I'll be the first to admit -- I'm no spring chicken. I've always assumed that one day my ability to be considered hot by anyone other than myself would eventually fade. For all I know it's already happened and I'm currently living in a state of blissful ignorance and denial. Maybe that's why my dog sighs when he sees me get ready in the morning. Little guy feels sorry for me.

Doggy dilemma aside, I'm starting to think that my assumption might be wrong. Not about me personally, but about the idea that being hot diminishes with age. Here's why...

I was at the dentist's the other day, flipping through one of the July issues of Hello Magazine and stumbled upon an article and some photos of Jane Fonda. Have you seen her lately? Total hottie! What is she now, 75?

It got me thinking: Is there a shelf life for being hot? Or like beauty, is hotness in the eye of the beholder?

Take a look at some other women in their 50's, 60's or 70's. Take Tina Turner or Raquel Welch. Iman, Jane Seymour, Jaclyn Smith and Sophia Loren. Can you tell me that these women don't look fabulous, sexy and smokin' hot?

What about the men? Ohhh, the men! Robert Redford, Samuel L. Jackson and Clint Eastwood. John Irving, Denzel Washington and Sean Connery. Mmm, yum, yum, yum. Handsome, sexy and oh so very hot.

Now don't get your panties in a twist, I know that these people are celebrities and yes, some of them have admitted to having some work done. But whether it's good genes, good living or a good surgeon, these men and women still seem to have what it takes.

So what does it really take to look hot as you age? Are the parameters the same when you're in your 20's, 50's or 70's? How much of the equation is age, looks, physique, hair, makeup, clothing or attitude? Is the special combination that makes someone hot when they're 25 the same when they're 75?

It seems to me that being sexy and appealing knows no bounds. Both men and women seem to be attracted to both younger and older. Men dating older women, women dating older men. Obviously there's something at play there. Has it always been this way or is our view of beauty changing?

Maybe it's just me. Maybe now that I'm getting older, I want to see things in a different way -- one that corresponds with where I'm at in life.

Maybe thinking that men and women in their 70's are hot is a way of making me feel young -- like I'm not going to be put out to pasture any time soon. Maybe it gives me hope. Maybe I just need a new dog.

Follow Barbara Aleks Hecht on Twitter: www.twitter.com/HotChicksStyle