Style at a Certain Age: My Favorite Moments from 2025

A Letter from the Editor

In a few days, the house will be full. The tree will be doing its job. And I’ll be in my cranberry sweater and striped jeans, pretending I didn’t just eat my weight in coffee cake. I religiously make a Chocolate Chip coffee cake for Christmas brunch that’s hard to resist…

But right now—in this quiet pocket between wrapping paper chaos and someone asking “where’s the tape?”—I wanted to pause. To look back. To sit with what this year actually meant.

2025 was a year of becoming. Becoming BeBe. Becoming more myself. Becoming braver about saying the quiet parts out loud.

Here are seven moments I keep coming back to.

The Essay That Started Real Conversations

Reinvention for Women Over 50: Beyond the Blazer

This one was hard to write. It was also necessary.

I wrote about what reinvention actually looks like—not a juice cleanse and a fresh haircut, but the real stuff. The quiet rebuilding. Finding mascara that doesn’t run when you have a moment in Target. Cooking for one when you used to cook for two.

That’s not a glow-up. That’s grit. And no one hashtags that.

Your responses—over fifty of them—reminded me we’re not doing this alone. One reader lost two husbands and is still standing. Another taped the essay to her mirror.

Grace, grit, and the guts to begin again. That’s the thread running through all of us.

The Post That Took Off

How to Wear Leggings After 50

This post took off. Like, really took off.

I wrote it because I was done with the whispered rules about what we’re “allowed” to wear. Leggings don’t have an expiration date. They don’t care how old you are. And frankly? Neither should we.

Women in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s wrote to say they were pulling their leggings back out. One reader was about to donate her faux leather pair until she read the post. She kept them.

No apologies. No permission slips. Just women dressing for themselves.

The goal isn’t to look younger. It’s to look alive.

Right Before Becoming BeBe

Top Coastal Grandmother Style Brands for Effortless Elegance

This one arrived right as I was about to become BeBe—two granddaughters on the way. The timing felt poetic.

Coastal Grandmother isn’t about age. It’s about attitude. Linen that moves with you. Soft neutrals. The quiet confidence of a woman who has nothing left to prove.

It’s Nancy Myer energy. And I’m here for every bit of it.

A Favorite Fridays with Oscar Moment

Red, White & Bloom: Celebrating Memorial Day Weekend in Style

One of my favorite Fridays with Oscar moments this year.

Kelly and I in our versions of red, white, and blue. Matching red sandals. A watermelon cucumber salad that disappeared in minutes and a berry sangria that made the afternoon feel like summer should feel.

This is what Style at a Certain Age is really about. Not just what to wear—but how to live. Good food. Easy style. The people we love. All of it, together.

Kelly’s Standout Petite Style Post

Petite Winter Wedding Guest Dresses

Kelly wrote this one. And she knocked it out of the park.

Finding formal dresses when you’re petite can feel impossible—too long, too heavy, too much. Kelly broke it down: waist definition, proper length, the right shoes. She made velvet look effortless.

Petite styling isn’t about settling. It’s about knowing what flatters and owning it completely.

I’m so proud of her work here.

Jennifer on Simplifying Your Makeup Routine

Stop Overcomplicating Makeup: 7 Simple Steps for a Polished Look

Jennifer’s approach to beauty is exactly what I believe about style: less fuss, more intention.

Seven steps. Polished in minutes. No 45-minute bathroom sessions. She gave us permission to simplify—and reminded us that a bare face isn’t the goal, but neither is exhaustion.

The before-and-after said it all. A little effort, the right products, and you look like yourself. Just more awake.

A Style at a Certain Age Favorite: The Laundry Room Refresh

Simple Laundry Room Makeover Ideas

I almost didn’t publish this one. A laundry room? On a style blog?

But here’s what I’ve learned: style isn’t just what you wear. It’s how you move through your life. And if a fresh coat of Sherwin-Williams Smoke Gray and a few glass jars can make folding towels feel less like a chore—that counts.

The response surprised me. Over forty comments from women who’d never thought to beautify the room where they spend hours every week. Some ordered the bamboo washer-dryer shelf before they’d finished reading. Others just wanted to talk about dryer balls.

What I loved most? The permission it gave. To care about the small spaces. To invest in the everyday. To believe that it’s never too late—and you’re never too old—for a little refresh.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As I write this, Christmas is days away. The grandbabies are coming. The coffee cake is planned. And I’m already thinking about what next year will bring—for this space, for my writing, for the community we’ve built together.

Thank you for being here. Thank you for making Style at a Certain Age what it is. For reading. For commenting. For sharing your own stories of reinvention and resilience in the comments. For wearing the leggings anyway.

From our family to yours—Merry Christmas. Here’s to a new year of grace, grit, and a little glam.

With love,