My Aunt Jane passed away at 100. She was my favorite relative in the whole wide world and was like a mother to me. Jane was Daddy’s oldest sister; the only sibling who moved away from the Pacific Northwest. She chose San Francisco and later Palo Alto where she spent the rest of her life. I visited her when I was in high school and was in awe of how beautifully she dressed. Jane had made her clothes from the time she was young. By the time of my first visit, she was designing her own cloths, and taking them to her dressmaker in San Francisco to execute the construction—a practice she continued until she was 95 and had to stop driving.
Although I never knew Jane as a young woman, she was ageless. I never saw her without her hair done, wearing makeup, and being dressed attractively. Even as she was in her 90’s, she often wore an attractive, colorful dressing-gown at home in her beautiful condominium. A broken hip ultimately confined her to bed but we continued our weekly phone conversations and I visited her every chance I got. Her hairdresser of many years now came to her home for her weekly hair appointment. My last visit was shortly after Jane had celebrated her 100th birthday. It was the first time I had seen her without having her hair colored: snowy white and perfectly coiffed. She was wearing a pink bed jacket, lipstick and even had her nails polished!
Becoming an image consultant was no doubt inspired by Jane. As we age, we may gain a few wrinkles and perhaps a few pounds but we become more beautiful as our wisdom from the years is manifested. It saddens me when I meet ladies who are more mature who deem themselves too old to bother looking their best. How many times I have heard comments like, “Oh, I’m too old to have my colors done” or some other iteration of that theme. Each age has its own special beauty. That is why I was so excited when a client recently contacted me and asked me to help her put together a core wardrobe using her color palette and her best styles. We met and discussed how using key pieces would provide a versatile wardrobe that could be interchanged giving variety while providing a polished look. We decided to work together in the fall to choose pieces for her fall/winter wardrobe. One of my suggestions was to select basics then add a jacket to provide a more polished look. I just saw a picture of her on Facebook from Easter where she was wearing slacks and a shell topped with a beautiful lime green jacket, perfectly complementing her warm coloring. She was beautiful! I can hardly wait to help her put together a functional core wardrobe that looks great on her and provides a wonderful wardrobe for her lifestyle!
