Meet the Female CEOs Redefining Midlife Beauty and Style
by Sandra Rose Salathe
How to Wear Fall’s Biggest Fashion Trends
A Celebrity Derm Shares Her Five Essential Products for Mature Skin
Best Style Books for Women Over 40
What Does ‘Timeless Style’ Mean to You?
flow forum
It was sometime during my mid-40s when I went online to find a fun dress for a holiday party. I soon fell in love with a puffy-sleeved floral number with a deep v-neckline and a bubble skirt that hit just above the knee. I ordered it in my usual size, and when the dress arrived it was just as pretty as it had been in the pictures.
I stepped into it. I zipped it up. I turned to look at myself in the mirror—the shoulder seams hit where they were supposed to; the waist was fitted but not too fitted; the skirt hem landed in the right spot.
And yet nothing about the dress looked right on me.
That was the moment I realized my body was changing, in all the ways that I now know happen as women move through perimenopause toward menopause.
I’m not going to lie: it took me a minute to wrap my brain around how—despite the strength training I did, and the protein-rich foods I sought out, and the daily long walks I took—there were physical changes happening I couldn’t fully control. Which begged the question, Well, how am I supposed to dress now?
This question is about more than just vanity. Because the reality is, we all need to get dressed every day in clothes that make us feel good emotionally, mentally and physically, and that allow us to move through this phase of life with comfort and confidence.
That’s why this month we’re launching style coverage on Flow Space. Our mission is to deliver the latest science- and data-backed solutions for optimizing your life span and your health span, and we think sharing information about clothes, skin and hair care, and makeup that offer specific solutions for midlife women is a key part of this work.
Our cover star for The Style Issue, Heather Graham, couldn’t agree more. As she told me during our interview, Gen X and millennial women “are at our peak experience, wisdom, life and knowing who we are. So this is the moment to really feel great about ourselves."
We hope that’s exactly the message you’ll get as you go through these pages.
Heather Graham Knows What She Wants
on the cover
Marci Zaroff
Stacy London
Alysia Reiner
Rachel Platten
Gabby Reece
Marci Zaroff
"As a champion of sustainable fashion, I would define timeless style as versatile design in core lasting colors and silhouettes, made from durable low-impact materials. Fashion right, but not trendy, elevated high-quality essentials to be worn again & again, like your favorite black dress—and/or playing a role in the circular economy (vintage, rental, etc).”
Alysia Reiner
I cannot think of classic style without thinking about Katharine Hepburn, Diane Keaton (love her classic style insta), and my Grandma Seena. A wide trouser, a men’s oversized button down white shirt, a tuxedo jacket, a white tank, and a little black dress are some of my favorite classic items. Grandma Seena taught me a few great tips I still use, and I have items I bought (IN MY TEENS) that effortlessly still work today.
Rachel Platten
Mixing menswear with silk blouses and materials that are luxurious. Then high low, with some vintage jewelry, or a beautiful, chunky belt that's unique. I think mixing in vintage is one way. Then I like mixing menswear and neutrals.
Gabby Reece
Because of my size I have had to adjust what style means to me. I use clothing as a way to organize myself for the day almost like a uniform. Even in the days I'm not feeling ready, I use the style to put me in the appropriate state of mind. So, whether for workout, meetings, or shoots I use that as a tool. I wish I was more creative, but things don't fit.
Stacy London
If you're talking about style, that comes from the individual, not from the industry. We have to remember that fashion is about play. Style is about play. You are allowed, as you age, to find a different style that suits you better than the one that you have.
At 54, the Gen X star says she has left “self-hatred” behind thanks to a grounding wellness routine, a thriving career as an actress, producer, and director, and a supportive group of female friends she calls “the committee.”
read the cover story
letter from the editor
7 Best Beauty Brands for Women Over 40
BY SANDRA ROSE SALATHE
The
Style
Issue
starring
Heather Graham
read the cover story
My Style Evolution with Heather Graham
Essential Fashion Influencers for Women Over 40
Editorial
Editor-in-Chief GALINA ESPINOZA
Design Director JENNIFER CIMINILLO
Health Editor EMILY CEGIELSKI
Health Writer SANDRA ROSE SALATHE
Social Media Editor JENNIFER SHANKER
SHE Media
Chief Marketing Officer
JEN DENTON
Chief Content Officer CRISTINA VELOCCI
VP, Video RESHMA GOPALDAS
Director, Live Media CAITLIN CORKERY
Video Editor SARAH WALLACE
Director of Photography DESTIN HERNANDEZ
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click on each photo to read their answers!
photograph bY ANGELA CAPPETTA
The Authoritative Guide to Thinning Hair
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