Hit the road, Heidi Klum.
Eighty-eight year-old Marian Merrill of Redmond is poised to walk the runway in Macy’s annual “Better with Time” modeling competition, at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 4.
The event at the downtown Seattle Macy’s store, which also features a brunch and guest speakers, honors women ages 50 and up, and the concept of timeless beauty.
Merrill spotted an ad asking mature ladies to send in essays of 250 words or less, on the subject of “what’s great about being over 50.” Her husband of 65 years, Dave Merrill, promptly told her to “Go for it,” and that was all the nudging she needed, said Marian.
She wrote about a near-brush with death this past March. She was so ill that no one expected her to live. Her five children came to say their goodbyes, but she miraculously pulled through.
“Little things don’t bother me anymore,” said Marian. “I’m just so grateful to be alive.”
She also was grateful when she got a letter from Macy’s, asking her to come to an audition. She was one of 102 women invited to take a trial stroll in front of the judges.
“Some, you could tell, had been models. You couldn’t be one now,” she explained. “They gave us numbers to identify us and didn’t say our ages until they picked 15 (finalists). I was totally surprised. I did it just for fun. If I had false teeth, I would have dropped them then.”
She has since been back at Macy’s for a fitting by Wacoal, the bra designer which is one of the competition’s sponsors.
“It was an uplifting experience,” she quipped.
At the “Better with Time” show, she’ll model one sports outfit and one formal outfit selected for her by experts from Macy’s and the TCM modeling agency. “I’m very pleased with what they picked,” Marian noted.
Next, she’ll visit the modeling agency to get tips on how to walk, followed by a rehearsal the night before the show.
We asked Marian about her life outside of the spotlight. She and Dave, a retired Navy captain, moved around a lot when their kids were growing up. They now have six grandchildren and one great grandchild and have lived at Emerald Heights Retirement Community for the last 15 years.
“I’ve had a great life,” Marian declared. “I did some modeling for fun, back when I was in the Navy Wives Club — and lots of volunteer work at Navy hospitals, in pediatrics. And I was the manager of the coffee shop here (at Emerald Heights) for 10 years, until last year.”
She still comes down to the coffee shop every day, “because I love people,” she said. She also helps out in the Emerald Heights beauty shop and gift shop and visits people who are under nursing care.
Staff and fellow residents at the home have been very supportive as they’ve learned about Marian’s upcoming modeling stint.
“It’s like a family here, everybody cares,” she said.
Debbie Goodenough, of Macy’s special events and public relations staff, said that Marian and the other finalists were selected partly because of their essays but also based on “their stage presence, personal enthusiasm and confidence. … It’s wonderful to see women who take care of themselves and stay very active — and of course, a big part of that is health.”
Goodenough further remarked, “The reason for the Better with Time event is that our media and population focuses on youth. We wanted to celebrate women 50 and up, their insights into aging and how to age gracefully.”
Tickets for the Better with Time event are $40 plus tax. Guests will receive a $10 Macy’s gift card for shopping afterward. For more information, call 1-877-340-4FUN or visit www.macys.com.
