Helen Mirren's Silver Waves Are the Epitome of Classic Hollywood Glamour

There’s a certain pageantry that comes along with red carpet appearances, and celebrities usually use the opportunity to step out in their most maximalist looks that can either live in fashion history forever or serve as a moment for them to debut a new look (hello, countless celebrities sporting short hair at the Golden Globes). But Helen Mirren just taught everyone a lesson—that a red carpet evening can be, in fact, just another evening, and coming as you are will always be chic.

On February 20, the icon attended the premiere of her film Golda in Berlin wearing a silky, fitted black dress with a slight train. She paired the dress with a black clutch, black patent leather shoes, a watch, and statement earrings. Her dress featured puffed, off-the-shoulder sleeves that added drama to her overall look—but her silver waves are what brought an Old Hollywood feel to her look for the evening.

Mirren let her hair loose with a side part that features soft waves and volume at the roots, plus a simple tuck behind the ear in the shallow side of her part. Her hairstyle was sleek and flowing, which emphasized her glamorous, naturally grey hair.

If you've been keeping tabs on Mirren, you'll know that the actor has been wearing silver hair since 2020—but she isn't doing it to make a statement. The reason is actually much more practical. “I’ve always [colored my hair] myself; I never went to have my hair colored–I couldn’t be bothered, it’s so boring and expensive," Mirren previously told Vogue UK.

She goes on to explain that since her natural hair was blonde for the majority of her life, once she started going grey it simply just looked sun-bleached, leaving her with little motivation to color it. Still, Mirren continued, "The women of my age who have made the leap [to go grey] recently look so spectacular. Going grey is to be encouraged–that’s not to say you can’t have fun with your hair [and color it] because it’s a very important part of how you feel about yourself. People should do whatever makes them feel comfortable.”

Judging by this, Mirren prefers silver hair simply because she'd rather not spend the time and effort coloring it. We can all learn a thing or two about her general approach to beauty—the age-old adage of "beauty is pain" suggests that people should partake in treatments that bring discomfort, whether through waxing, dealing with painful injections, or upkeeping their regular manicures to look "presentable." Yet, Mirren reminds us all that beauty is something that you should have fun with, and if there's a beauty practice that torments or, in Mirren's case, bores you, you shouldn't have to sacrifice your happiness or comfort for the sake of keeping up with the latest trends or abiding by baseless standards that society creates. Just do what makes you happy.