It's chic to be a spinster

Spinsterhood: once synonymous with cat-filled flats in Maida Vale mansion blocks and empty weekends whiled away at matin?e screenings of Meg Ryan vehicles - now, quite the buzziest, splashiest lifestyle statement a girl can make.

Unmarried women in their thirties and forties nowadays are the epitome of chic, sexy, thrill-filled living. They've got considerable amounts of disposable cash, and the inclination to spend it on extravagant, guiltless luxuries.

According to financial trend scouts The Intelligence Factory, their mantra is 'live well, dress well... and pamper...' They've got time that would otherwise be filled with school runs and in-law-indulging to spend in spas and at yoga classes. They've got sex on their side. According to the anecdotal evidence offered by our single case studies, spinsters in their thirties and forties are much more capable of handling one-night stands than their young twentysomething equivalents, and far less inclined to hang around by the phone hoping their latest conquest will call. And, of course, spinster chic is a movement empowered by celebrity endorsement.

Consider the leading spinsters of the moment. Naomi Campbell, 31 years old, never married, no children. Wildly beautiful, petulant, decadent, fabulously dressed, lusted after, indulged, controversial, manipulative. Kylie Minogue, 33 years old, never married, no children. She might be involved in a long-term relationship with the magnificent James Gooding, but the two aren't co-habiting, and anyway, there's something residually single about Kylie. Her celebrity identity relies upon it. Marriage and domesticity would detract from her inherent foxiness. Julia Roberts, 34, briefly married to a man who wasn't pretty enough for her, no children. Her brand of spinsterhood - characterised by flawed yet exciting relationships - makes her an enduring female lead. Her real-life baggage adds to her credibility as a fictional love interest. Surely it's no coincidence that Julia Roberts, spinster, is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.

Elsewhere, a whole rabble of famous women are rediscovering spinster chic following disastrous dalliances with coupledom. Liz Hurley, Nicole Kidman and Patsy Kensit all seem three times more compelling, charming and authentic now that they're reconstituted spinsters, rather than the inconsequential sidekicks to more famous men.

Of course, there are those who would argue that modern women celebrate famous spinsters because we're less threatened by them. We're comforted by the notion that beautiful, successful celebrities are no more capable of having functional relationships than the rest of us. Whatever, that hardly detracts from the high-octane, well-styled, enviable lifestyle that spinsterhood now suggests. None of which makes it pretty vocabulary, of course. Never mind. Spinsterhood - ugly word, fabulous concept.