Summer Handbags for Women Over 50 (Plus Apartment Luxuries)

The apartment finds its rhythm, three handbags earn their keep, and the NSale beauty aisle calls my name.

Well, hello Friday. Grit & Glammers, this was one of those weeks that felt full in the best way — a little chaos, a little progress, and a cone of ice cream thrown in for good measure. If last weekend was all about delivery trucks and washable rugs, this week was about the smaller things: the soaps, the scents, the artwork, and — because we’re still in the thick of summer — the handbags. Nothing updates a summer outfit better or faster than a great summer handbag, and I have three to show you. Here’s what I’ve been up to in Atlanta.

This Weekend at a Glance

• Three summer handbags that instantly refresh a warm-weather wardrobe: a pebbled leather bag, a striped custom tote, and a madras handbag.
• The small luxuries settling into the apartment: Preston Lane’s Mayfair soap set, Laundry Sauce, and Salt & Stone body wash.
• The guest room’s equestrian gallery wall found its muse in a reproduction Dufy.
• Two Chico’s linen looks I’ve barely taken off — a safari shirtdress and an embroidered jacket.
• A slow family afternoon at the High Museum, and a cone from Jeni’s on the way home.
• The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale is in full swing — my beauty stock-ups are below, and Public Access opens tomorrow.

The Apartment Is Finally Coming Together

If you’ve ever set up a second home, you know the stage I’ve been living in. Boxes everywhere. Nothing where it belongs. A whole lot of “I’ll get to that tomorrow.” But this week something shifted. A few boxes gone, a little order restored, and suddenly the place breathes. It’s starting to feel like mine.

My mother always said a home tells you what it needs. You just have to live in it and listen. She was right. She usually was.

As for the furniture — ah, the waiting game. Half the fun of a new space, half a lesson in patience. I’ve rearranged that living room in my head a hundred times before a single piece ever arrived. But they’re landing now, one by one, and I’ve made my peace with the empty corner that’s still “coming soon.” Good rooms are worth the wait. So are good wardrobes, come to think of it.

The Small Luxuries That Make It Home

While the big pieces take their time, the small ones have been quietly doing the work of making this apartment feel lived-in. And I’ve learned over the years that these are the purchases that punch far above their price tag — a theme regular readers will recognize from our little luxuries under $100 roundup.

• Preston Lane Mayfair Soap Set
• Laundry Sauce
• Salt & Stone Body Wash

Every good home needs a landing spot for dish soap and hand soap — that little station by the sink that says someone actually lives here. I’m loving the Preston Lane Mayfair set, which comes with its own ceramic tray, so the kitchen counter looks considered instead of cluttered. It’s the kind of detail nobody notices consciously, and everybody notices anyway.

And I’ve been obsessed with Laundry Sauce since I first tested it several months ago. If you haven’t tried it, imagine your laundry smelling like fine fragrance instead of, well, laundry. The Atlanta apartment has its own designated scent now, which might sound extravagant until you pull a towel out of the dryer and understand completely.

The shower earned an upgrade too: Salt & Stone body wash. This is one of those brands that took body care and treated it like fine fragrance — the scents are sophisticated and layered, nothing like the sugary-sweet washes crowding most shower shelves. The formula is enriched with skin-loving ingredients that leave everything soft rather than stripped, which matters more with every passing year, as we all know. It turns the most ordinary two minutes of your day into something that feels a little bit spa. At a certain age, we’ve earned that.

The Guest Room Found Its Muse

The guest room artwork is equestrian through and through — nine pieces on the gallery wall now — and the whole direction was inspired by this reproduction Dufy. There’s something about Dufy’s racetrack scenes: all that movement and color and old-world elegance, without taking itself too seriously. It set the tone for the entire room. One good print can do that — give a space its accent, and let everything else fall in line behind it.

The Summer Handbags That Update Everything

Now for the hero of the week. We’re still in the thick of summer, and here’s a truth I stand behind: nothing updates a summer outfit better and faster than a summer handbag. Same white jeans, same linen shirt — swap the bag, and suddenly it’s a whole new look. The best summer handbags for women over 50 lean into texture, color, and a little personality, and these three deliver on all counts.

• Leather Pebbled Bag
• Striped Custom Tote
• Madras Handbag

The pebbled leather bag is the polished one of the trio — the bag that goes from lunch to dinner without a second thought, and the texture gives it depth that smooth leather just doesn’t have. The striped custom tote is pure summer: roomy, crisp, and the kind of bag that makes even a grocery run feel like a day at the shore. And the madras handbag is my wildcard — that plaid is preppy in the best American Classic way, and it adds instant color to every neutral outfit in your closet.

One bag for polish, one for capacity, one for personality. That’s a summer handbag wardrobe, right there.

The Outfits: Two Linen Looks on Repeat

Now for the part a few of you have been asking about. I pulled two looks this week that I can’t stop reaching for.

First, the linen safari shirtdress. It’s the kind of thing you throw on and instantly feel put together. Belt it, add a great necklace, grab a straw bag, and out the door you go. Effortless and elegant, which is exactly my kind of getting dressed.

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• Linen Safari Shirtdress
• Triple Strand Necklace
• Wrapped Hoop Earrings
• Straw Belt
• Wicker Handbag
• Celine Sunglasses
• Similar Raffia Sandals

And the embroidered linen jacket. A little texture, a little polish, worn over a simple tank with black Bermuda shorts. It does all the work for you.

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• Linen Embroidered Jacket
• Microfiber Tank
• Wavy Bangle
• Faux Raffia Kitten Heels
• Similar Bamboo Handle Handbag

Both are from Chico’s, and honestly, I’ve barely taken them off.

And speaking of linen — this simple linen button-up and pull-on pants have been on style repeat. It’s the outfit equivalent of exhaling: elastic waist, rolled sleeves, done. The matching brown chambray set reads polished without a moment of effort, and that Coach kisslock handbag — all those candy-striped raffia colors in a frame bag straight out of another era — is doing exactly what a summer handbag should: adding all the personality while the outfit stays quiet. Proof, once again, that the fastest way to update linen is with the bag you carry.

Shop the Post

• Linen Button-Up
• Linen Pull-On Pants
• Tybee Oyster Earrings
• Coach Kisslock Handbag
• Espadrilles

An Afternoon at the High (and a Cone from Jeni’s)

The best part of my week, hands down. A slow afternoon at the High Museum with family. No agenda. No clock. Just the art and the people I love most. It resets me every time. If you’re ever in Atlanta, put the High on your list. And bring someone you love.

What’s Shipping to My Home

And now for my favorite new hobby: refreshing tracking numbers. My fifteen-piece NSale haul is officially en route to my doorstep — a little suede, a wonderful quilted puffer, some cashmere, and the kind of pants you’ll practically live in. All of fall, arriving in July boxes. There’s something delicious about that.

My rule with this sale? Browsing is easy. Buying is a vote. I only bring home what I know I’ll actually reach for — and every one of these fifteen passed that test.

And if you’re still mapping out your own strategy, my complete NSale guide covers all of it — what’s worth buying, what to skip, and my top ten picks of the entire sale. Public Access opens tomorrow, July 18. Consider this your final boarding call.

The Brushes Behind the Makeup

Here’s a truth every makeup lover learns eventually: your products are only as good as the tools you apply them with. Which brings me to BK Beauty — and a personal note. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Lisa, the founder, and she’s the real deal: a working makeup artist who built a brush company because she knew exactly what was missing from everyone’s makeup bag. She also runs a wonderful YouTube channel, Lisa J Makeup, that’s full of genuinely useful tutorials — the kind that respect your intelligence and your face. When the person behind the brand knows this much about makeup, the brushes show it. These are the brushes, and this one earning permanent spots at my vanity.

BK Beauty Brush

BK Beauty Brushes

NSale Beauty: What I’m Stocking Up On

With the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale in full swing, it’s the perfect time to stock up on favorite beauty items and test out new ones — the exclusive sets and sale pricing only come around once a year.

• Dermaflash
• Revitalash

First, the new-to-me: Dermaflash has been on my wishlist for a while now, and sale pricing was all the nudge I needed. Consider this my official test drive — full report to come.

And the tried-and-true: Revitalash. I’ve used this for several years, and this is exactly the kind of product you stock up on during the NSale — you know it works, you know you’ll use it, and you know what it costs the other eleven months of the year.

And one more, because a beauty roundup without Armani is hardly complete: Giorgio Armani makes my hands-down favorite foundation — the Luminous Silk, which I’d recommend to anyone without hesitation. So when I spotted the Armani Effortless Eyes Eyeshadow & Mascara Trio among the NSale Beauty Exclusives — a $94 value — it went straight onto my thinking-about-it list. When a brand has earned that kind of trust at the foundation level, trying their eye products is hardly a gamble. And these exclusive sets are the true once-a-year finds: they simply don’t exist outside the sale.

On My Nightstand

Life has kept me busy splitting time between Athens and Atlanta, but there’s a new book waiting for my next slow afternoon: Kin by Tayari Jones. A sweeping Southern story about mothers, daughters, and sisterhood — from an Atlanta author, no less, which felt exactly right for this chapter of my life. Reading an Atlanta writer while learning to call Atlanta home part-time? That’s the kind of symmetry I can’t resist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Closing Thoughts

That’s the week from Atlanta. Some order restored, a little art, a little ice cream, three handbags, and two outfits I love. Not a bad seven days.

Now tell me — what’s your summer handbag of choice this year? Leave me a note in the comments. I read every single one.

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Go put a smile on someone’s face today. Including your own. And I’ll do the same. Because style has no expiration date — and neither do you.