.

EVERY NOW AND again Western fashion falls in love with the Far East. When Marc Jacobs sent out his post-modern take on Chinese fashion of 1930s Shanghai at his spring 2011 show in Paris for Louis Vuitton, he triggered a high-street trend for cheongsams, tassels and mandarin collars. Many saw it as a collection pitched towards emerging Asian markets, teal prom dresses gowns but those close-fitting sheaths, sexy slits and slick hair, delivered instant supercool status in lacquer red and cloisonné blue, two colours set to cast their stardust over the coming winter season, too.

Other illustrations of the Chinoiserie effect are the bold flower-printed silk tunics and dresses in Dries Van Noten’s current collection. These unique prints may be impossible to copy, but I found two cheongsams in Temple Bar’s new vintage shop Shotsy this week, one in a deep purple wool, the other more traditionally in pale silk brocade, each about €40.

Japanese designers once shocked Paris beautiful dress wedding beautiful dress wedding; now their deconstructed tailoring and monochrome palette are taken for granted. What they introduced was the Eastern tradition of layering on the body rather than cutting close to its shape. Even the late Alexander McQueen acknowledged the Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo as a huge inspiration. “Their influence isn’t direct, but comes through an attitude; it’s about being challenging and not being afraid to operate in a way that might be at odds with the fashion world, red strapless long prom dress ” says Catherine Ince, curator of the recent Barbican exhibition on Japanese fashion in London. One of the first to have a fashion dialogue with the East was the designer Paul Poiret, prom dresses black whose embroidered fur-trimmed kimono coat in Paris in 1911 made his fame and fortune. Here in Ireland, John Rocha’s native Chinese sensibility mixed with his adopted Irish homeland has energised traditional Irish craft and handwork.

But it was Yves St Laurent in 1977 with his haute couture collection inspired by 18th-century China, whose lovely satin kimonos and mandarin tunics in vibrant colours made a huge impact and controversially launched what became the brand’s best-selling perfume Opium.

With a 1970s revival fanning out again, many are revisiting that famous 1977 YSL collection as an opportune time to reconsider its impact. As the Chinese economy becomes a dominant world force, and next year is the Year of the Dragon, it pays, as someone once said, to be one leap ahead. There’s even a touch of Studio 54 and the disco glamour of the 1970s rocked into the look.

For this shoot in the spectacular Chinese Garden at Bloom, stylist Jan Brierton gets the fusion look with clothes drawn from vintage, high-street and designer labels, including an embroidered kimono from the early 1900s.

The IRE-SU garden, so called because it’s a collaboration between Suzhou, a city of six million people, close to Shanghai, and Ireland. The garden, based on ancient Suzhou courtyard gardens, will be reinstated in St Anne’s Park in Raheny next year. Suzhou has fashion as well as horticultural associations too, for it is also famous for wedding dresses and silks.

Behind the mask  

The make-up look on these pages was created by Lesley Keane, senior artist for Mac cosmetics. Taking inspiration from such diverse sources as the beautiful oriental garden at Bloom, 1970s glamour, and the theatre of Kabuki hot sale wedding dresses hot sale wedding dresses, Keane has come up with a look that takes its lead from the traditional symbolism behind the mask, where dramatic make-up is a major part of the performance. Traditionally, the performers apply their own make-up in the following way: After oiling and waxing the skin, actors (always male) apply a thick white make-up base made from rice powder. Next, different shades of red dominate, denoting age, gender and class. Certain tones and symbols indicate personalities and moods. The make-up of Kabuki actors is so revered that often, at the end of a performance sweetheart tulle cocktail dress , an impression is taken on a silk cloth pressed to the face, and sold as a valued souvenir.

In the 1970s, artists such as David Bowie brought Kabuki techniques out of the theatre and into the charts and led the way for the flamboyant make-up trends of the decade.

Today’s look also referenced the album covers of that era, and although the result is more extreme on these pages, you can take out some of the key elements if you are liking this season’s oriental trend.

GET THE LOOK  

Here Lesley Keane describes how she achieved the look for the shoot – and suggests how to tone it down to make it more street friendly.

“This look works better on paler skin, so abandon the bronzer and opt for a moisturised, milky look. I used Face and Body Foundation in white tone – this just lightens the skin one shade without it looking too theatrical. For setting, use an invisible powder such as Prep and Prime.”

“For the shoot I used an orange pigment (from the professional range, available online from maccosmetics.co.uk), but if you want a more natural feel, try a coral eye shadow such as Samoa Silk, and instead of opting for a dramatic shape like I did, try a simple dusting on the lid and blending upwards wholesale bridal lace wholesale bridal lace, leaving the brow bone bare. A purple shadow (Fig) used in the eye socket created drama. For added definition try a rust coloured shadow called Rule – it’s amazing on blue eyes. Top with a liquid liner and wing it out at the edges. I used Boot Black as it is easy to apply and just glides on. Finally, apply some black mascara to the upper lashes. Studio Fix lash gives a clean, separated, voluminous lash line.”

“This season red is a must and Ruby Woo is the colour used here. If you don’t want such a full-on colour, try Lady Bug, a lustre lipstick with a just a stain of red added. Be brave and wear red with confidence.”

Kimono form and function  

Though the kimono is quintessentially Japanese, today it is mostly worn for ceremonial occasions such as weddings and funerals. The garment once had a symbolic resonance. The length of the sleeve conveyed information about age and marital status, while patterns, colours and materials had associations with the seasons and the social status of the wearer.

Its long history shows the development of arcane methods of embroidery, dyeing and painting; many were elaborate works of art.

One of the most outstanding modern exponents of kimono art was the late Itchiku Kubota, famous for his astounding techniques and ability to modernise and innovate, redefining the kimono for the 21st century.

A book of his work ‘The Landscapes of Itchiku Kubota’, published by Thames Hudson (£29.95/€35) presents 55 of his masterworks inspired by 16th century silks and besides being a history of the kimono, gives an insight into his artistic vision. D McQ