Big smiles over here Angie - and yes, the NYT is a *huge* deal!
Congratulations!!!
You always give the very best advice when it comes to looking and feeling your best. I like your 'do I feel like a grown up in this?' question the best when trying to determine if something looks and feels "age appropriate". Geeze I hate that term though - 'age appropriate'. It's just not the right thing to be asking because 'age' is always changing.
I may well have been more buttoned-up and conservative-looking in my younger years than I am now. So it's not really a question of "age" but rather a question of what fits right now.
In the meantime - you did very well with your NYT piece on how to nix the "age" from appropriate dressing. Actually, come to think of it - we could just as easily remove the word "age" and stick with "appropriate," don't you think? Appropriate for the person, situation, climate, style, personality or what have you. I'm not all that sure that age really has a whole lot to do with it. I don't find myself wearing certain things because I'm younger or older - I wear them because I like them and they fit the person I am now.
Once again, congratulations on the NYT byline...so fantastic!
