FASHION trends come and go, with many of us phasing things out of our wardrobe as we age.
Despite this, one 70-year-old has admitted that she still wears crop tops and skirts with a side slit – even though she has an arthritic knee.
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Though she is not the biggest follower of fashion, Julie Ford admits that she doesn’t want to look her age – even though she is in her seventh decade.
Not wanting to ‘become invisible’, this fitness fanatic refuses to cover her toned abs and does crunches by the pool in her bikini.
“I’ve done the ‘fabulous 50s’ and the ‘sexy 60s’ and now I am planning on doing the ‘super-fit 70s’,” she joked in an interview with the Press Association (PA).
Her love of all sporty began at school, with the now pensioner admitting that she wasn’t very academic and just wanted to be ‘running around outside’ instead.
After finishing her teacher training at 18, she went on to teach PE in East Sussex and still works part-time in a school.
Outside of the classroom, she attended fitness groups and was even fond of a Jane Fonda workout back in the 80s.
Even becoming a wife and mum didn’t slow the Sussex teacher down, with her kids also being loving their sporty lifestyle.
Now 70, Julie still regularly runs, cycles and walks – but admits that she had to retire her hockey stick in recent years.
Though you might think Julie is simply showing off, her appearance has a taken on a great importance after battling cancer a few years ago.
Back in 2013, she’d attended what she thought would be a routine mammogram.
It was later revealed though that she had stage two breast cancer, which left the then-63-year-old devastated.
“It’s still hard to believe I ever had cancer, because I felt so healthy,” she admitted, revealing that she even timed her treatment to begin in the autumn half term – just to have more time enjoying the job she loved.
She added: “I used to be known as the lady in the village who cycled everywhere with hardly any clothes on because I would only wear shorts and a crop top!”
After one month of radiotherapy though, Julie’s health slowly began to improve and the experience also had another strange side effect.
Having loved the gym in her younger years, the PE teacher found she wanted a change of pace and swapped high impact exercise for country walks.
Inspired to create something to suit her new lifestyle, it eventually led to her designing the InStepp – a walking resistance band.
Designing over 30 prototypes, she say this helped her regain her confidence and kept her in shape.
The product is now available online, with the pensioner using them on holiday in Croatia and Cornwall.
“I don’t want to look like mutton dressed as lamb so I usually cover my arms and legs but I like to still look nice, she said, adding: “I have spent my whole life showing off my body, not because I am vain but because I feel good.”
Julie even told Insider: “I have two adult kids, a 2-year-old granddaughter, and a second grandchild on the way. None of them has given me the excuse to look — dare I say — “Momsy.”
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