In today’s blog post, I’m going to answer Chico’s question: How Bold Are You?
Earlier this year, Chico’s reached out to me and a few other ladies in the Forever Fierce group to participate in their spring/summer campaign about age positivity.
March is Women’s History Month and an excellent time for Chico’s to introduce the How Bold Are You campaign as it encourages women to band together in support of our respective ages by literally saying it with our chest.
To me, wearing Chico’s T-Shirt, as part of the company’s How Bold Are You campaign, is a defining moment to take a stand for my age. I started blogging five years ago with the belief that representation matters for the mature female voice, because as Academy Award-winning actress Frances McDormand said in her Best Actress acceptance speech at the Oscars, “we all have stories to tell.”
The stories I tell on The Age of Grace all revolve around how to age gracefully, of course, with health awareness tips and serves as a reminder to myself to be socially active, as well as a way to connect with like-minded women (most of whom are over the age of 50). I’ve had a lifetime of earning my stripes as a woman, daughter, mom, and wife so now is the time to be bold and fierce.
Hit the play arrow on the above YouTube video. What do you see in less than 10-seconds? Female flashers if you will, some who show their age and maybe we don’t. Society doesn’t always recognize and represent seasoned women, but Forever Fierce is working to redefine older women.
We are not old, seniors, matronly, past our prime, or ancient. Instead, we choose to see ourselves as vibrant, still ambitious, motivating, not afraid to share our opinions, and fashion-forward. And we know that we’re not alone in feeling this way.
I know as a woman of a certain age, on social media, it’s easy to hide behind hashtags, but I can’t do that in real life. I work in the pharmaceutical industry which typically employs attractive young people. As we age, the workplace isn’t always embracing to women (older ones, especially) at times being minimizing and overlooking us. Here’s where showing up every day knowing your strengths, being confident, and bringing solutions helps to show you still deliver value.
I’m not wearing the correct age on my Chico’s How Bold Are You T-Shirt. I am 62 years bold. Though I coordinated the order for the bloggers who were attending our meet-up, I neglected to inquire about when my shirt would arrive.
Forever Fierce’s New York City meet-up was about taking a courageous stand together revealing our respective ages together. We are proud of who we are.
To join our midlife revolution (and eliminate any FOMO especially the Manhattan meet-ups), email Catherine Grace O to join the Forever Fierce Facebook group. You can order the Chico’s How Bold our You t-shirt here.
Remember age is just a number. Thank you Chico’s for my opportunity to celebrate aging being bold, fearless, with the no-nonsense attitude I embrace.
Have a fabulous week!
