Ageing gracefully? Hell, no: Madonna marks 61 in military coat and not much else

Madonna’s wardrobe has always divided opinion, from her boy toy belts and crucifixes to her famous cone bra and she shows no sign of giving up the shock factor in her seventh decade. The singer, who turned 61 on August 16, posted a picture of herself getting ready to start her new Madame X tour in an ensemble that featured plenty of epaulettes but not much else.

Most of her fans loved the snap, which references the all-theatre tour that’s scheduled to begin next month in New York City, but one follower did think that it was time the groundbreaking performer hung up her fishnets. In the image, the singing legend posed with a drink in hand in the eye-catching military coat which she paired with very tiny shorts, leaving little to the imagination.

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“Maybe it’s time to start the process of aging gracefully. I’ve been there from the beginning and I love you, but it’s time,” one commentator wrote.

Another added: “Happy Birthday!! But find the outfit distasteful and disrespectful.”

However, other fans praised the standout look, with one writing, “61 never [looked] better,” while another added: “I love this look.” Meanwhile, a third wrote: “Happy Birthday! Looking totally fabulous.”

And the ‘Like A Prayer‘ singer proved she’s still got it as she flaunted her trim frame in the army general costume in a series of other snaps she posted to social media, with the caption: “Madame [X] had too much fun at her Birthday Party last night! Thank you Everyone!”

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Madonna previously opened up about her fight against ageism in the music industry in British Vogue earlier this year, saying: “People have always been trying to silence me for one reason or another, whether it’s that I’m not pretty enough, I don’t sing well enough, I’m not talented enough, I’m not married enough, and now it’s that I’m not young enough.”

The mother-of-six said she’s now being punished for turning 60, adding: “So they just keep trying to find a hook to hang their beef about me being alive on. Now I’m fighting ageism, now I’m being punished for turning 60.”

Meanwhile, earlier this year British Vogue writer Anders Christian Madsen questioned whether Madonna’s fight against ageism is her biggest revolution ever, pointing out that rather than slagging her off for dressing young at 60, everyone should be thanking her for breaking moulds that have shut older women into a specific look for too long.

“At the end of the day, she’s putting her 60-year-old, scanty-clad ass on the line for future generations to experience less societal limits than she did once she passed the 40-year mark,” he wrote. “Rather than pointing out her age, every person on social media – young or old – should be celebrating it, thanking Madonna for continuously going where no one else dares to go. Because while all of Madonna’s revolutions have gained her attention, it’s nothing compared to what she’s done for the rest of us.”