Barbra Streisand Reveals She's ‘Too Old To Care’ If People Find Her Style Provocative

Famous singer Barbra Streisand recently opened up about her freedom at 81 to express herself through fashion without concern for others' opinions.

Reflecting on her career's early days, she mentioned her cautious approach to dressing sensually, but now things have changed, and Streisand doesn't care what others say about her style.

During a recent chat with the New York Times, Streisand shared insights into her new memoir, "My Name Is Barbra." She discussed her fashion in the book, emphasizing the freedom she now feels, no longer concerned about others' opinions of her attire.

At 81, the "Funny Girl" star expressed her belief that "people should express themselves and wear whatever they feel on any given day. And that has nothing to do with age."

Reflecting on her career's early days, she mentioned being cautious not to dress sensually, noting, "I was too afraid to be seen that way at that time. Now I'm too old to care."

Although Streisand did not embrace overtly provocative attire in the 1960s and 1970s, the "Yentl" actress asserted her individuality in distinctive ways, revealing that she "just went with the style of the day."

She explained: "I had other images in my head. I was inspired by period films, paintings in museums, and those fabulous Mucha posters of Sarah Bernhardt that I first saw when I was a teenager."

Streisand emphasized that she attended her first performances at NYC piano bars, and crafted her own looks, like "a high-necked, long-sleeved Persian vest from the turn of the century."

"I didn't relate to the conventional kind of gown most nightclub singers wore," she said.

During the chat, Streisand emphasized that women's attire should not dictate perceptions about them. She reiterated her book's sentiment, stating: "Why can't women be accomplished and attractive, strong and sensitive, intelligent and sensual?"

In an interview with People magazine earlier in the month, Streisand revealed that she hasn't taken on a film role in 11 years and expressed doubt about having the energy for more. "No, not really. I mean, it was 2009 that I was fighting for the rights to play 'Gypsy,'" she recalled.

The "Way We Were" singer reflected on the challenges of navigating film projects, adding: "In other words, it gets exhausting, trying to come up with the structure of the movie and then have it not happen."

She continued: "If I could have made my movies, I never would've written a book. I had such good movies to make, meaning they were about things I cared about, very interesting subjects that… Why did I only make 19 movies in my lifetime?"

"I had many movies that I wanted to make, and then I got lazy. I go, 'Oh yeah, to do this one, I have to have all these fittings for period clothes. This one, I'd have to live in Arkansas to do this one.' I don't know. It's complicated, but I am complicated, I guess… I get lazy," she added.

In a conversation with The Guardian, Streisand acknowledged that her strong attitude has unsettled many men throughout her career.

"I didn't want to stay in my place," she said. "I started out wanting to be an actress and I got to acting through my singing. But then that wasn't enough. I wanted to shape things. I wanted to write. I wanted to direct. I wanted to produce. I wanted to make decisions. And that got me into trouble."

The octogenarian emphasized that being a "woman in control scared men." She added, "It scared other women! They weren't ready for it." Despite criticism, she remained unapologetically vocal, drawing inspiration from George Bernard Shaw's quote: "He who tells too much truth shall surely be hanged."