Fashion Accessories for Marvelous Mature Women: Express Your Personality and Look Great!

Scarves, jewelry, hats – the sky is the limit when it comes to accessories. Join us in conversation with style blogger Susan Good who has an amazing number of different accessories to share. Enjoy the show!

Margaret Manning:

My guest today is Susan Good. Susan is a wife, a mother and a grandmother to 25. She is an author and has a fabulous website called HoneyGood.com. I wanted to have her on the show because she’s dedicated her life to helping women over 50 to feel confident and to find their true style as they get a little older. Hi, Susan.

Susan “Honey” Good:

Good morning from the United States. It’s so nice to see you.

Margaret:

Hello from Switzerland.

Susan:

I love your country.

Margaret:

Thank you. It is pretty cool, and so is the States. I have lived in Seattle for 20-some years. I want to call you “Honey” because I know you like to be called Honey. It’s the name that your grandchildren, your friends – everyone – calls you. Welcome, Honey, to Sixty and Me.

Susan:

It’s my pleasure to be here with all of you.

Margaret:

It’s mutual. So, Honey, we have a lot of women in our community who want to define their style as they get older. Some of them are working with a palette of solid colors that they want to accessorize.

I’m in that category as well. I feel that basic clothing works for me, but then I play with jewelry and scarves as accents. So, since you have a wonderful sense of style, I wanted to hear your thoughts on the subject of accessories.

Susan:

I’d love to. I’ll start with something a little older because I know many of us have saved some older sentimental pieces in our jewelry drawer.

This is my charm bracelet that my mom and dad started making me when I was about 12. Through the years, they added to it, and then my late husband added to it as well. It’s grown so huge now that I no longer wear it as a bracelet.

Because I’m very sentimental, I took this chain necklace that belonged to my grandmother and chained the charms to it. Now I wear them on my neck.

Margaret:

I love this piece for two reasons. One, it really shows you’re a sentimental person for whom accessories are not flat and one-dimensional. They’re deeply connected to your family and things that are important to you.

And number two, you’re really connected to your jewelry, so much so that it reflects your personality. This piece is an interesting and beautiful idea. Show us something else.

Susan:

I like my outfits to be basic in a way that I can wear them in a casual setting and still be able to dress them up. Let me show you this brooch my husband bought me in Paris. It’s very sentimental.

I will put the brooch on an outfit that’s all grey or all black and very basic, and suddenly, it comes alive. Then I’ll pair it with this very old Chanel earring that I saved from the boutique, and all of a sudden, I can go from shopping during the day to putting on the brooch with the earring and go out at night.

I strongly believe that out of anything I own, accessories are the most important.

Margaret:

When we’re traveling, we always try to minimize the items we take with us to just the basics. So, I think that taking two or three basic outfits and a couple of great accessories like the ones you just showed us, can make our whole being come to life.

You can be wearing all black or gray, but a necklace of colorful beads like the one I have on right now, can really bring up the outfit. I take this one when I travel, because just like you, I’m a sentimental person.

Susan:

Also, you can wear it with many outfits.

Margaret:

Exactly. I love how you said that accessories should magnify your personality.

Susan:

Yes, they should definitely magnify your personality. Now, let me show you this boot. It’s a little over my ankle.

Margaret:

Oh wow! It’s beautiful. What’s the material? Is it leather?

Susan:

It’s all cloth. I can wear it with gray, winter white or black, and it really brings an outfit to life. Just this one accessory. When I’m out and about, the first thing I will notice no matter where I am are different types of accessories.

Margaret:

I’m really glad you mentioned shoes because people don’t think of them as accessories. Bracelets, necklaces, scarves, those are the usual things we think about.

I’m not a big shoe person but having an interesting shoe is so powerful. I can imagine you wearing a leopard-skin slip-on or a red shoe with a black outfit.

Susan:

I really do love shoes, and I think most women do. Many tend to collect shoes.

Margaret:

I agree. But we don’t always think of shoes as accessories, and I’m glad you mentioned them as such.

Susan:

My next accessory is a belt to which I’ve added this cute little purse. Now when I go out shopping, even to the grocery store or the market, I put in one lipstick, one credit card and a little cash, and I am out the door. My arms are free and it’s really stylish.

Margaret:

That is a brilliant idea. I wonder why more people haven’t thought to be creative in such a way. There’s a recycling place down the road from me and I visit it every week. I’ve seen lots of little handbags there, but I never buy them because they’re not practical for me. This idea, though, is really cool and interesting.

Susan:

Now it’s really practical, and it’s a great accessory for sure.

Next on my list are glasses. I didn’t have to wear glasses until I was 45, but I have saved and recycled every single pair of glasses since then. Everything eventually comes back, and I think glasses are a great accessory.

I happen to love light blue because it speaks of calmness. Here’s a pair of glasses I’ve had for many years. They have silver frames, blue lenses and beautiful sides.

Margaret:

They’re really beautiful. I think I’ve seen a picture of you in those glasses.

Susan:

Look at these next ones: black on the outside, red on the inside. The prescription on them is brand new, but I think they’re from the 40s.

Margaret:

Those are pretty on you. They also have a little bit of red across the top of the rim, which is like a necklace in itself. It’s really cool.

Susan:

It causes attention, doesn’t it? It’s an accessory.

Margaret:

I think that glasses are a very nice accessory. I don’t wear mine for everything like you do, but when I put them on, I do like them. They change my appearance.

Susan:

They do. Here’s another pair that I really love. But I think it’s important to go out and be a little daring and if you see a cute frame, buy it. If you do wear a prescription, have the store tint the lens in a color you really like. Glasses are not only a great accessory, but they make you feel stylish.

Margaret:

They’re not an expensive accessory either. You can buy cute glasses in markets and thrift stores. The “older the better,” which is true of us as well, but also the sunglasses from the 40s and 50s are so interesting. They make for lovely pieces. Do you wear hats?

Susan:

I do, but let me find something I can show you.

Margaret:

While you’re doing that, let me ask about your family. All the pictures behind you show you’re very family-oriented, and I know you have 25 grandchildren.

Susan:

I love my family. I love my husband. I call him my ultimate concierge because he helps me a lot. We are a second marriage. We were both widowed, and that’s why I have so many grandchildren.

Margaret:

I thought the number 25 must have come from a blended family.

Susan:

Some of the photos behind me are from my girlfriends that are very special to me. Now here’s my hat. My husband bought this for me in Paris because he thought I had to have it. It’s a beret.

Margaret:

I love it. I’m a huge beret fan. I collect them and have one in every color. I used to have a lot more than I do now though. I like to match them to other accessories like scarves. So, if I’m wearing a purple beret, I wear a purple scarf. My fingernails are turquoise today, so I might wear a turquoise beret.

Susan:

Oh wow. This is my only beret, but collecting them sounds like a great idea.

Margaret:

They’re really fun to wear, and I think that people smile at you more when you wear a hat.

Susan:

I think hats really make a statement.

Margaret:

I think hats make you more interesting and approachable. Also, I think that when you find an item of clothing, whether it’s glasses or a hat, which makes you feel authentically you, then you glow when you wear it. It’s just natural.

Susan:

I think that a hat, especially a beret, is very feminine. I can imagine you walking down the street with a green beret, and it’s a very chic look.

Margaret:

I agree. So far, we discussed necklaces, glasses, shoes and hats. What’s next?

Susan:

I have this green nuanced headband, which I think would be great to wear on any day. I also bought a scarf to go with it. So, if I’m wearing a very basic outfit, it suddenly comes to life with the headband and scarf, and I’m not a plain Jane anymore.

This is the kind of thing we want to accomplish with our style, and we want to do it for ourselves, not for somebody else. It’s part of our essence and makes us feel happier and alive.

Margaret:

I totally agree with you, and I really think that accessories make you shine. They’re your voice. You could feel uncertain about the style of an outfit, but when your accessories are on, then you are talking from your heart.

Susan:

Your accessories show your personality. Now look at this bead headband. I haven’t worn it often though.

Margaret:

I haven’t seen that style before. Where did you find it?

Susan:

Just out and about, when roaming the shops.

Margaret:

It looks really great. Thank you for sharing your amazing accessories with us, Susan.

What’s your favorite accessory? Does it have a sentimental value to you? What do you think is the purpose of accessories and how do you wear them in your day-to-day life? Please share your thoughts and stories in the comment box below.