Ari Cohen poses with one the subjects of his new book, “Advanced Style.”
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JOYCE CARPATI
Age: 80
Neighborhood: Turtle Bay
Fountain of Youth: exercise, water walking
Motto: “To age is a privilege. Look as good as you can, not as young as you can.”
A trained opera singer, Carpati married a physician but, in 1972, she embarked on a wild career ride of her own — becoming one of the first women to join the Mad men in advertising at Hearst. “I didn’t even know what media was. I fell into this and was able to become the first woman selling at Hearst,” says Carpati, who worked alongside Helen Gurley Brown at Cosmo. She retired in 1998 and splits her time between Paris and New York, where she enjoys spending time with her physician son and two granddaughters. “Life can be beautiful at any age. It’s your attitude and interests.”
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MARY EFRON
Age: 72
Neighborhood: Downtown
Fountain of Youth: curiosity
Motto: “Whenever you’re in a difficult situation, ask yourself, ‘How would Fred Astaire handle this?’ ’’
“I consider myself an East Village kind of person,” says Efron. After a career that spanned the arts, corporate gigs and, finally, a now-shuttered vintage shop on Thompson Street, the Los Angeles native says the Big Apple lends itself to adventure. “Being free to come and go, the energy, the wonderful transportation, the museums, the people on the street — do we ever run out of things to do in New York City?” As for her newfound Internet fame, Efron plays it cool. “It amuses my family and gives me new cachet with my granddaughters, which is always big.”
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RUTH KOBIN
Age: 100
Neighborhood: Murray Hill
Fountain of Youth: a regular regimen of Pilates and staying out of the sun
Motto: “It’s never too late.”
An avid athlete, this great-grandmother of 16 took up Pilates around her 90th birthday and has a private one-hour lesson once a week. “I’m pretty good at it,” says Cobin with a laugh. The former ballerina — who turns 101 in September — reads, does crossword puzzles and watches hockey, football, tennis, golf and the races. “I yelled my head off watching the Kentucky Derby,” says Cobin, adding, “I can’t say I’m ever lonely.”
