Sometimes you can get lucky and your day job intersects with a hobby….in this case for me, I was asked to do my presentation, ‘Six Steps To a Stylish and Current Image – AT ANY AGE’ to a group of residents and prospective residents at Brookdale Senior Living in Manhattan….Brookdale is a lovely residential community that offers a wide range of living options for those that are independent as well as those that require assistance with daily activities…..on this raw and rainy day in May, a group of vibrant seniors were eager to share their opinions, ask questions, and debate the term ‘aging gracefully’………

What did I wear?   Well, to practice what I preach, Step #1 is Define Your Message……

To ‘send a message’ of a serious professional, I wore a cropped Alice and Olivia jacket with a classic black sheath, two toned pumps from Ann Taylor, and simple gold jewelry….One elegant lady commented that this outfit gave her the idea to wear the jacket of an old Valentino suit with a black pencil skirt……

Thinking about our busy lives, the ‘message’ you want to send may be different day to day, or even different in the same day!  This makes life fun, and is not too difficult if you have the right basics in your closet……To demonstrate this, I left the room for less than one minute and returned delivering a very different message – ready for fun!

As I shared with the group, this wool blend strapless dress has the look of Armani or Ralph Lauren, but no! It is Banana Republic found at a consignment shop! (Revolve in Lexington, MA) Looking upscale and stylish need not break the bank….(Ok, ok, the shoes are full priced Manolo Blahniks, but I saved on the dress!)

When I asked for a volunteer from the audience to come forward so we could guess her outfit ‘message’, I was beyond delighted to meet the stylish, 75 year old Carol who claims that she shops from her closet…… She actually likes to shop from a variety of places, including museum shops……I was surprised to hear that her cape came from Brooks Brothers – “You certainly don’t look like Brooks Brothers!”, I told her…..we defined her message as independent, artistic, and creative. How to tie/wear scarves was a hot topic with all – they are both function and fashion, but many become frustrated with more than a simple knot…..they were surprised to see how simple it is with my two favorite ways to wear a scarf (coming soon in another post…)

The final message to the group after reviewing the ‘Six Steps’ was that there is an added benefit to kicking up your fashion image:  not only will you look better on the outside, but you will feel better on the inside.  At any age, who doesn’t want that? 🙂

(PS  If you or someone you know may be interested in scheduling or hearing more about this presentation, please email me at candy.costas@yahoo.com)