Lady Madonna…We should ALL look this good at 52.

Nice rack. Cute boy. Lucky Star.

Madonna being playful for Dolce and Gabbana/Fall 2010

DivaJulia appreciates seeing Madge's chin(s)...and the shade she's throwin'.

L'invecchiamento, Photoshopped e bellissima Madonna.

These shots are taken from the Dolce & Gabbana photo shoot Madge did back in April -not the sunnies one (though looking at those pictures, it isn't hard to tell where Gaga gets her style inspiration) -but for the chi-chi Italian label's 2010 Fall/Winter collection. This may or may not have been around the time she had a little something done to her face. Really? I don't care.  It's not like she looks radically different (c'mon, she does not) nor is she trying to force some homogenized, Montagesque, Countess-Blandula-look onto her features. The Italiante features are still intact: the dark, large Latin eyes, the angular brow and chin, the full mouth. Here is a fine, fit 52-year-old fab-o woman keeping her sh*t together, and, if I may say so, doing it very, very well.

Also? Nice rack.

People are sniping over the Photoshopping. But I don't see anyone -apart from Diva Julia, actually -calling out Gaga for that Rolling Stone cover.  This might come as a shock, but, it must be stated: the entire music/movie/fashion/celeb world relies on Photoshop. Men, women, kids, even pets. Who created this?  Us?  Them?  We're back to the chicken/egg argument.  Maybe being less harsh on older women is a start in broadening our perspectives and expectations; if we demand "au natural" from Madonna, we ought to demand it from all of D&G's campaigns, and, more broadly, from every single fashion designer, retailer, band, entertainer, performer ... everyone.  And no one -repeat, no one -will be ugly, but simply unique and individual.  No?  Fantasy, you say?  It only takes one person to change their perception. I adore the non-Photoshopped photos myself; she's just beautiful, though I'd love to hand her a facecloth to see the skin and not the makeup. That, alas, feels like a tall order.

When it comes to actual plastic surgery, we expect our performers to look a specific way, and certainly Madonna is well-aware of the scales being tipped toward youth in the Western beauty stakes -especially when it comes to women. Some ladies choose the odd nip and tuck to complement their aging features -they're not "holding on to their youth(s)", forpitysake, they're doing maintenance. Just as there's nothing wrong with getting old, there's nothing wrong with a few fixings here and there, either.  Minor keys, not major lifts (to borrow from Leonard Cohen) are what makes for aging gracefully. Madonna is a perfect example of this.

Kudos, bella.  I hope you get many boys to carry your groceries. When you're done, send them my way.  I have that very same damn dress for a start --and the rack.   I'm working on the wrinkle correction.   Honest.

Photos (via Celebitchy)