Do you love hats? So do I! I’m not sure why, but the older I get, the more I love looking for interesting hats and other accessories. Talking with the other women in the Sixty and Me community, it sounds like I’m not alone!

In a discussion with fashion for women over 60 expert Judith Boyd, The Style Crone, we talked about why hats are one of the most fascinating items of clothing for women over 60.

Judith has a particular passion for hats – actually, this is a bit of an understatement! She is probably more passionate about hats than any other woman I know!

Judith started her career as a psychiatric nurse and eventually started a hat shop because of her passion for hats. Her job allowed her to wear hats and it was sometimes a lovely topic of conversation between patients and health workers.

The hat shop is now closed, but Judith has a “hat room” in her home. She has never counted how many hats she owns and would probably be slightly embarrassed at the actual number. Let’s just say she has A LOT of hats!

Judith hardly leaves the house without a hat and her hats are categorized – work hats, evening hats, grocery shopping hats, etc.

I think that there’s something about hats that makes us more approachable. Judith mentions that it’s kind of a good introductory accessory. She says that she regularly gets compliments on her hats, and it’s an easy way for people to open a conversation with her. Hats are for introverts and extroverts alike. For us introverts, it’s an easy way to express ourselves when out in public.

I think that wearing a hat makes us, older women, more visible, and Judith agrees. Older women have their place in society and should feel good about themselves and feel free to contribute and share their unique energies.

Where to Buy Hats for Older Women

Shopping for hats is a lot of fun, and I have put together a list of places that offer great quality hats at affordable prices.

Hats and Caps

I love berets! The Héritage par Laulhère Authentique Merino Wool Beret comes in a variety of colors and is the perfect accessory when you’re feeling a little “French”.

Nordstrom

For the North American readers in our community, Nordstrom offers a wide array of beautiful hats every season, like this Val Diamond Wool Fedora.

HATS.COM

Find a wide variety of stylish hats for women at HATS.COM. They carry well-known hat brands like Kangol and Betmar to name a few. I love this Maya Cloche hat!

Hats in the Belfry

Looking for a hat for a special occasion? Hats in the Belfry will have what you need. How cute is this Made in Italy Linen Small Brim Hat Italia Ilaria.

What are your favorite fashion accessories and why? Do you find that your personal style has changed after your 60th birthday? Why or why not? Please join the discussion.

Two days ago, I received a note from a reader who follows my writing on a couple of different platforms. It caught me by surprise, if for no other reason that it is so very easy, sitting here in relative isolation and still under the corner of the heavy quarantine blanket, to feel as though nobody’s paying attention at all.

I was wrong. Not only that, her comment, as a woman approaching 50, really underscored for me a great truism for all of us as we pass the 60 milestone. I hope it resonates with you:

I am years (decades, really) from 70. As I close in on 50, I am starting to question my life, in a good way. Is this where I want to live? To work? Is this the body shape/fitness level I prefer? Am I living the life I imagined I would be at 25? Since the answer to all these questions is, “Not Really,” I am kicking my own ass into gear. I am looking at who I want to be when I am 70. What do I want to be doing and to say I have done? Now is the time for me to lay that foundation and hearing stories from (older) writers encourages and excites me that all I want is possible, and likely more.

Wow.

We All Got Hit Hard

During this very challenging last year, which in some many ways continues to extend into 2021, it was easy to feel helpless, foolish, at a loss, and worthless at times. For those of us who thrive on interaction, and I most certainly do at least some of the time, the forced isolation caused me to question my value.

Add to that what appeared to be a wholesale condemnation of all of us grey folks, with politicians effectively asking us to give up the ghost and the rest of our lives for the Greater Good.

PAH.

Many of my silver sisters went right back to work as nurses, including those who had just retired, and some of them lost their lives in service. So you will forgive me if I experience a sharp intake of breath at such a sentiment. But I digress.

What has been a lesson, though, is how many people 20 or even 30 years our junior are looking to us to see how we’re doing. Many of us, myself included, had no idea how carefully people were combing through our (my) writing for hope, ideas, perspective, and that most critical of life skills, humor.

I seriously doubt anyone found wisdom, but they sure found humor. Given that I picked up and moved to a different state during quarantine, which was in and of itself pretty stressful, I was forced to find the funny for my very survival.

Along with emergency kidney stone surgery, flipping my car at 65mph, smashing a pinky toe twice, getting my ovaries out, and trying to hold tight while fires raged around my brand-new place… well. And that’s the short list.

Silver Sister Perspectives

At 68, I do adventure travel, but that ended. And my income tumbled. AND I left friends of 50 years far behind. You get it. But along the way I continued to write, make fun of the fractured toe, the day I quite literally exploded a middle finger with a hammer while installing a serene Buddha carving in my new house.

Suffice it to say the following half hour was anything but serene, and after I cleaned up the blood and got stitches, I laughed so hard about it that I gave myself new stitches.

That is why humor is called a superpower. I wrote that story up, and people loved it. Little did I know that so many younger people were desperate for that very thing. From you, from all of us. They wanted permission to make fun of life’s vicissitudes, and that there was a way to choose to see differently. As Proust put it, with “new eyes.”

As you and I age, this is likely the most precious gift we can offer: how we have learned to understand what matters, what doesn’t, and how not to take things so very seriously. By this point, we do know that this too shall pass, whether it’s a kidney stone (my hand is up), a gall stone, or our time on earth.

In a world of foolish, fake influencers, people are desperate for authenticity. They want to know that as they age there is not only hope, but adventure, happiness, love, intimacy, and the entire array of life’s great joys ahead.

Sure, things grey, or we need thicker glasses. But with care for ourselves, a purpose, a group of trusted friends and a spot of luck, you and I can live amazing lives. If anything, passing the 60 milestone can be one of the most freeing events of our lives. That is succor to those who so badly need hope, who fear their aging selves, and all the (often untrue) assumptions about the ravages of age.

What You and I Can Do

Even if you aren’t a professional writer, which I am, you can do so much. For example, in my local Planet Fitness, I see people using terrible lifting form which can lead to injury. I ask them if they would be willing to get a touch of feedback on how to protect their spines. I have yet to have anyone say no.

Not only that, these young women have been delighted that someone took interest. Now there is a growing community of people I get to air high five when I see them. This is an area where I have considerable expertise, and when it’s shared respectfully, that makes me a valued ally.

This may sound like a small thing. However, after having lived in Oregon now for going on nine months, and not being able to network and join clubs, the delicate tendrils of beginning friendships and friendly waves from people who are happy to see me makes the gym my community. I don’t feel so much like a stranger here.

They know perfectly well how old I am. In fact, that is part of why they are so welcoming. When older folks are removed from the community, there aren’t enough positive visual reinforcements and great stories that come out of people around us all the time. That’s one of the worst aspects of nursing homes and elder communities.

The realities of aging are out of sight, and therefore, to be feared rather than revered. So when you show up living a full life, you give lie to the notion of how it’s all downhill from here. For some, perhaps, but they’re on skis.

However, it starts with me. With you. Whether we know it or not, so many people want to know how we are handling life. They want hope. They want news from the “other side of 60.” They know that if they’re lucky, they too will arrive at that marker.

And while we can most certainly tell them to read Ashton Applewhite, it is ever so much more powerful to set a living example. You can write about it, make friends and involve people in your life, volunteer (or return to volunteer work now that things are revving back up).

Redefining Success

You and I can be that beacon. We don’t have to be beautiful or rich or famous. We simply need to be living life on our terms. For my part, that is the very definition of success, which includes sometimes finding ways to come to terms with what life handed us.

That is wisdom, and that is what younger people so badly need. I lost my lifelong mentor at 91 five years ago. The day she passed I was in Egypt riding some pretty wild horses. In other words, I was living the way she had taught me to live.

There really is no better gift than such an example.

Ageism is real, but underneath that is a terror that what society teaches about aging is true. How we navigate those waters in the last decades of our lives isn’t just a gift to ourselves. It is our legacy.

People are watching us. They want hope. The best way to offer that is to be fully in life, and make room for new people whose lives are enriched by the way you live, love and laugh. I love finding those people. Learning from them. Telling their stories.

That is why I write, for in telling those stories, I too am reminded of why life after 60 is such a gift.

What has Covid taught you about how valuable you are to your friends and family, and how much you need them? In what ways are you engaged with younger generations so that they can learn from you? Do you have a favorite story to share? Please do!

It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since Prince died, though for fans it feels like yesterday. So, the excitement for the upcoming Urban Decay Prince collection is fierce. The Prince Estate And Urban Decay announced the limited-edition partnership on Thursday, inspired in part by Prince’s creativity and personal style. Prince was known for his bold and unapologetic looks so we expect the makeup to be the same—with some purple hues, of course.

If you’re worried that Prince wouldn’t approve of this collaboration, know that it was done with members of Prince’s artistic camp. “I’m very excited for this collection. I hope it inspires you to make your own rules, just as Prince did for so many decades,” said Damaris Lewis in a statement. The actress, model, and dancer performed alongside the superstar.

“It’s incredibly important to carry on Prince’s legacy in a way that truly gets it right,” added photographer/director Randee St. Nicholas. “He challenged you to rise to his level of work ethic and intensity—not in a way that was threatening or fearful, you just didn’t want to disappoint him. He made you want to be your best, perform at the highest caliber and step outside of your comfort zone. When shooting, it was important to embody this boldness and freedom.”

Source: Instagram

We don’t know exactly what the products look like just yet but Wende Zomnir, Urban Decay brand co-founder, has been a huge Prince fan since the ’80s so you know she’ll do it justice. “We couldn’t possibly imitate someone as legendary as Prince, and to compare him to a palette would diminish what he represents,” she said in a statement. “It’s easy to say why this collection makes sense on the surface—his makeup looks and our shared love of purple—but we did our best to reflect his energy on a deeper level. We found his ethos of not asking permission to be who he was and owning it so boldly aligned with our values of breaking the mold and championing all forms of beauty.”

We’ll keep you updated on the launch later this month.

Ariana Madix’s Rainbow Toucan Print Dress on The Kelly Clarkson Show

The Kelly Clarkson Show May 5, 2021 Fashion

In case you missed it, Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval stopped by The Kelly Clarkson Show this past Wednesday to stir up some classic margaritas for Cinco De Mayo. And while they did provide us with a hangover cure, we’re thinking throwing on Ariana’s fun rainbow toucan print dress might also do the trick.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Farm Rio Dress

Click Here For Additional Stock

And Here For Even More Stock

Click Here to Watch Ariana & Tom on The Kelly Clarkson Show

Click Here to Shop Their Book “Fancy AF Cocktails”

Photo & Info: @Ariana252525

Originally posted at: Ariana Madix’s Rainbow Toucan Print Dress

Eboni K. Williams’ Red and White Dress on The Real

The Real May 5, 2021 Fashion

Although she may be a primetime regular on RHONY now, Eboni K. Williams made her rounds on the daytime talk show circuit this week including The Real (with RHOBH’s Garcelle!) where she wore this preppy-chic, red and white dress. Which with it’s dainty pearl buttons and super cute polo-style definitely has a good chance of ending up in our closets — for real. 

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to Shop Her Sandro Dress on Sale

Click Here For Additional Stock

Click Here to Watch a Clip of Eboni on The Real

Originally posted at: Eboni K. Williams’ Red and White Dress on The Real