As Trish in The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Catherine Keener, 45, pulls off a miracle in youth-obsessed Hollywood: In snug sweaters and low-rise jeans, the star looks foxier than ingenues half her age.

Keener leads a pack of older actresses, including Wedding Crashers' Jane Seymour, 54, Broken Flowers' Sharon Stone, 47, and Must Love Dogs' Diane Lane, 40, who prove that being of a certain age doesn't translate into being sexless: Witness Lane's ''very sexed up'' (as costume designer Gamila Smith says) Dolce & Gabbana dress in Dogs.

In fact, women like Lane, Sarah Jessica Parker, 40, and Julianne Moore, 44, can be a blessing for costume designers. John Dunn, who dressed Stone in ''hot, fun'' clothes — including slinky camis by Arianne — for Flowers, says older actresses make his job easier. ''By that point, they've probably been in 2,000 fittings and have a strong sense of what looks good,'' he says. ''I really rely on their history for what works for them.''


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