Month: February 2026

I’ve been in the fitness industry long enough to see trends rise, peak, and quietly disappear. High-intensity boot camps. CrossFit. Workouts designed for a younger audience but marketed to women of all ages. I’ve watched each one arrive with enormous promise and leave behind a trail of sore joints, discouragement, and women who quietly concluded that maybe exercise just wasn’t for them.

That conclusion, more than any workout, is what I’ve spent my career working against.

What the Industry Kept Getting Wrong

For years, the narrative in fitness was simple: work harder, burn more, push through. Workouts were built around calorie output and intensity metrics, with little attention paid to how a body actually moves – or to the long-term cost of moving it badly.

What this approach missed was joint health, movement quality, and the reality that chronic stress on an aging body doesn’t build it up – it wears it down. The ‘no pain, no gain’ mentality, poor alignment, repetitive strain – women feel these consequences every day, in their knees, their hips, their lower backs. They’re the reasons so many women hit their 50s and 60s feeling like exercise is something their bodies can’t cope with.

The fitness industry wasn’t designing programs for these women. It was designing programs for younger bodies and hoping the marketing would do the rest.

What I Actually Saw Work

Over time, a different pattern emerged – and it had nothing to do with intensity.

The women who stayed strong, mobile, and pain-free into their 60s and 70s weren’t the ones who pushed hardest. They were the ones who stopped trying to. They found movement they could sustain, showed up consistently, and built strength slowly enough that it actually held.

I’ll be honest: this challenged some of my own assumptions. Early in my career (like most women) I believed effort was the variable that mattered most. What I kept observing was that quality of movement was the difference that mattered most. Alignment. Control. Awareness of how the body was actually working, rather than just how hard it was working. This is Pilates.

What Pilates Actually Is (Because It’s Not What Most People Think)

Let me address the misconception directly, because I hear it often: Pilates is NOT stretching. It’s not just ‘a core workout’. It is not gentle in the sense of being easy. And it is absolutely not just for dancers or the young and flexible.

Pilates done well is strength training – it just happens to be joint-friendly and precise enough to retrain how your body actually moves. It builds the deep stabilizing muscles that protect the spine and hips. It corrects the compensation patterns that develop over decades of desk work, stress, and movement habits we never questioned. It is retraining our muscles as much as it is fitness.

What makes it uniquely suited to women over 60 is that it meets the body where it actually is, rather than demanding it perform or “push through” just to keep up.

If you’ve never tried Pilates, this short practice is a good place to start – no equipment and beginner friendly.

The Women Who Changed My Mind Completely

Nothing has shaped my thinking more than watching the women in my own online studio.

Some of my most consistent, most capable members are women in their late 50s and 60s who would tell you, without hesitation, that they were never “exercisers.” They didn’t have a fitness background. They hadn’t done sport or gym routines for most of their adult lives. They found Pilates – sometimes by accident, sometimes out of desperation after an injury – and something shifted.

Several of these women have now been practising Pilates two to three times a week for more than five years. Not because anyone pushed them. Not because they set aggressive goals. But because for the first time, movement felt like something their bodies could do rather than something being done to them.

That, I’ve come to believe, is the only metric that actually predicts long-term success: does this feel sustainable? Does it feel like something you look forward to doing?

What I’d Tell Any Woman Starting Now

Stop chasing the workout that promises the most. Start looking for the one you’ll still be doing in five years.

Consistency outlasts intensity every time. A practice you return to twice a week for years will do more for your strength, your balance, your bone density, and your confidence than any program you burn out on in six weeks.

You don’t need to earn the right to move well. You don’t need to have been athletic your whole life. And you don’t need to suffer through exercise that doesn’t suit your body to prove that you’re taking your health seriously.

The women I’ve watched thrive aren’t the ones who worked hardest. They’re the ones who finally found movement that felt good – and kept showing up.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What do you imagine when you hear the word Pilates? Have you tried it? What other practices have you tried and did any of the stick?

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Originally posted at: Dorit Kemsley’s Black Belted Trench Coat

For most of your adult life, the answer to that question was simple.

Your money came from a paycheck.

You showed up. You worked. You were paid. Taxes were taken out. Benefits were deducted. And what was left landed in your bank account like clockwork. There was a rhythm to it.

In retirement, that rhythm changes.

The money doesn’t disappear. But it no longer arrives in the same way. And even when you’re financially prepared, that shift can feel surprisingly unsettling.

Retirement Income Doesn’t Vanish – It Changes Shape

One of the biggest misconceptions about retirement is that income somehow stops when work ends.

In reality, it usually becomes layered.

For example, someone might receive:

• $2,400 per month from Social Security
• $1,200 per month from a pension
• $2,000 per month from IRA withdrawals

That’s about $5,600 per month, or roughly $67,000 per year.

It may not look like a traditional salary anymore, but it’s still income. It’s just coming from different places.

Instead of one employer providing it, several sources now work together. Understanding that structure often brings more calm than people expect.

Some Income Is Steady, Some Requires You to Decide

In retirement, income typically falls into two categories.

There’s steady income – like Social Security or a pension – that shows up each month once you claim it.

And then there’s income that depends on you making decisions.

If someone needs $60,000 per year to live comfortably and steady sources provide $42,000, the remaining $18,000 must come from investments.

That gap isn’t a problem. It’s simply part of the design.

But it does require intention.

You’re no longer just receiving income. You’re directing it.

That shift alone can make retirement feel heavier than expected.

What Happens When You Start Withdrawing?

Many people worry that once withdrawals begin, their portfolio will steadily shrink until it’s gone.

That’s usually not how it works.

A common starting guideline is withdrawing around 4% in the first year. If someone has $750,000 invested, 4% would be about $30,000.

The rest of the portfolio stays invested. It continues to grow or fluctuate, depending on how it is invested, and support future income.

The goal isn’t to spend everything down quickly. It’s to create income that can last 25 or even 30 years.

Of course, 4% isn’t a rule carved in stone. Some people withdraw less. Some withdraw more. It depends on lifestyle, health, age, and comfort with risk.

But having a framework can make the process feel less mysterious.

A Simpler Way to Picture It: The Bucket Approach

For some retirees, it helps to stop thinking of their portfolio as one large number and instead imagine it in “buckets.”

Each bucket serves a different time horizon.

Bucket 1: Short-Term Needs

This bucket contains one to three years of living expenses held in cash or conservative investments.

If annual spending is $60,000, that might mean setting aside $60,000 to $180,000 for stability. This money isn’t meant to grow aggressively. It’s there so market swings don’t affect next year’s income.

Bucket 2: Intermediate Needs

Here you place funds intended for the next three to five years. Often invested more conservatively – perhaps in bonds or bond funds – this bucket gradually refills the first one.

Bucket 3: Long-Term Growth

Money not needed for five years or more. This portion may remain invested in equities to help support growth and offset inflation.

Dividing assets this way doesn’t increase the total amount you have. But it can change how retirement feels.

When markets fluctuate, you know your immediate income isn’t tied to those daily headlines.

That kind of clarity can be powerful and liberating.

Taxes Still Matter in Retirement

Retirement doesn’t mean taxes disappear. In fact, taxes often become more layered in retirement, especially once required withdrawals begin.

Different income sources are taxed differently.

Social Security may be partially taxable depending on overall income. Traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals are generally taxed as ordinary income. Roth withdrawals, if qualified, are usually tax-free. Brokerage accounts may create capital gains in addition to income tax.

Two people withdrawing the same $60,000 per year could owe very different amounts in taxes depending on where that money comes from.

So “Where does your money come from?” isn’t just philosophical. It affects efficiency, too.

The Bigger Shift Is Psychological

During your working years, income was external. An employer generated it.

In retirement, income becomes internal. It comes from assets you built over decades.

That can feel empowering. It can also feel heavy.

But when you step back and see the full picture – steady income, flexible withdrawals, time-based buckets, tax layers – it often feels steadier than it first appears.

The money is still coming in.

It’s just coming from different places.

A Few Questions to Reflect On:

Do you feel clear about where your money comes from now? Does one source feel more secure than the others? Have you ever taken the time to map it all out in one place? And perhaps the most important question – does your income structure give you peace of mind?

I’d truly love to hear how this feels for you. Retirement looks different for everyone, and the more we talk about it, the less mysterious it becomes.

Photos + Info: Bravo TV

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Originally posted at: Real Housewives of Potomac Season 10 Reunion Looks

My mom never stopped asking me when I was going to have my long hair cut short. Even at 96 years old, she felt compelled to warn me that long hair on women of a certain age looked “inappropriate,” her word for attention-seeking.

With an adorable, curly pomp that got a “wash and set” every Friday, my mom was understandably a product of a generation where women, once married and maternal, were expected to do the sensible thing with their hair.

Old cultural norms told us that long hair belonged to the young, the carefree and the delightfully flirtatious. Once you had children, wanted to be taken seriously in your career, or passed some invisible expiration date on desirability, a short crop or a chin-grazing bob was just another rite of passage.

And yet, here we are in 2026, watching women over 60 go to great lengths to do exactly the opposite.

Scroll social media, flip through fashion coverage, or simply pay attention in the real world, and you’ll see it everywhere: silver hair worn long and loose, glossy ponytails swinging with confidence or peeking out from the backs of baseball caps, soft waves framing faces rich with experience. Later-life women are no longer quietly editing themselves out of the style conversation. They’re embracing every opportunity to dress their authentic selves, and long hair has become one of its most visible signatures.

Style-Makers Over 60 Prove Long Hair Has No Age Limit

Celebrities and style-makers have helped normalize this shift. Actress Demi Moore has made long, dark hair part of her enduring visual identity, well into her 60s. She even locked in an endorsement contract as Global Brand Ambassador for the Kérastase line of hair care – a deal usually reserved for 20-year-old stars.

Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh, also in her 60s and more powerful than ever, often wears her hair long and flowing, pairing elegance with authority on red carpets around the world. Trinny Woodall, a popular midlife style rule-breaker, regularly shows up online with long, undone hair that reinforces her message: wear what works for you. And actress, singer and songwriter Rita Wilson continues to favor long, feminine styles that feel relaxed, confident, and unmistakably modern.

What’s striking is that none of this feels like clinging to youth. It feels like living authentically and claiming visibility.

For decades, women were subtly told that long hair signaled a desire for male attention, or worse, an unwillingness to look or grow “old.” Thank goodness today’s later-life women are outliving those stereotypes. Many are single, dating again, or simply enjoying a renewed relationship with their own concept of what it means to look and feel beautiful. Long hair, for some, seems playful, while for others it feels powerful. For many, it’s just who they are.

The Beauty Industry Responds to Women Over 60 Embracing Long Hair

The beauty industry is fully on board with the later-life, long hair movement. According to industry analysts, the global hair care market has ballooned into an annual $80+ billion category, with particularly strong growth in premium products, serums, masks, and scalp treatments. These are exactly the kinds of tools that support longer, healthier hair at every age.

Hair color, too, has become more nuanced and sophisticated, with gray-blending techniques, dimensional color, and gentler formulations making it easier than ever to maintain long, lush locks without sacrificing hair health. Long hair is no longer reserved for the young or genetically lucky. It’s accessible because it’s supported by better technology, smarter formulations, and a broader understanding that great hair doesn’t have an age limit.

Recently, I had this conversation with my hair stylist, John Vega of Salon Del Mar in Santa Fe, New Mexico. John began cutting hair in the 1980s and says he has seen every trend from shaved heads to Cher hair. He notes that well-groomed, below-the-shoulders hair has become entirely acceptable for women in their later years.

“I wouldn’t say that the women I see are focused on sex appeal,” Vega explains. “It’s more about feeling independent and being able to look how they want. Women see older celebrities with long hair looking great and really owning their identity. They don’t feel like they have to give that up simply because of the age on their driver’s license.”

Growing Long Hair After Chemotherapy: Reclaiming Femininity

For some women, growing hair long later in life carries even deeper meaning. After chemotherapy and cancer treatment, hair loss can feel like a public stripping away of femininity and control. Growing hair long again becomes an act of rebellion and reclamation and a visible declaration of survival. For these cancer warriors, it’s not about vanity. It’s about agency and choosing to look and feel “womanly” after a period of devastating trauma.

Reinventing Yourself After 60: Freedom, Visibility and Choice

And then there’s freedom. Many women in their 60s and beyond are no longer living by anyone else’s rules. Children leave the house, careers shift, partnerships change, and body image evolves. What’s left is a wide-open space ready to be filled with something new – or perhaps the return of something from long ago.

What’s most powerful is how unforced this movement feels. No manifesto. No trend forecast required. Just women choosing what feels expressive, authentic, and joyful for themselves.

Going to great lengths, it turns out, has very little to do with hair. It’s about the refusal to believe there’s an expiration date on anything that makes you feel good.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

How do you wear your hair? What have you been told about keeping your hair long?