Thank you Jeanie! That is wonderful information to have. I appreciare it SO much!!

The other day, I was sitting on the train heading into Sydney, Australia. In front of me was a woman, about 65-70, I think. She wore white sneakers, white socks, pale green polyester capris and a patterned polyester shirt. It was hot, so it would have felt like wearing a plastic bag. Her hair was short and permed, in a nondescript colour. Just outside the window was a woman about the same age striding along the platform. She wore smart (but comfortable looking) silver leather flats, white denim capris and a navy and white striped t-shirt. Her hair was short, but very modern looking and stylish. The two women were basically wearing a similar silhouette, but the difference between styling was astounding. Anyone from teens onward could wear the look on the walking woman. It was all in the fabrics, cut and attitude.
Anyway, I hope you and your mum enjoy your time together and she finds what she's looking for.

Thank you Dimity! That was such a great picture that you painted. The first woman is exactly the style trap my mom is wanting to avoid!

On the silver hair transition there are many sites that have tips and ideas as well as hairstyles that your Mom can print thank about and look at. She is lucky to have hair that looks thick. These sites are VERY upbeat and thrilled about gray hair. It Going with the skunk stripe is a rocky road that with her length will take about 3 years... even with the cut. It is a tough go.
Tell her to join Cafe Gray, and on FB there are numerous, Going Gray, Looking Great , Gray and Proud, and Going Gray and Loving it.
There are valuable resources for makeup tips, with a big focus on brows on the last one. There are several bloggers that are great as well. The trick is to stay away from anything that looks remotely like the Queen Mother or Queen E. herself.

On the bra... I think her current bra looks fine. I wish I could look as good. You need to go to a bra shop that specializes in bras. They have other clients in her age group... and they should be able to find the right bra. The RIGHT bra can make a huge difference in how one looks in clothes and in how she feels. It is worth to spend the money on this I think.

The makeup I am not that up to date on. I think others here have a much better idea of "natural" or "organic" makeup.

As far as non-frumpy... the gals here know best and those ideas from Inge are fantastic. Really great.

Thank you so much for all of the great information, Sheila! I will definitely pass along the sites to her on going grey. I know that she will appreciate it! I do think that her current bras are really good ones. Her main issue is that they aren't comfortable for around the the house, but going without isn't a good option either. And she is at home much more than she is ever out...
Thanks again! Between everyone, I think that we have all of the bases covered!

Sarah you are a true blessing to your Mom. I hope that you keep us posted on her journey.

Thank you Debbie, I certainly will!

I am a few years younger than your mother, but from your description it sounds like we may have some similar body type issues in terms of dressing. I wanted to mention that, in addition to flats, she may want to consider shoes that are wedges. I am a short (about 5' tall) hourglass and I find that flats are not always the most flattering on me. On the other hand, the booties that I often wear with my skinny jeans are wedges that are super comfortable even when I am doing a lot of walking. This might be a nice change for her when she goes out, even if she wears flats at home.

Thank you Dee! Can you tell me a brand name and style (if you know it) for your wedges. Shoes are a real issue for her. She has some problems with her feet and went through a time when she only had about 2 pairs of special orthopedic shoes (that she hated). She has branched out a little, but still has to be very careful. Since yours are comfy, she may be able to try some like them. Thanks so much for commenting. I really appreciate it.

I bought my booties last year at Target so they were certainly not expensive ones. Although the exact style is not available this year, I noted online that they seem to have updated the style for this year. They are the Mad Love Lenora Ankle Wedge booties. Mine have straps and buckles while these seem like they may have some type of laces. Because I live in Florida, I spend much of the year wearing sandals and open toe shoes, but I have enjoyed these very much. Even if these don't work for her, some others might work for her because it seems like this type of bootie is pretty prevalent right now.

Thanks so much, Dee! I will pass that along. We also live in (central) Florida.