Steve Giralt, AARP The Magazine Clockwise from top left: Beverly Piacquadio, 62; Vike Rideout, 70; Joan Lally, 72; and Vicki Cavanaugh, 64. Click photo for larger image. Slideshow View an audio slideshow made last summer when AARP came to Pittsburgh: Smiling past 50 / AARP's Real People Model Search comes to Pittsburgh

AARP magazine's June trip to the Three Rivers Arts Festival in search of "real people" models over age 50 really paid off. Of the nine women selected to appear in the March/April edition, four turned out to be from Pittsburgh.

"My husband always told me that Pittsburgh women were the most beautiful in the world," said one of the chosen, Joan Lally, 72, with a laugh. She is a retired nursing home administrator who lives in Oakland,

Nevertheless, she said, she was "floored" when informed by the editors that she had made the grade, and her three fellow Pittsburgh models expressed similar surprise.

They include Vike (rhymes with Nike) Rideout, 70, of Sewickley; Beverly Piacquadio, 62, of Dormont; and Vicki Cavanaugh, 64, of Aspinwall. None of them knew one another before.

Their photos appear in an article about skin care to illustrate how women of different ages and skin types can revitalize their skin and keep it looking healthy without plastic surgery.

"Almost everyone in the article had some wrinkles," said the magazine's features and beauty editor, Gabrielle Redford. "That's part of the aging process. The idea was to get a diverse group of women our readers could identify with."

All nine women were treated to a two-day photo shoot in New York City in December, lodging at an upscale Manhattan hotel, a consultation with dermatologist Leslie Baumann, author of "The Skin Type Solution," and a gift basket of the doctor's suggested skin products.

"It was so much fun," said Ms. Cavanaugh, a retired sixth-grade teacher from Shaler Area Middle School. "Everyone from the magazine was wonderful. They treated us like queens."

Why so many models from Pittsburgh?

"Probably because your newspaper did a story about our road show and a lot of people came out to be photographed," said Ms. Redford -- 312 people, to be exact.

"We didn't realize we'd chosen so many from the same place," she added. "We weren't looking to see where they were from. We were just interested in women who were vital, energetic, attractive and aging gracefully."

The editors specifically turned down applicants who sent professional portfolios.

The selected models were chosen from a field of 2,000 candidates, recruited nationwide at county fairs and other regional events like the arts festival.

"My sister-in-law saw the article in the Post-Gazette," said Ms. Piacquadio, an operations manager at PNC Bank. "We went to the arts festival, got our pictures taken, signed the form and forgot about it. When I was told I was a finalist, it was such thrill."

"My youngest daughter encouraged me to do it," said Ms. Rideout, a retired US Airways reservations agent. "I was shocked when I got the call, and really surprised it turned out to be a full-page picture. Now I'm hearing from quite a few people who've seen it."

Ms. Piacquadio pronounced the whole experience a positive one. "It just goes to show that age is only a number," she said. "Who would ever think ladies this age would be in a magazine for skin care?"