How to Be a Cougar

En español │Unless you've been living under a rock, you no doubt know that the term "cougar" no longer just applies to dangerous mountain lions. Now it's all about older women who hook up with younger men: Demi Moore, Joan Collins, Susan Sarandon, Naomi Watts, Madonna … the list goes on.

— Image Source/Corbis

As you read through the celebrity mags, you may find yourself wondering what life would be like if you, too, could prowl the cougar dens. Maybe you're even thinking seriously about finding yourself a strapping young stud, wondering if you still have the right stuff. Or perhaps (more likely) you're just fantasizing­ about what you'd need to do if you ever decided you wanted to try out the Mrs. Robinson thing.

The bad news: There's more to becoming a cougar than hanging out a "sex wanted" sign. The good news: It's all totally within your reach — hypothetically, that is.

Here are seven steps you'd need to take to get in on the action:

Abandon Your Outmoded Standards of Good Taste. So a lady never shows so much as a hint of lingerie lace? Always makes sure not to mix prints, flash too much jewelry or wear sequins before sundown? That old-fashioned advice is as irrelevant to cougar style as white gloves and a hankie. In Cougarland, the fashion watchwords are shorter, tighter, brighter and barer. If your mother's comment on your outfit would have been that you look like you're asking for it, then you're dressed exactly right. (Never mind that you may not look as great as you might have in your glory days.)

Pay Attention to What They Don't See. Hair: check. Makeup: great. Perfume: perfect. White cotton standard issue underwear: whoa!

If you think you don't have to worry about what's underneath your clothes, then you haven't been with a 20-something guy since, yeah, you were 20-something. The natural, let-it-all-hang-loose look of our younger years is long gone. Today's guys have come to expect that women will be outfitted in such exotica as pushup bras, garter belts and (ouch) thongs. They'll also expect that you'll be waxing salon smooth: underarms, legs, even places that rarely see the light of day. By the way: Don't be surprised to find your young man similarly shaved (except for maybe his face). And by all means, don't gasp if you notice that he's got a heart manscaped into his chest hair.