Dame Helen Mirren needs her shoes to be "bearable" because she doesn't want to look like she's in "pain"

She told PEOPLE: "I've learned over the years, your shoes have to be bearable. They don't necessarily have to be comfortable.
"And in fact, comfortable sometimes is a bit boring, and you want cool shoes. But they have to be bearable because if you're in unbearable pain, that is going to reflect on your face and your posture and everything.
"So you start with the shoes, and just make sure that you're secure in them and they're bearable."
She went on to admit she also needs her red carpet outfits to be comfortable as well as her shoes.
Helen said: "I've come to a point where I just want [my red carpet outfit] to be comfortable as well. Beauty knows no pain.
" I have been there more than once, you know, sucking up the pain for my vanity. But again, it reflects on your face if you're comfortable ... [A red carpet is] a performance. It is like going onstage, really, and I treat it as such. It's a sort of wonderful, fun, silly performance.
"It's not going to last forever. It has huge meaning for a second or two, and then the meaning is gone, and we're onto something else."
It comes after Helen admitted she loves "everything" about being 80 because she feels grateful to be "alive" and still working at this stage of her life.
Asked to name the best thing about being 80, Helen told Allure magazine: "Everything! I find everything about it [fabulous].
"F*** it, I'm alive and I'm working and I can drink a glass of wine and I can wear make-up and I can listen to music and I can watch a beautiful sunset and I can go to the theatre and I can watch a movie and I can binge Netflix and I can live life. It's a beautiful thing."
Helen acknowledged there are pros and cons to ageing but the acclaimed actress has urged other women to not fear getting older.
Helen - who turned 80 in July - explained: "It's going to happen, baby. You can be as afraid as you like, but that's not going to change anything. It's going to happen. So live with it. It’s your journey through life.
"My mom always said, don't ever be afraid of getting older. She said, when you’re 16, the thought of being 30 - it's like 30, you’re old! And you flounce around saying it's awful to be 30.
"And then you get to be 30. And you know what? It's great being 30, actually, I think 30 to 40 is the best age of all, and you do not want to be 16 again. It's fabulous, being 30, and likewise 40, 50, 60, and beyond."