October 12, 2025 • 41 mins
Feeling invisible? You're not alone—and you have more power than you think. In this empowering conversation, fashion stylist and YouTube creator Nancy Queen (Shopping on Champagne) reveals why women over 50 often feel like they've disappeared, and more importantly, how to take that visibility back. From discovering your unique "style words" to the life-changing magic of a proper bra fitting, Nancy shares practical, confidence-boosting advice that will transform how you show up in the world. If you've ever felt like a wallflower at your own life's party, this episode is your wake-up call to put on those red shoes and reclaim your space.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- The Visibility Crisis: Why women over 50 feel invisible—and the surprising truth about how to take that power back
- Style Words Exercise: How identifying 3-5 style words can revolutionize your wardrobe and shopping habits (free resource available!)
- Closet Detox Strategy: The counterintuitive approach to purging your closet that helps you see what you actually love
- Body Shape Wisdom: Understanding your body shape beyond the fruit—rectangles, triangles, and how to dress for YOUR unique proportions
- The Comparison Trap: How to stop measuring yourself against social media's highlight reels and embrace your authentic style
- Color Confidence: When to follow the rules and when to break them—wearing what makes YOU happy
- Building a Capsule Wardrobe: Practical tips for creating outfits you love without the overwhelm
- Timeless vs. Trendy: Nancy's philosophy on investing in quality pieces that work for your lifestyle
Nancy Queen is a fashion stylist, designer, and the creative force behind Shopping on Champagne. She's passionate about helping women over 50 navigate the unique challenges of menopause, body changes, and style evolution—all while building a supportive community where women can celebrate fashion together.
Connect with Nancy: Shopping on Champagne
JOIN THE ROYAL WAIT LIST! Sign up to receive exclusive bonus content and VIP access for the launch of my new book in October!
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Rose Wippich bridges ancient wisdom and modern life, teaching people how to tap into their natural healing abilities. As an Energy Alchemist, she guides women towards vibrant health and helps them rewrite limiting narratives around aging and step into their sovereign power. Discover how to protect your energy, honor your boundaries, and reconnect with your true desires. Your journey to energetic sovereignty starts here.
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Produced by Rose Wippich | Chat Off The Mat Podcast
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rose (00:01):
Ready to unlock your most vibrant, authentic self?
Welcome to Chat Off The Mat,where holistic wellness meets
practical wisdom andextraordinary transformation.
I'm your host, Rose Wippich.
I'm a Qigong instructor, yogateacher and a Reiki Master, so
get ready for inspiringconversations with wellness
(00:21):
experts who understand yourunique journey, plus practical
tools for energy healing, lifetransitions and conscious and
soulful living.
Your journey to radiantwellness starts now.
Let's create magic together.
Are you a woman over 50 whostands in front of a closet
(00:42):
bursting with clothes but stillfeels like you have nothing to
wear?
Well, today on Chat Off The Mat, we're joined by fashion
industry veteran Nancy Queen.
After decades working withluxury fashion brands and the
knitting industry, nancy nowhelps women just like you unlock
their signature style.
Nancy's unique approach doesn'tjust dress you.
(01:02):
It helps you express who youtruly are.
Stay tuned to transform yourrelationship with fashion and
reclaim your style confidenceafter 50.
Welcome, nancy.
Nancy (01:15):
Thank you so much for having me, Rose.
It's a lot of fun to be here.
Rose (01:19):
Yeah, thank you for being here.
I'm so excited.
I just want to start off bytelling everyone please find I
usually wait till the end pleasefind Nancy on social media and
YouTube, because she has thebest videos.
I just want to say that I lovewatching all your video shorts
and your YouTube videos.
Nancy (01:36):
You can search Nancy Queen, but it's under Shopping
on Champagne All right, so let'sstart off by talking about
Nancy.
Well, it's been kind of a funnyroad to get here.
I went to school for fashion.
I worked for a lot of fashionbig brands like Saks, fifth
Avenue, nautica, lord Taylor,guess, lilly Pulitzer so lots of
(02:10):
big brands and various areas offrom styling people and helping
people in their fitting roomsto management and then back end
work.
I worked for a sweatermanufacturer for a long time and
then I got out of it when I hadmy daughter and I got into the
knitting world and starteddesigning patterns.
I've written four books onknitting and crochet, did that
for about 20 years, had somebrick and mortar stores.
(02:33):
Then I lost right around COVID.
I lost it was about a two and ahalf year period.
I lost about 60 pounds and Iwas like, okay, what do I really
want to wear again?
And it was Lily Pulitzer and Istarted shopping there.
What do I really want to wearagain?
And it was Lily Pulitzer and Istarted shopping there, took a
part-time job there, loved it somuch that I'm like, gosh, I
should start a YouTube channeljust talking about fashion,
(02:55):
because I could talk about itall day long.
So that's what I did.
I started this about three,three and a half years ago and
really have been loving thejourney.
It's a lot of fun.
I love interacting with peopleand talking about fashion.
We started a new fashioncommunity.
It's called Style Uncorked andjust connecting and talking
(03:18):
about what's working for womenover 50 and all of the issues
that we have going on in ourlives.
Rose (03:26):
Yeah, not just fashion issues, but transitions, life
changes and body changes thathappen.
Nancy (03:40):
It's funny because when you're in your 20s, oh,
everybody's helping you getready to get a career there's
plenty of help on that and thenstart a family or get married,
first hopefully, then start afamily All of those things.
You get help all the way Buyingyour first home.
Then all of a sudden you hityour menopausal years late 40s,
early 50s and you may or may notbe divorced.
(04:03):
You may have moved, you're nowan empty nester, your body is
changing in all kinds of waysthat nobody tells you about and
there's really nobody there tohelp you out.
It's like we're kind of left tofigure it out.
And that's what I really lovedoing is talking to women of a
certain age that just are goingthrough life changes and want
(04:25):
the help that they need.
I try to be a resource for themand just provide some
additional guidance as well.
Rose (04:32):
Again, I love it.
You know, I think a lot ofwomen as they get in their later
years, they feel invisible andthey're struggling with that and
I think fashion and feelinggood in your clothes is a way to
be visible, maybe not likeshout out visible, but like feel
good and feel like you have Idon't know, just just confidence
(04:53):
.
Nancy (04:53):
Yeah, you know, I've done a few videos on that subject,
and one of the things thatreally is most empowering to me
when I started doing research onthe subject is that you have
the power.
All this time You're feelinginvisible, but it's because
you've given up your visibilityand all you have to do is take
(05:14):
it back.
And you can take it back at anytime.
And what we found is that youknow you start to change how you
dress.
You dress a little plainer,your body language is kind of
inward and back and you feellike a wallflower and you're
kind of waiting for things tohappen to you and then, when
they don't, you're feeling upsetabout it.
(05:36):
But if you take it back, takeback that power that you've had
all this time.
It reminds me of Dorothy in theWizard of Oz, when she puts on
the red shoes and they told hershe had the power to go home all
this time.
Well, it's the same thing.
Put on a bright pink or redlipstick that makes you happy,
put on your favorite color, putyour shoulders back, say hello
(05:57):
to people, talk a little bit.
Don't get bent out of shapewhen if somebody's a little
rough around the edges, they'reprobably having a bad day and
probably has nothing to do withyou, and just start owning your
space again.
If you enter a room full ofpeople, go for it, start talking
to them, go, meet as manypeople as you can and you will
(06:19):
take back that power and notfeel invisible anymore.
Rose (06:23):
Oh, I love that, and you know we go through different
emotions and I think a lot likewhat you were saying about
withdrawing, you know,withdrawing inward and not being
visible.
There's something emotionalrelated to that and I think that
we need to work through that.
Maybe it's we compare ourselvesto someone else who we think is
(06:45):
better, or we I don't know wedon't have self-worth.
That is coming out Close is away that we can express
ourselves.
And I want to talk aboutsomething that you have on your
website.
So you have a lot of freeresources and one of the things
that you have are your stylewords.
So you have a sheet of about.
(07:05):
I don't know how many words arehere.
It looks like 102 or somethinglike that.
Nancy (07:10):
Okay, okay, I didn't count.
Rose (07:12):
I didn't count, there's so much fun.
And I was looking I was like,okay, well, you know, I'm trying
to decipher what my personalstyle is and you know I see rock
star and I'm like, well, I likethat because I always thought
it was like more like a rockerjeans and t-shirt, but not all
the time, right.
So you can you recommend tohave people look at this list
(07:33):
and circle like three or fourstyle words that help you
describe your style?
Nancy (07:40):
Yes, because once you know your style words, it makes
shopping and identifying what'sin your wardrobe so much easier,
like when you're trying toclean out and you're like, I
don't know, I should I keep this.
I wore this 10 years ago and Ireally loved it, but it's not
your style anymore.
Your style does change throughyour life, sometimes even
(08:01):
because you're going throughlifestyle changes too.
So you might have been likereally business oriented and
professional when you had yourcareer, but now you work from
home or you're retired and nowit's like, well, I'm like kind
of casual and fun and sporty now.
So you always want to check inon your style words every couple
(08:25):
years and see if they're stillworking for you, because then,
if you know them well, thesefive things can go out of my
closet because they're not mystyle words anymore.
Rose (08:34):
When.
Nancy (08:34):
I'm shopping.
Does it hit my three stylewords?
Rose (08:38):
Okay, well, that makes sense.
Now let's talk about yourcloset.
So you recommend havingfiguring out your style, right,
and then how do we go from there?
Do we look in our closet andsay, well, what kind of
represents that style, what welove, and then toss out what
doesn't belong and get new stuff?
(08:58):
Like, what is that process?
Walk us through.
Nancy (09:01):
It's funny.
I just did a whole closetspring cleaning video where it
was just kind of me voicing overwhile I was cleaning for a
couple hours.
And my style really has changedover the past couple years.
So I like it now.
My style words are colorful um,I like to be kind of pulled
(09:24):
together and chic and yettimeless.
You know classic.
So I would say colorful,classic and chic are my three
style words, the three Cs, yes.
So when I'm going through that,I will go through and say, okay,
first of all, have I worn it ina year?
If I haven't, it's usually atime to go and I set up three
(09:55):
piles one that's donate, onethat's sell and the other one
that is things that might needto be repaired or dry cleaned,
stuff like that.
So I go through and do aruthless clean out of all of
those things and they all needto fit my new style words.
So if they don't fit and Ihaven't worn them in a year, I
usually get rid of them and if Ihave some things that I'm
questioning, I kind of put themaside.
(10:16):
I'll either put them, like, toa section of my closet so that I
can revisit it later, or I'lllike totally, take them out, put
them in storage, check on themin like six months and see, did
I have any interest in them?
Did I miss any of these?
Usually the answer is no andthey can get out.
And then the next thing I do isI organize by classification.
(10:40):
I know a lot of people will buyan outfit the way they see it
and then they wear that outfitthat way all the time.
It doesn't allow for you tohave the best variety in your
wardrobe.
You get bored with it becauseyou have like literally like 12
outfits totally, instead ofbeing able to mix and match and
create a variety of outfits thatall kind of coordinate together
(11:04):
and match and create a varietyof outfits that all kind of
coordinate together.
Rose (11:07):
Okay, so now there needs to be a foundation, right?
So do you say and I'd like foryou to also talk about a capsule
, because there's a lot of talkaround what a capsule wardrobe
is.
Does that serve as a foundation?
Maybe you could talk about whata capsule wardrobe is.
Nancy (11:22):
Absolutely Well.
Foundation pieces are theessential pieces.
They're kind of like theworkhorse of your wardrobe.
Think of it like this If youthink about your closet like a
kitchen pantry, it's going tomake a lot more sense for women
because you wouldn't go to thegrocery store and buy, oh, just
(11:45):
random things that wouldn't gotogether.
Most of us have staple thingssugar, flour, butter, you know
all the staples, spices thatwill allow you to make a
delicious meal, or 10 deliciousmeals, using all these basics.
So exactly the same thing iswhat you're going to do with
your wardrobe.
(12:06):
So exactly the same thing iswhat you're going to do with
your wardrobe.
You're going to have some basictees, a couple pairs of
favorite jeans, a button-down ortwo that are kind of just
neutral, boring colors, maybeit's a white or cream, maybe a
navy or black Just the basics,so that they're the building
blocks of everything else.
And then, as you start layeringin, you're going to layer in a
(12:31):
little bit more fun pieces tospice things up.
So you might bring in atrendier blouse to go with these
basics that you've been wearingfor years.
Same thing with the shoes.
You bring in kind of neutralshoes that work for most of the
outfits you have, and it doesn'tmean they can't be fun.
I really love fun shoes, butthey don't need to be shoes that
(12:54):
you're only going to wear onetime with one outfit.
Rose (12:57):
Right, like my red patent leathers.
I think I could wear my redpatent leathers anytime.
I love them, so so okay.
So we have a foundation.
So, as you mentioned, havecertain pieces in your closet
and then bring in the trendypieces right now.
I know it's well, it'sbeginning of spring right now,
so florals are really big right.
Nancy (13:17):
So wearing florals which I have brought a lot into my
wardrobe.
Rose (13:20):
I have quite a few floral tops and that's like lily
pulitzer is a lot of florals yes, this is uh talbots they've had
some really cute shirts.
Nancy (13:30):
These kind of remind me of the um the men's robert
graham shirts.
They have like a little bit ofdetail on the sleeves and a
little contrast and a littlecontrast here, so just really
fun shirts.
So I put put in a lot of thosebecause I built my capsule
wardrobe using this concept.
(13:51):
So we talked about essentials.
So now we're going to talkabout a capsule wardrobe, which
is different, because you couldbuild it all on essential pieces
, but what you're doing isyou're isolating a certain
number of pieces, and it's not arule, but it's about roughly
(14:12):
about 33 pieces that you'regoing to put isolated.
I have mine all on a rack righthere and those are pretty much
the only clothes I wear thistime of year.
So this is my spring capsule,and what I did was I made sure
that my essential pieces, thebase of my capsule, is all
neutrals, and then my neutralsthat I chose for right now are
(14:35):
navy and white.
So I have a couple pairs ofnavy pants, I have a navy
sweater, I have a couple whitebutton-down shirts and a white
tee and a white tank.
So what those allow me to do islayer in the more fun pieces
that I want to add, because nomatter what color I bring in,
(14:58):
I'm going to make sure that itworks with either navy or white,
and my ideal is that it'll workwith both navy and white,
because then I can wear iteither way.
I can wear it with navy piecesor white pieces, but I kind of
like to think of those neutralpieces as an art gallery.
You know how an art gallery isall white background, kind of
(15:20):
the breathing space to allow youto take note of the artwork.
Well, in this case, my navy andwhite are kind of those calming
pieces that will allow mycolorful shirts to be the star
of the show.
Your eye will go right to thecolorful blouse I have on, not
to my white pants or my navypants.
(15:42):
Do you see what I?
Rose (15:43):
mean yeah, it makes sense, it seems very simple and I'm
hearing you and I'm like why doI need it?
Nancy (15:50):
we do.
We do like I struggle.
They're like I'm gonna be bored.
I am never bored.
In fact, I document my capsulewardrobes.
Now I've been doing it forabout a year and a half so that
people can see I.
Sometimes I'll have a black andgray and white capsule.
Sometimes, right now, I'mfeeling very colorful, so it's a
very colorful capsule wardrobe,and spring is my favorite time
(16:14):
of year, so it's like, oh yeah,I'm going full color right now.
However, it still follows theexact same principles Neutral
basics, essential pieces layeredon with more fun pieces that I
can mix and match and havehundreds of outfit combinations.
Okay, so you have your.
Rose (16:35):
So those three 33 garments include those fun pieces as
well.
Right, absolutely okay.
And then you have a capsule forthe spring, but then you can
have a capsule for let's saysomething else, maybe like your
wedding capsule.
Nancy (16:52):
Let's say you like to travel a lot because a lot of us
over 50 do a lot of traveling,you put a capsule that's just
for travel.
It's like, okay, I know, theseare comfortable for walking and
sightseeing or if I'm on acruise, so you can basically
take your capsule, put it inyour suitcase and you're ready
to go.
And let's say you have specialevents you know, weddings,
(17:16):
unfortunately, funerals, babyshowers, all kinds of special
events where you're going toneed to get dressed up, special
events where you're going toneed to get dressed up.
Have an event capsule that'sdresses, kind of go-to dresses
that you can pull from, or evenpants, outfits that are ready to
(17:36):
go with shoes.
You know, work with it, likeyour red patent leather shoes
that you know you can mix andmatch and have the purse and
everything else all ready to go,and I think of those things the
same way.
It's like, okay, how manydifferent ways can I make these
three outfits look good?
Because I want to be able towear the same dress to, like, an
(18:00):
evening, wedding or a funeralor a dinner out.
Yeah, you could wear a blackdress to all three of those
events and style it differentlyso that, first of all, people
won't realize you're wearing thesame thing and you aren't going
to get bored with it.
Rose (18:15):
Right and people don't remember.
I mean, I think we are so hardon ourselves and I think, at a
certain age too, you want tohave fun with it as well, like
you're having fun with certainpatterns.
It's nice to be able to havelike this self-expression and
feel good in with what you'rewearing.
And thank you for talking abouttravel, because that is
something I struggle with.
(18:36):
I know I'm going to be taking a10 day trip soon and I'm
thinking okay, capsule, I got todo a capsule, so I have not a
lot of clothes that I'm bringingand overpacking because that's
what I do, because I wind upreally wearing some of the same
things.
Nancy (18:52):
Yes, yeah, it's like if you have just one jacket that
will go with all of the pieces,you know if it gets cold, or one
sweater that will go witheverything.
That's going to make it easier.
Another thing is shoes.
People tend to bring like fivepairs of shoes on a trip and
really you only need like threepairs.
(19:12):
You need a good pair forwalking, a pair for travel and
an evening pair or a pair ofsandals of some sort that maybe
you could do double duty.
Rose (19:26):
Right, right, right, right , even two pair, because you can
travel and do the travelwalking ones.
Nancy (19:32):
Exactly.
Rose (19:33):
Yeah, so shoes I don't just to go off onto shoes for a
moment.
Shoes are really comfy now, soeveryone's wearing like these
bright sneakers or fun sneakers,and they're wearing them with
floral skirts.
Nancy (19:47):
Yes, isn't that great that we can dress up now and it
looks so good.
Rose (19:52):
I don't know if I would do the long skirt thing.
I just feel really hot and likeit's too much fabric for me.
But I think it just looksreally cool and I wish we had
done that years ago.
You know, high heels were great, but they're not comfy anymore.
Yeah.
Nancy (20:09):
And we were all doing well.
Maybe you wore your sneakers tothe office, but then you had to
change shoes when you got there.
Yes, quickly.
Rose (20:15):
So no one would see.
Yeah, let's talk a little bitabout quality over quantity.
I know it's a big topic.
I've heard you talk about thatbefore on other podcasts.
Oh yeah, it's a favorite topicof mine.
Nancy (20:27):
Yes, because people think that they have to always look
for something on a budget.
But sometimes, when you'rebuying things just based on
price, you're not gettingquality and you're going to buy
it and it'll be worn out almostas soon as you.
You know, you'll get three orfour wears out of it and it
starts falling apart.
And investing in quality pieces, you're going to spend a little
(20:52):
bit more, but you're going towear them a lot longer.
There you tend to be a moreclassic look, so you can get a
lot more life out of them.
So when you look at okay, let'ssay, I buy a Ralph Lauren shirt
for $95, let's say, or $100.
And I buy an inexpensiveknockoff shirt for $40.
(21:18):
But the thing starts fallingapart.
The fabric is really thin and Ionly get maybe five wears out
of it, whereas this Ralph Laurenshirt that I bought for $100,
I've gotten at least 50 wearsout of it because it holds up.
I can wear it with everything.
I get compliments every time Iwear it.
The fabric is really wellstructured and holds up to
(21:41):
washing.
So then when you compare howmuch you spent per wear of each
item it comes out to, you end upa lot of times you end up
spending much less in the longrun on those quality pieces than
you did if you have these burnand churn pieces that wear out
so quickly.
Rose (22:01):
Yeah, you're right and you can find those.
Nancy (22:04):
That doesn't mean you can't buy inexpensive quality
pieces.
Like thrifting is a great wayto buy quality pieces.
There are brands that aremaking amazing luxury items at
affordable prices, and Quince isone of my all-time favorites.
All-time favorites.
(22:34):
They do only luxury materialslinen, cotton, cotton, poplin,
silk, cashmere, you name it.
They have it in your higher-endluxury products but at
ridiculously low prices becausethey cut out the middleman and
so you're buying direct from themanufacturer and they're
they're.
They really focus on timelessquality pieces, so I highly
recommend them.
(22:54):
I have tons of their clothes.
In fact, I have their pants onright now.
They're linen, they wash upbeautifully, they're just
gorgeous clothes.
Rose (23:03):
I love linen.
Do you recommend linen fortravel?
Because you know, like I know,they get wrinkled.
Nancy (23:08):
but yeah, you know what I started doing.
I carry a little tiny bottle ofwrinkle release spray Right and
I wear linen all the time whenI travel, because I just put it
on and my water fills her out.
Rose (23:23):
Yeah, I purchased it because you said it once
somewhere.
Nancy (23:26):
I think that is the beauty of linen too, that it has
a little bit of a wrinkly look.
I want you to be able to seethat it's linen, you know.
Rose (23:34):
Yeah, yeah, I love that.
That's great.
So thank you for thatrecommendation because I know
that also a lot of high-endclothing they have sales that we
can really take advantage of.
Right, seasonal sales, why notget those classic foundational
capsule pieces?
Yeah, affordable price,absolutely.
(23:57):
I mean.
I have to say, and I will makea confession, that I do like
certain places, like I'llmention TJ Maxx, because I like
going to TJ Maxx, becausesometimes I will get something
that is fun and different and Ihave found, like some good
brands actually I found LilyPulitzer in there and Maxx
Studio and some really nicebrands that I will have.
(24:19):
That may be a little trendy,but I feel good about finding a
bargain sometimes.
Nancy (24:24):
So I'm going to let you in on a little retail secret.
So brands run usually on a 12week cycle.
So from the time it hits adepartment store or there even
if they don't have their ownretail store it is 12 weeks
until they start marking it down.
Maybe it's the first markdown,second markdown and then it's
(24:46):
out the door and if they haven'tsold that, they need to find a
place to move the merchandisebecause they have new
merchandise coming in.
So that's the beauty of placeslike TJ Maxx.
Or sometimes the brand will.
Actually, they made stuff andmaybe one of the department
stores decided you know what?
(25:07):
We bought too much for theseason, but they've already made
it.
What do they do with it?
They send it off to places likeTJ Maxx.
So you are getting top qualityproducts that are at a great
price.
Rose (25:22):
Yeah, yeah, and it's fun for me.
It's like and it's not always,I don't always walk away with
something, but it's for me nowit's an experience, it's
meditative, it's calming.
I love that about fashion.
(25:43):
What were their questions?
And I got the same question isthat they feel young.
They don't want to dress old.
They feel that they're stillyoung even though they're in
their 50s or 60s.
How can they dress hip or notyoung, but hip, and not feel
like they're dressing like a 20year old?
Nancy (26:02):
Right, that's a great question.
There are some trends that youwant to avoid, like, I just did
a roundup of some trends thatI'm not going to say yes to at
our age, and one of them isbubble skirts.
You know, we wore them in the80s, maybe early 90s.
I remember they always had themon on the Cosby show.
The girls were always wearingbubble skirts.
(26:23):
I was like, ok, that's hittingme at exactly the area.
I don't want extra padding overmy hips and no thanks, that's
one I'll pass on.
So look for just updated piecesthat have a little bit of
personality, that hit your stylewords, because that, again, is
(26:44):
key to choosing pieces that youlike.
It's like well, is this classic, colorful and chic?
If it is, I'll bring it in.
Do you know what I mean?
Bohemian is having another kindof renaissance right now.
However, that doesn't mean youneed to look like you're going
(27:06):
back in time.
It doesn't need to lookcostumey, but you can bring in
some of those bohemian vibesthat you might enjoy without it
looking like you're a cartoon.
Rose (27:17):
So you have bohemian as one of your.
What I wanted to do, if it'sokay with you, is I wanted to
pick a couple of these stylewords, maybe one or two, and you
give us an idea of what itlooks like.
I'm not going to pick anythingcrazy like gypsy although I am
kind of curious what that meansbut like what when you?
So I kind of feel like I wantto dress like a rock star.
(27:40):
What does that mean to you?
Someone dressed like a rockstar?
Nancy (27:45):
I think that if I were picturing you wearing rock star
clothes, I would put you in alot of black.
Probably I would do look formetallic details on things, and
metallic is having a big moment.
So you can find studying onbelts, studying on shoes Even if
they're Mary Janes, you canstill find they'll have like
(28:06):
metallic all over them and Iwould look for those details.
I'd also look for somethinglike a cute tailored vest in a
darker color that you could wearover a t-shirt, and maybe even
a t-shirt that has a graphic onit, not something like live,
laugh, love, but something likemaybe an old Rolling Stones
(28:26):
vintage t-shirt.
Rose (28:28):
Got it, okay yeah.
Nancy (28:30):
Some.
I would definitely think silveris more your vibe.
If you're saying rock star,yeah, so I'd look for a lot of
metallic details, even like yourturquoise necklace.
I think that's turquoise whatyou're wearing.
Yes, those colors, they allconjure up a very rock starry
vibe.
Okay, so yeah, and jeans or youknow, maybe a denim.
Rose (28:54):
Yeah, yeah, okay, that's that's that.
I do have some pieces like that.
I have a a faux leather jacketthat is somewhat studded, that
when I wear it, young girls arelike, wow, that is really cool.
Thank you, awesome, I love that.
Okay, let's pick one other onehere.
So let's pick eclectic.
Nancy (29:15):
Eclectic.
Well, that can go so manydirections.
You know, I think the mosticonic eclectic person is Iris.
Was Iris Apfel Like?
She was called the rare bird offashion.
Do you know who Iris Apfel is?
Okay, so she was huge, she was aNew Yorker, she was, I think,
(29:36):
an interior designer in heryounger years, and she and her
husband traveled all over theworld.
So when they'd go places, shewould collect things from
everywhere jewelry, vests, youname it.
She had it, and her whole housewas filled with her pieces and
I think they have an exhibit, orhad an exhibit at the Met for
(30:00):
all of her pieces.
And it was called the rare birdof fashion because just so good
at putting together things thatmost of us would say absolutely
not on Right.
And she even had her ownglasses collection because she
always wore these really big.
She was very tiny and she worethese huge round glasses and she
(30:21):
would be layered up withnecklaces, and maybe 20
necklaces that were huge, andthen bobbles and bangles on her
arms and maybe a huge feather umvest that went all the way down
to.
I do see people dress like that, yeah, and so that, to me, is
eclectic okay.
Rose (30:42):
So wearing whatever you feel is good at the moment, and
not worry about if it matches,just put it on.
Yeah, got it.
Okay, I love that, and thenwe'll just for one more.
You mentioned chic earlier, andwhat does that represent for
you?
Nancy (31:01):
To me it just means very polished and pulled together,
like everything I put on isintentional.
You know I like my clothes tocoordinate, so I've got on navy
pants.
I have on this green floralblouse that has yellow, white
and navy in it.
So then I've got this yellowsweater over my shoulders, like
(31:23):
I just like things on myself tolook very polished I like my
bags to be.
I would never just grab a bag.
My bag and my shoes almostalways have to coordinate.
I'm very crazy like that.
So that is what that is to me.
Rose (31:39):
Yeah, I, I, I tend to coordinate as well.
Now you can wear anything.
Nancy (31:44):
Yeah, and I also think it's not just what you're
wearing, it's really what you'redoing with your overall
appearance.
Is your hair and makeup done?
Are you clean, you know?
Are your nails polished andgroomed?
And my nails are not polishedright now, but I did actually
(32:04):
trim them and do all the thingsthis morning, gave myself a
little mini manicure before thecall and so just paying
attention to those littledetails to make yourself look
polished, like people noticethose details without even
realizing they're noticing those.
And they notice it Like peoplefigure you out within three
(32:25):
seconds of meeting you They'vedecided what they think of you.
So I like to pay attention tothose details, because people do
notice Right Are?
Rose (32:35):
you do you think that a fashion trend is changing, that
I see a lot of younger people.
They go out in their pajamas,which kind of bothers me, but
that's just because I wouldnever do that out in their
pajamas, which kind of bothersme, but that's just because I
would never do that, and they'renot.
They dress a little bit morerelaxed, maybe really
comfortable, and do you thinkthat there will be a change or a
(32:57):
shift in style, or style justcontinues?
Nancy (33:00):
You know what I do think for younger people that are
going out in their sweats likethat.
We saw some over the weekend.
My husband said nice of you toget dressed.
The girl was like basically ingray sweats that were so loungy
it looked like she was inpajamas.
But I do think that you have toget out of that at some point
of your life If you want to moveforward.
(33:21):
You can't be going to a joblooking like a slob.
So hopefully a lot of themoutgrow it.
I do see, as I have kidswalking by here at my house all
day when school lets out, a lotof them are wearing sweats and
just very comfortable clothes tobe in school all day.
But I don't think that that'sgoing to last when they move on
(33:43):
to different factions of theirlife Right, right, Like, like
you said, a job like a real workenvironment even though there's
a lot of Zooming and at home Iknow my personally, my children,
my boys, who are in college.
Rose (33:57):
They used to wear sweats a lot and then, you know, they
wear jeans occasionally.
But my one son has aninternship and he actually likes
clothes and he'll wear, he'lldress really nicely and shoes
like he's put together and I'mlike looks good.
You know he makes you feel good.
Nancy (34:13):
It's shocking, like how much different clothing makes
you feel when you're pulledtogether and you can, you know,
walk around.
There was an old Seinfeldepisode where and I'm really
dating myself now where Georgedecided he was going to wear
sweatpants and Jerry, he walksinto the apartment and Jerry
(34:33):
looks at him and he's like Iguess you've given up now.
You've given up on life walkingaround in sweatpants and
sneakers.
So it's kind of like that.
Rose (34:41):
It's like and that's how it is now anyway.
Yeah, and that's how it is nowanyway.
Yeah, I'd like to talk about atopic that recently I did a
little video and it got sometraction, because I think a lot
of people feel the same Women.
It's about bras.
I have a hard time finding brasthat are comfortable, that fit
(35:04):
well, and it's not because I'mnot trying.
Maybe I'm not trying in theright places, but what is your
take on?
Like bras that you like, orfinding the right bra or
undergarment?
Nancy (35:16):
Bras are a very tough issue and a lot of times at our
age we're just like, fine, I'mjust going to wear these
athletic things, that kind ofpush everything down, but when
you put actual clothes on, itdoesn't help your figure
Flattering right.
So you do need a few goodfitting bras and the problem is
is that you might have alwaysbeen a I don't know a 36B and
(35:38):
then all of a sudden thingschange and now you might need
more lift and more support andyou might need a different bra
size.
So it's really important to getmeasured.
Um, of course the bra brandssay every six months, but most
of us, if we change, check ourbra size every couple years,
you're lucky.
Um, so, yeah, getting measuredby somebody who really knows
(36:03):
what they're doing makes a bigdifference.
I was actually measured recentlyat Soma.
Oh, I've heard about them.
Yeah, they were wonderful.
The bras I got were great, thefit was great.
I've also had a lot of luck atThird Love.
In fact, they have a reallynice online system that you can
(36:25):
go through.
You do your own measurements,but it actually will talk to you
about okay, are your breastshanging?
Which direction are theyhanging?
You know, are they?
Are they hanging out at thesides?
Are they one's bigger, one'ssmaller?
Exactly, they talk, they coverall of that and it's it's a
really nice tutorial through uh,through their website, to help
(36:48):
you find the right bra.
Rose (36:50):
And.
Nancy (36:50):
I've gotten quite a few of their bras and they were very
comfortable.
Rose (36:53):
Good, I actually like to try them on because I don't know
.
I just feel I need to trybecause no one bra is fit all
yes.
But I will try some of thoseplaces that you mentioned.
This is good, good information.
I want to talk about yourcommunity.
Well, first of all, yourwebsite is amazing and you offer
a lot of free resources onthere.
(37:13):
You have all your videos.
You're constantly putting newvideos up and you have so many
kind of timeless ones out thereas well, so talk about what you
offer in the community, youruncorked community, sure.
Nancy (37:27):
Style Uncorked.
Style Uncorked yeah, it's acommunity of women over 50 who
are wanting to talk aboutfashion, but nobody wants to
talk about it with them.
It's like their kids are gone.
Their husband doesn't want tolisten to that.
So you can have a lot of fun inthere talk about things.
I have some new resources thatI'm working on that will be kind
(37:53):
of like mini courses that theycan do in the community, but a
lot of it is.
We do a lot of polls justchatting about what we're
wearing.
We've done a couple stylechallenges.
I just started this community acouple months ago so it's
growing as I'm finding out whatthey like.
But it's been a lot of fungrowing it and interacting and
(38:17):
the women that are active onthere are super active.
Like they respond right awaywith responses that are fun and
engaging and they like to share.
Like okay, this works for me.
What's everybody else doing?
You know this is my favoritecolor.
What do you like to wear?
Do you wear dresses in thespring, or jeans or pants in the
(38:37):
spring?
Like just lots of just openconversation about what's
working and we're getting toknow each other as we're
enjoying talking about clothing.
Rose (38:47):
I love that.
You know, oftentimes when I goto a place and I'm trying
clothes, I want to be able tosay to somebody as I'm trying
them on, hey, what does thislook like?
And you know you really can't,because you know you can't bring
somebody I don't have anybodyto bring with me or take a
picture and send.
You know, that would be kind ofweird, but you want another
person's opinion.
So this is kind of likebringing someone else in your
(39:08):
dressing room, yep.
Nancy (39:10):
They share photos of what they're wearing.
We all talk about it and it'sreally nice and loving and
supportive environment.
It's not.
There's no negativitywhatsoever.
Rose (39:21):
I think this is great because you know, feel good,
Wear what you love.
We're aging beautifully and weshould really feel good about
ourselves I agree, yeah, so wecan find you um your website.
I will put everything in theshow notes, as I do, but it's um
what is your website calledshopping on champagnecom?
Nancy (39:42):
shopping on champagne on instagram, on tiktok and, of
course, my life on YouTube.
Rose (39:50):
Yes, and your videos are great.
You post all the time.
Nancy (39:54):
I post twice a week on YouTube.
Rose (39:56):
Yeah, it's wonderful, and then I do shorts as well but the
long-form videos are on YouTube.
Anything else you wanted to addbefore we wrap it up.
Nancy (40:05):
No, this was a lot of fun .
I really enjoyed it, and thankyou so much for having me on
your podcast.
Rose (40:11):
Well, you're a lot of fun and I really appreciate you
being here and I know you'veinspired some people to go out
there.
And we did talk about well, wedid talk about purging what's in
your closet, so let's encouragepeople to go through their
closet first and discard what nolonger serves them.
Nancy (40:27):
Yeah, to go through their closet first and discard what
no longer serves them.
Yeah, because you know what itsounds counterintuitive.
But if you part with theclothes that you aren't serving
you, all of a sudden you'll seeall the clothes that you
actually love, that fit youtoday and make you feel good.
Rose (40:39):
Yes.
Nancy (40:40):
What a way to open your closet every morning.
Rose (40:42):
I love that.
Thank you so much, Nancy, forbeing here.
Nancy (40:44):
All right.
Rose (41:07):
Have a great day rosewipichcom to explore,
working together and discoverfree resources for your journey.
Love today's episode.
Subscribe wherever you get yourpodcasts, leave a rating and
share your biggest takeaway withme on Instagram at Rose Wippich
.
Remember wellness warriors yourenergy is precious.
Nurture it wisely.
Ready to unlock your most vibrant, authentic self?
Welcome to Chat Off The Mat,where holistic wellness meets
practical wisdom andextraordinary transformation.
I'm your host, Rose Wippich.
I'm a Qigong instructor, yogateacher and a Reiki Master, so
get ready for inspiringconversations with wellness
(00:21):
experts who understand yourunique journey, plus practical
tools for energy healing, lifetransitions and conscious and
soulful living.
Your journey to radiantwellness starts now.
Let's create magic together.
Are you a woman over 50 whostands in front of a closet
(00:42):
bursting with clothes but stillfeels like you have nothing to
wear?
Well, today on Chat Off The Mat, we're joined by fashion
industry veteran Nancy Queen.
After decades working withluxury fashion brands and the
knitting industry, nancy nowhelps women just like you unlock
their signature style.
Nancy's unique approach doesn'tjust dress you.
(01:02):
It helps you express who youtruly are.
Stay tuned to transform yourrelationship with fashion and
reclaim your style confidenceafter 50.
Welcome, nancy.
Nancy (01:15):
Thank you so much for having me, Rose.
It's a lot of fun to be here.
Rose (01:19):
Yeah, thank you for being here.
I'm so excited.
I just want to start off bytelling everyone please find I
usually wait till the end pleasefind Nancy on social media and
YouTube, because she has thebest videos.
I just want to say that I lovewatching all your video shorts
and your YouTube videos.
Nancy (01:36):
You can search Nancy Queen, but it's under Shopping
on Champagne All right, so let'sstart off by talking about
Nancy.
Well, it's been kind of a funnyroad to get here.
I went to school for fashion.
I worked for a lot of fashionbig brands like Saks, fifth
Avenue, nautica, lord Taylor,guess, lilly Pulitzer so lots of
(02:10):
big brands and various areas offrom styling people and helping
people in their fitting roomsto management and then back end
work.
I worked for a sweatermanufacturer for a long time and
then I got out of it when I hadmy daughter and I got into the
knitting world and starteddesigning patterns.
I've written four books onknitting and crochet, did that
for about 20 years, had somebrick and mortar stores.
(02:33):
Then I lost right around COVID.
I lost it was about a two and ahalf year period.
I lost about 60 pounds and Iwas like, okay, what do I really
want to wear again?
And it was Lily Pulitzer and Istarted shopping there.
What do I really want to wearagain?
And it was Lily Pulitzer and Istarted shopping there, took a
part-time job there, loved it somuch that I'm like, gosh, I
should start a YouTube channeljust talking about fashion,
(02:55):
because I could talk about itall day long.
So that's what I did.
I started this about three,three and a half years ago and
really have been loving thejourney.
It's a lot of fun.
I love interacting with peopleand talking about fashion.
We started a new fashioncommunity.
It's called Style Uncorked andjust connecting and talking
(03:18):
about what's working for womenover 50 and all of the issues
that we have going on in ourlives.
Rose (03:26):
Yeah, not just fashion issues, but transitions, life
changes and body changes thathappen.
Nancy (03:40):
It's funny because when you're in your 20s, oh,
everybody's helping you getready to get a career there's
plenty of help on that and thenstart a family or get married,
first hopefully, then start afamily All of those things.
You get help all the way Buyingyour first home.
Then all of a sudden you hityour menopausal years late 40s,
early 50s and you may or may notbe divorced.
(04:03):
You may have moved, you're nowan empty nester, your body is
changing in all kinds of waysthat nobody tells you about and
there's really nobody there tohelp you out.
It's like we're kind of left tofigure it out.
And that's what I really lovedoing is talking to women of a
certain age that just are goingthrough life changes and want
(04:25):
the help that they need.
I try to be a resource for themand just provide some
additional guidance as well.
Rose (04:32):
Again, I love it.
You know, I think a lot ofwomen as they get in their later
years, they feel invisible andthey're struggling with that and
I think fashion and feelinggood in your clothes is a way to
be visible, maybe not likeshout out visible, but like feel
good and feel like you have Idon't know, just just confidence
(04:53):
.
Nancy (04:53):
Yeah, you know, I've done a few videos on that subject,
and one of the things thatreally is most empowering to me
when I started doing research onthe subject is that you have
the power.
All this time You're feelinginvisible, but it's because
you've given up your visibilityand all you have to do is take
(05:14):
it back.
And you can take it back at anytime.
And what we found is that youknow you start to change how you
dress.
You dress a little plainer,your body language is kind of
inward and back and you feellike a wallflower and you're
kind of waiting for things tohappen to you and then, when
they don't, you're feeling upsetabout it.
(05:36):
But if you take it back, takeback that power that you've had
all this time.
It reminds me of Dorothy in theWizard of Oz, when she puts on
the red shoes and they told hershe had the power to go home all
this time.
Well, it's the same thing.
Put on a bright pink or redlipstick that makes you happy,
put on your favorite color, putyour shoulders back, say hello
(05:57):
to people, talk a little bit.
Don't get bent out of shapewhen if somebody's a little
rough around the edges, they'reprobably having a bad day and
probably has nothing to do withyou, and just start owning your
space again.
If you enter a room full ofpeople, go for it, start talking
to them, go, meet as manypeople as you can and you will
(06:19):
take back that power and notfeel invisible anymore.
Rose (06:23):
Oh, I love that, and you know we go through different
emotions and I think a lot likewhat you were saying about
withdrawing, you know,withdrawing inward and not being
visible.
There's something emotionalrelated to that and I think that
we need to work through that.
Maybe it's we compare ourselvesto someone else who we think is
(06:45):
better, or we I don't know wedon't have self-worth.
That is coming out Close is away that we can express
ourselves.
And I want to talk aboutsomething that you have on your
website.
So you have a lot of freeresources and one of the things
that you have are your stylewords.
So you have a sheet of about.
(07:05):
I don't know how many words arehere.
It looks like 102 or somethinglike that.
Nancy (07:10):
Okay, okay, I didn't count.
Rose (07:12):
I didn't count, there's so much fun.
And I was looking I was like,okay, well, you know, I'm trying
to decipher what my personalstyle is and you know I see rock
star and I'm like, well, I likethat because I always thought
it was like more like a rockerjeans and t-shirt, but not all
the time, right.
So you can you recommend tohave people look at this list
(07:33):
and circle like three or fourstyle words that help you
describe your style?
Nancy (07:40):
Yes, because once you know your style words, it makes
shopping and identifying what'sin your wardrobe so much easier,
like when you're trying toclean out and you're like, I
don't know, I should I keep this.
I wore this 10 years ago and Ireally loved it, but it's not
your style anymore.
Your style does change throughyour life, sometimes even
(08:01):
because you're going throughlifestyle changes too.
So you might have been likereally business oriented and
professional when you had yourcareer, but now you work from
home or you're retired and nowit's like, well, I'm like kind
of casual and fun and sporty now.
So you always want to check inon your style words every couple
(08:25):
years and see if they're stillworking for you, because then,
if you know them well, thesefive things can go out of my
closet because they're not mystyle words anymore.
Rose (08:34):
When.
Nancy (08:34):
I'm shopping.
Does it hit my three stylewords?
Rose (08:38):
Okay, well, that makes sense.
Now let's talk about yourcloset.
So you recommend havingfiguring out your style, right,
and then how do we go from there?
Do we look in our closet andsay, well, what kind of
represents that style, what welove, and then toss out what
doesn't belong and get new stuff?
(08:58):
Like, what is that process?
Walk us through.
Nancy (09:01):
It's funny.
I just did a whole closetspring cleaning video where it
was just kind of me voicing overwhile I was cleaning for a
couple hours.
And my style really has changedover the past couple years.
So I like it now.
My style words are colorful um,I like to be kind of pulled
(09:24):
together and chic and yettimeless.
You know classic.
So I would say colorful,classic and chic are my three
style words, the three Cs, yes.
So when I'm going through that,I will go through and say, okay,
first of all, have I worn it ina year?
If I haven't, it's usually atime to go and I set up three
(09:55):
piles one that's donate, onethat's sell and the other one
that is things that might needto be repaired or dry cleaned,
stuff like that.
So I go through and do aruthless clean out of all of
those things and they all needto fit my new style words.
So if they don't fit and Ihaven't worn them in a year, I
usually get rid of them and if Ihave some things that I'm
questioning, I kind of put themaside.
(10:16):
I'll either put them, like, toa section of my closet so that I
can revisit it later, or I'lllike totally, take them out, put
them in storage, check on themin like six months and see, did
I have any interest in them?
Did I miss any of these?
Usually the answer is no andthey can get out.
And then the next thing I do isI organize by classification.
(10:40):
I know a lot of people will buyan outfit the way they see it
and then they wear that outfitthat way all the time.
It doesn't allow for you tohave the best variety in your
wardrobe.
You get bored with it becauseyou have like literally like 12
outfits totally, instead ofbeing able to mix and match and
create a variety of outfits thatall kind of coordinate together
(11:04):
and match and create a varietyof outfits that all kind of
coordinate together.
Rose (11:07):
Okay, so now there needs to be a foundation, right?
So do you say and I'd like foryou to also talk about a capsule
, because there's a lot of talkaround what a capsule wardrobe
is.
Does that serve as a foundation?
Maybe you could talk about whata capsule wardrobe is.
Nancy (11:22):
Absolutely Well.
Foundation pieces are theessential pieces.
They're kind of like theworkhorse of your wardrobe.
Think of it like this If youthink about your closet like a
kitchen pantry, it's going tomake a lot more sense for women
because you wouldn't go to thegrocery store and buy, oh, just
(11:45):
random things that wouldn't gotogether.
Most of us have staple thingssugar, flour, butter, you know
all the staples, spices thatwill allow you to make a
delicious meal, or 10 deliciousmeals, using all these basics.
So exactly the same thing iswhat you're going to do with
your wardrobe.
(12:06):
So exactly the same thing iswhat you're going to do with
your wardrobe.
You're going to have some basictees, a couple pairs of
favorite jeans, a button-down ortwo that are kind of just
neutral, boring colors, maybeit's a white or cream, maybe a
navy or black Just the basics,so that they're the building
blocks of everything else.
And then, as you start layeringin, you're going to layer in a
(12:31):
little bit more fun pieces tospice things up.
So you might bring in atrendier blouse to go with these
basics that you've been wearingfor years.
Same thing with the shoes.
You bring in kind of neutralshoes that work for most of the
outfits you have, and it doesn'tmean they can't be fun.
I really love fun shoes, butthey don't need to be shoes that
(12:54):
you're only going to wear onetime with one outfit.
Rose (12:57):
Right, like my red patent leathers.
I think I could wear my redpatent leathers anytime.
I love them, so so okay.
So we have a foundation.
So, as you mentioned, havecertain pieces in your closet
and then bring in the trendypieces right now.
I know it's well, it'sbeginning of spring right now,
so florals are really big right.
Nancy (13:17):
So wearing florals which I have brought a lot into my
wardrobe.
Rose (13:20):
I have quite a few floral tops and that's like lily
pulitzer is a lot of florals yes, this is uh talbots they've had
some really cute shirts.
Nancy (13:30):
These kind of remind me of the um the men's robert
graham shirts.
They have like a little bit ofdetail on the sleeves and a
little contrast and a littlecontrast here, so just really
fun shirts.
So I put put in a lot of thosebecause I built my capsule
wardrobe using this concept.
(13:51):
So we talked about essentials.
So now we're going to talkabout a capsule wardrobe, which
is different, because you couldbuild it all on essential pieces
, but what you're doing isyou're isolating a certain
number of pieces, and it's not arule, but it's about roughly
(14:12):
about 33 pieces that you'regoing to put isolated.
I have mine all on a rack righthere and those are pretty much
the only clothes I wear thistime of year.
So this is my spring capsule,and what I did was I made sure
that my essential pieces, thebase of my capsule, is all
neutrals, and then my neutralsthat I chose for right now are
(14:35):
navy and white.
So I have a couple pairs ofnavy pants, I have a navy
sweater, I have a couple whitebutton-down shirts and a white
tee and a white tank.
So what those allow me to do islayer in the more fun pieces
that I want to add, because nomatter what color I bring in,
(14:58):
I'm going to make sure that itworks with either navy or white,
and my ideal is that it'll workwith both navy and white,
because then I can wear iteither way.
I can wear it with navy piecesor white pieces, but I kind of
like to think of those neutralpieces as an art gallery.
You know how an art gallery isall white background, kind of
(15:20):
the breathing space to allow youto take note of the artwork.
Well, in this case, my navy andwhite are kind of those calming
pieces that will allow mycolorful shirts to be the star
of the show.
Your eye will go right to thecolorful blouse I have on, not
to my white pants or my navypants.
(15:42):
Do you see what I?
Rose (15:43):
mean yeah, it makes sense, it seems very simple and I'm
hearing you and I'm like why doI need it?
Nancy (15:50):
we do.
We do like I struggle.
They're like I'm gonna be bored.
I am never bored.
In fact, I document my capsulewardrobes.
Now I've been doing it forabout a year and a half so that
people can see I.
Sometimes I'll have a black andgray and white capsule.
Sometimes, right now, I'mfeeling very colorful, so it's a
very colorful capsule wardrobe,and spring is my favorite time
(16:14):
of year, so it's like, oh yeah,I'm going full color right now.
However, it still follows theexact same principles Neutral
basics, essential pieces layeredon with more fun pieces that I
can mix and match and havehundreds of outfit combinations.
Okay, so you have your.
Rose (16:35):
So those three 33 garments include those fun pieces as
well.
Right, absolutely okay.
And then you have a capsule forthe spring, but then you can
have a capsule for let's saysomething else, maybe like your
wedding capsule.
Nancy (16:52):
Let's say you like to travel a lot because a lot of us
over 50 do a lot of traveling,you put a capsule that's just
for travel.
It's like, okay, I know, theseare comfortable for walking and
sightseeing or if I'm on acruise, so you can basically
take your capsule, put it inyour suitcase and you're ready
to go.
And let's say you have specialevents you know, weddings,
(17:16):
unfortunately, funerals, babyshowers, all kinds of special
events where you're going toneed to get dressed up, special
events where you're going toneed to get dressed up.
Have an event capsule that'sdresses, kind of go-to dresses
that you can pull from, or evenpants, outfits that are ready to
(17:36):
go with shoes.
You know, work with it, likeyour red patent leather shoes
that you know you can mix andmatch and have the purse and
everything else all ready to go,and I think of those things the
same way.
It's like, okay, how manydifferent ways can I make these
three outfits look good?
Because I want to be able towear the same dress to, like, an
(18:00):
evening, wedding or a funeralor a dinner out.
Yeah, you could wear a blackdress to all three of those
events and style it differentlyso that, first of all, people
won't realize you're wearing thesame thing and you aren't going
to get bored with it.
Rose (18:15):
Right and people don't remember.
I mean, I think we are so hardon ourselves and I think, at a
certain age too, you want tohave fun with it as well, like
you're having fun with certainpatterns.
It's nice to be able to havelike this self-expression and
feel good in with what you'rewearing.
And thank you for talking abouttravel, because that is
something I struggle with.
(18:36):
I know I'm going to be taking a10 day trip soon and I'm
thinking okay, capsule, I got todo a capsule, so I have not a
lot of clothes that I'm bringingand overpacking because that's
what I do, because I wind upreally wearing some of the same
things.
Nancy (18:52):
Yes, yeah, it's like if you have just one jacket that
will go with all of the pieces,you know if it gets cold, or one
sweater that will go witheverything.
That's going to make it easier.
Another thing is shoes.
People tend to bring like fivepairs of shoes on a trip and
really you only need like threepairs.
(19:12):
You need a good pair forwalking, a pair for travel and
an evening pair or a pair ofsandals of some sort that maybe
you could do double duty.
Rose (19:26):
Right, right, right, right , even two pair, because you can
travel and do the travelwalking ones.
Nancy (19:32):
Exactly.
Rose (19:33):
Yeah, so shoes I don't just to go off onto shoes for a
moment.
Shoes are really comfy now, soeveryone's wearing like these
bright sneakers or fun sneakers,and they're wearing them with
floral skirts.
Nancy (19:47):
Yes, isn't that great that we can dress up now and it
looks so good.
Rose (19:52):
I don't know if I would do the long skirt thing.
I just feel really hot and likeit's too much fabric for me.
But I think it just looksreally cool and I wish we had
done that years ago.
You know, high heels were great, but they're not comfy anymore.
Yeah.
Nancy (20:09):
And we were all doing well.
Maybe you wore your sneakers tothe office, but then you had to
change shoes when you got there.
Yes, quickly.
Rose (20:15):
So no one would see.
Yeah, let's talk a little bitabout quality over quantity.
I know it's a big topic.
I've heard you talk about thatbefore on other podcasts.
Oh yeah, it's a favorite topicof mine.
Nancy (20:27):
Yes, because people think that they have to always look
for something on a budget.
But sometimes, when you'rebuying things just based on
price, you're not gettingquality and you're going to buy
it and it'll be worn out almostas soon as you.
You know, you'll get three orfour wears out of it and it
starts falling apart.
And investing in quality pieces, you're going to spend a little
(20:52):
bit more, but you're going towear them a lot longer.
There you tend to be a moreclassic look, so you can get a
lot more life out of them.
So when you look at okay, let'ssay, I buy a Ralph Lauren shirt
for $95, let's say, or $100.
And I buy an inexpensiveknockoff shirt for $40.
(21:18):
But the thing starts fallingapart.
The fabric is really thin and Ionly get maybe five wears out
of it, whereas this Ralph Laurenshirt that I bought for $100,
I've gotten at least 50 wearsout of it because it holds up.
I can wear it with everything.
I get compliments every time Iwear it.
The fabric is really wellstructured and holds up to
(21:41):
washing.
So then when you compare howmuch you spent per wear of each
item it comes out to, you end upa lot of times you end up
spending much less in the longrun on those quality pieces than
you did if you have these burnand churn pieces that wear out
so quickly.
Rose (22:01):
Yeah, you're right and you can find those.
Nancy (22:04):
That doesn't mean you can't buy inexpensive quality
pieces.
Like thrifting is a great wayto buy quality pieces.
There are brands that aremaking amazing luxury items at
affordable prices, and Quince isone of my all-time favorites.
All-time favorites.
(22:34):
They do only luxury materialslinen, cotton, cotton, poplin,
silk, cashmere, you name it.
They have it in your higher-endluxury products but at
ridiculously low prices becausethey cut out the middleman and
so you're buying direct from themanufacturer and they're
they're.
They really focus on timelessquality pieces, so I highly
recommend them.
(22:54):
I have tons of their clothes.
In fact, I have their pants onright now.
They're linen, they wash upbeautifully, they're just
gorgeous clothes.
Rose (23:03):
I love linen.
Do you recommend linen fortravel?
Because you know, like I know,they get wrinkled.
Nancy (23:08):
but yeah, you know what I started doing.
I carry a little tiny bottle ofwrinkle release spray Right and
I wear linen all the time whenI travel, because I just put it
on and my water fills her out.
Rose (23:23):
Yeah, I purchased it because you said it once
somewhere.
Nancy (23:26):
I think that is the beauty of linen too, that it has
a little bit of a wrinkly look.
I want you to be able to seethat it's linen, you know.
Rose (23:34):
Yeah, yeah, I love that.
That's great.
So thank you for thatrecommendation because I know
that also a lot of high-endclothing they have sales that we
can really take advantage of.
Right, seasonal sales, why notget those classic foundational
capsule pieces?
Yeah, affordable price,absolutely.
(23:57):
I mean.
I have to say, and I will makea confession, that I do like
certain places, like I'llmention TJ Maxx, because I like
going to TJ Maxx, becausesometimes I will get something
that is fun and different and Ihave found, like some good
brands actually I found LilyPulitzer in there and Maxx
Studio and some really nicebrands that I will have.
(24:19):
That may be a little trendy,but I feel good about finding a
bargain sometimes.
Nancy (24:24):
So I'm going to let you in on a little retail secret.
So brands run usually on a 12week cycle.
So from the time it hits adepartment store or there even
if they don't have their ownretail store it is 12 weeks
until they start marking it down.
Maybe it's the first markdown,second markdown and then it's
(24:46):
out the door and if they haven'tsold that, they need to find a
place to move the merchandisebecause they have new
merchandise coming in.
So that's the beauty of placeslike TJ Maxx.
Or sometimes the brand will.
Actually, they made stuff andmaybe one of the department
stores decided you know what?
(25:07):
We bought too much for theseason, but they've already made
it.
What do they do with it?
They send it off to places likeTJ Maxx.
So you are getting top qualityproducts that are at a great
price.
Rose (25:22):
Yeah, yeah, and it's fun for me.
It's like and it's not always,I don't always walk away with
something, but it's for me nowit's an experience, it's
meditative, it's calming.
I love that about fashion.
(25:43):
What were their questions?
And I got the same question isthat they feel young.
They don't want to dress old.
They feel that they're stillyoung even though they're in
their 50s or 60s.
How can they dress hip or notyoung, but hip, and not feel
like they're dressing like a 20year old?
Nancy (26:02):
Right, that's a great question.
There are some trends that youwant to avoid, like, I just did
a roundup of some trends thatI'm not going to say yes to at
our age, and one of them isbubble skirts.
You know, we wore them in the80s, maybe early 90s.
I remember they always had themon on the Cosby show.
The girls were always wearingbubble skirts.
(26:23):
I was like, ok, that's hittingme at exactly the area.
I don't want extra padding overmy hips and no thanks, that's
one I'll pass on.
So look for just updated piecesthat have a little bit of
personality, that hit your stylewords, because that, again, is
(26:44):
key to choosing pieces that youlike.
It's like well, is this classic, colorful and chic?
If it is, I'll bring it in.
Do you know what I mean?
Bohemian is having another kindof renaissance right now.
However, that doesn't mean youneed to look like you're going
(27:06):
back in time.
It doesn't need to lookcostumey, but you can bring in
some of those bohemian vibesthat you might enjoy without it
looking like you're a cartoon.
Rose (27:17):
So you have bohemian as one of your.
What I wanted to do, if it'sokay with you, is I wanted to
pick a couple of these stylewords, maybe one or two, and you
give us an idea of what itlooks like.
I'm not going to pick anythingcrazy like gypsy although I am
kind of curious what that meansbut like what when you?
So I kind of feel like I wantto dress like a rock star.
(27:40):
What does that mean to you?
Someone dressed like a rockstar?
Nancy (27:45):
I think that if I were picturing you wearing rock star
clothes, I would put you in alot of black.
Probably I would do look formetallic details on things, and
metallic is having a big moment.
So you can find studying onbelts, studying on shoes Even if
they're Mary Janes, you canstill find they'll have like
(28:06):
metallic all over them and Iwould look for those details.
I'd also look for somethinglike a cute tailored vest in a
darker color that you could wearover a t-shirt, and maybe even
a t-shirt that has a graphic onit, not something like live,
laugh, love, but something likemaybe an old Rolling Stones
(28:26):
vintage t-shirt.
Rose (28:28):
Got it, okay yeah.
Nancy (28:30):
Some.
I would definitely think silveris more your vibe.
If you're saying rock star,yeah, so I'd look for a lot of
metallic details, even like yourturquoise necklace.
I think that's turquoise whatyou're wearing.
Yes, those colors, they allconjure up a very rock starry
vibe.
Okay, so yeah, and jeans or youknow, maybe a denim.
Rose (28:54):
Yeah, yeah, okay, that's that's that.
I do have some pieces like that.
I have a a faux leather jacketthat is somewhat studded, that
when I wear it, young girls arelike, wow, that is really cool.
Thank you, awesome, I love that.
Okay, let's pick one other onehere.
So let's pick eclectic.
Nancy (29:15):
Eclectic.
Well, that can go so manydirections.
You know, I think the mosticonic eclectic person is Iris.
Was Iris Apfel Like?
She was called the rare bird offashion.
Do you know who Iris Apfel is?
Okay, so she was huge, she was aNew Yorker, she was, I think,
(29:36):
an interior designer in heryounger years, and she and her
husband traveled all over theworld.
So when they'd go places, shewould collect things from
everywhere jewelry, vests, youname it.
She had it, and her whole housewas filled with her pieces and
I think they have an exhibit, orhad an exhibit at the Met for
(30:00):
all of her pieces.
And it was called the rare birdof fashion because just so good
at putting together things thatmost of us would say absolutely
not on Right.
And she even had her ownglasses collection because she
always wore these really big.
She was very tiny and she worethese huge round glasses and she
(30:21):
would be layered up withnecklaces, and maybe 20
necklaces that were huge, andthen bobbles and bangles on her
arms and maybe a huge feather umvest that went all the way down
to.
I do see people dress like that, yeah, and so that, to me, is
eclectic okay.
Rose (30:42):
So wearing whatever you feel is good at the moment, and
not worry about if it matches,just put it on.
Yeah, got it.
Okay, I love that, and thenwe'll just for one more.
You mentioned chic earlier, andwhat does that represent for
you?
Nancy (31:01):
To me it just means very polished and pulled together,
like everything I put on isintentional.
You know I like my clothes tocoordinate, so I've got on navy
pants.
I have on this green floralblouse that has yellow, white
and navy in it.
So then I've got this yellowsweater over my shoulders, like
(31:23):
I just like things on myself tolook very polished I like my
bags to be.
I would never just grab a bag.
My bag and my shoes almostalways have to coordinate.
I'm very crazy like that.
So that is what that is to me.
Rose (31:39):
Yeah, I, I, I tend to coordinate as well.
Now you can wear anything.
Nancy (31:44):
Yeah, and I also think it's not just what you're
wearing, it's really what you'redoing with your overall
appearance.
Is your hair and makeup done?
Are you clean, you know?
Are your nails polished andgroomed?
And my nails are not polishedright now, but I did actually
(32:04):
trim them and do all the thingsthis morning, gave myself a
little mini manicure before thecall and so just paying
attention to those littledetails to make yourself look
polished, like people noticethose details without even
realizing they're noticing those.
And they notice it Like peoplefigure you out within three
(32:25):
seconds of meeting you They'vedecided what they think of you.
So I like to pay attention tothose details, because people do
notice Right Are?
Rose (32:35):
you do you think that a fashion trend is changing, that
I see a lot of younger people.
They go out in their pajamas,which kind of bothers me, but
that's just because I wouldnever do that out in their
pajamas, which kind of bothersme, but that's just because I
would never do that, and they'renot.
They dress a little bit morerelaxed, maybe really
comfortable, and do you thinkthat there will be a change or a
(32:57):
shift in style, or style justcontinues?
Nancy (33:00):
You know what I do think for younger people that are
going out in their sweats likethat.
We saw some over the weekend.
My husband said nice of you toget dressed.
The girl was like basically ingray sweats that were so loungy
it looked like she was inpajamas.
But I do think that you have toget out of that at some point
of your life If you want to moveforward.
(33:21):
You can't be going to a joblooking like a slob.
So hopefully a lot of themoutgrow it.
I do see, as I have kidswalking by here at my house all
day when school lets out, a lotof them are wearing sweats and
just very comfortable clothes tobe in school all day.
But I don't think that that'sgoing to last when they move on
(33:43):
to different factions of theirlife Right, right, Like, like
you said, a job like a real workenvironment even though there's
a lot of Zooming and at home Iknow my personally, my children,
my boys, who are in college.
Rose (33:57):
They used to wear sweats a lot and then, you know, they
wear jeans occasionally.
But my one son has aninternship and he actually likes
clothes and he'll wear, he'lldress really nicely and shoes
like he's put together and I'mlike looks good.
You know he makes you feel good.
Nancy (34:13):
It's shocking, like how much different clothing makes
you feel when you're pulledtogether and you can, you know,
walk around.
There was an old Seinfeldepisode where and I'm really
dating myself now where Georgedecided he was going to wear
sweatpants and Jerry, he walksinto the apartment and Jerry
(34:33):
looks at him and he's like Iguess you've given up now.
You've given up on life walkingaround in sweatpants and
sneakers.
So it's kind of like that.
Rose (34:41):
It's like and that's how it is now anyway.
Yeah, and that's how it is nowanyway.
Yeah, I'd like to talk about atopic that recently I did a
little video and it got sometraction, because I think a lot
of people feel the same Women.
It's about bras.
I have a hard time finding brasthat are comfortable, that fit
(35:04):
well, and it's not because I'mnot trying.
Maybe I'm not trying in theright places, but what is your
take on?
Like bras that you like, orfinding the right bra or
undergarment?
Nancy (35:16):
Bras are a very tough issue and a lot of times at our
age we're just like, fine, I'mjust going to wear these
athletic things, that kind ofpush everything down, but when
you put actual clothes on, itdoesn't help your figure
Flattering right.
So you do need a few goodfitting bras and the problem is
is that you might have alwaysbeen a I don't know a 36B and
(35:38):
then all of a sudden thingschange and now you might need
more lift and more support andyou might need a different bra
size.
So it's really important to getmeasured.
Um, of course the bra brandssay every six months, but most
of us, if we change, check ourbra size every couple years,
you're lucky.
Um, so, yeah, getting measuredby somebody who really knows
(36:03):
what they're doing makes a bigdifference.
I was actually measured recentlyat Soma.
Oh, I've heard about them.
Yeah, they were wonderful.
The bras I got were great, thefit was great.
I've also had a lot of luck atThird Love.
In fact, they have a reallynice online system that you can
(36:25):
go through.
You do your own measurements,but it actually will talk to you
about okay, are your breastshanging?
Which direction are theyhanging?
You know, are they?
Are they hanging out at thesides?
Are they one's bigger, one'ssmaller?
Exactly, they talk, they coverall of that and it's it's a
really nice tutorial through uh,through their website, to help
(36:48):
you find the right bra.
Rose (36:50):
And.
Nancy (36:50):
I've gotten quite a few of their bras and they were very
comfortable.
Rose (36:53):
Good, I actually like to try them on because I don't know
.
I just feel I need to trybecause no one bra is fit all
yes.
But I will try some of thoseplaces that you mentioned.
This is good, good information.
I want to talk about yourcommunity.
Well, first of all, yourwebsite is amazing and you offer
a lot of free resources onthere.
(37:13):
You have all your videos.
You're constantly putting newvideos up and you have so many
kind of timeless ones out thereas well, so talk about what you
offer in the community, youruncorked community, sure.
Nancy (37:27):
Style Uncorked.
Style Uncorked yeah, it's acommunity of women over 50 who
are wanting to talk aboutfashion, but nobody wants to
talk about it with them.
It's like their kids are gone.
Their husband doesn't want tolisten to that.
So you can have a lot of fun inthere talk about things.
I have some new resources thatI'm working on that will be kind
(37:53):
of like mini courses that theycan do in the community, but a
lot of it is.
We do a lot of polls justchatting about what we're
wearing.
We've done a couple stylechallenges.
I just started this community acouple months ago so it's
growing as I'm finding out whatthey like.
But it's been a lot of fungrowing it and interacting and
(38:17):
the women that are active onthere are super active.
Like they respond right awaywith responses that are fun and
engaging and they like to share.
Like okay, this works for me.
What's everybody else doing?
You know this is my favoritecolor.
What do you like to wear?
Do you wear dresses in thespring, or jeans or pants in the
(38:37):
spring?
Like just lots of just openconversation about what's
working and we're getting toknow each other as we're
enjoying talking about clothing.
Rose (38:47):
I love that.
You know, oftentimes when I goto a place and I'm trying
clothes, I want to be able tosay to somebody as I'm trying
them on, hey, what does thislook like?
And you know you really can't,because you know you can't bring
somebody I don't have anybodyto bring with me or take a
picture and send.
You know, that would be kind ofweird, but you want another
person's opinion.
So this is kind of likebringing someone else in your
(39:08):
dressing room, yep.
Nancy (39:10):
They share photos of what they're wearing.
We all talk about it and it'sreally nice and loving and
supportive environment.
It's not.
There's no negativitywhatsoever.
Rose (39:21):
I think this is great because you know, feel good,
Wear what you love.
We're aging beautifully and weshould really feel good about
ourselves I agree, yeah, so wecan find you um your website.
I will put everything in theshow notes, as I do, but it's um
what is your website calledshopping on champagnecom?
Nancy (39:42):
shopping on champagne on instagram, on tiktok and, of
course, my life on YouTube.
Rose (39:50):
Yes, and your videos are great.
You post all the time.
Nancy (39:54):
I post twice a week on YouTube.
Rose (39:56):
Yeah, it's wonderful, and then I do shorts as well but the
long-form videos are on YouTube.
Anything else you wanted to addbefore we wrap it up.
Nancy (40:05):
No, this was a lot of fun .
I really enjoyed it, and thankyou so much for having me on
your podcast.
Rose (40:11):
Well, you're a lot of fun and I really appreciate you
being here and I know you'veinspired some people to go out
there.
And we did talk about well, wedid talk about purging what's in
your closet, so let's encouragepeople to go through their
closet first and discard what nolonger serves them.
Nancy (40:27):
Yeah, to go through their closet first and discard what
no longer serves them.
Yeah, because you know what itsounds counterintuitive.
But if you part with theclothes that you aren't serving
you, all of a sudden you'll seeall the clothes that you
actually love, that fit youtoday and make you feel good.
Rose (40:39):
Yes.
Nancy (40:40):
What a way to open your closet every morning.
Rose (40:42):
I love that.
Thank you so much, Nancy, forbeing here.
Nancy (40:44):
All right.
Rose (41:07):
Have a great day rosewipichcom to explore,
working together and discoverfree resources for your journey.
Love today's episode.
Subscribe wherever you get yourpodcasts, leave a rating and
share your biggest takeaway withme on Instagram at Rose Wippich
.
Remember wellness warriors yourenergy is precious.
Nurture it wisely.
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