Sherrie Mathieson

I spent a lovely afternoon this past Monday at a cafe in Ridgefield, CT sipping a cup of tea and chatting with award-winning costume designer and style consultant Sherrie Mathieson.

With luminous skin and bright eyes that reflect her healthy lifestyle, Sherrie is still gorgeous at 62. A beauty inside and out. Her first book, Forever Cool: How to Achieve Ageless, Youthful and Modern Personal Style, was self-published in 2006 and later picked up by Clarkson-Potter/Random House. It's a style book for the over-50 set.

As the Chicago Tribune says, “Forever Cool features style dos and don'ts for an age-appropriate modern look... The before-and-after images are designed to show readers the components of great style using timeless looks.”

Sherrie embraces the idea that aging gives us the opportunity to exalt our eccentricities and be our true selves. (I love that she uses “real people” models.) She says:

I believe that looking better is about looking natural and that aging gracefully is the only way to go. First and foremost, it's about embracing our age rather than denying it. Perhaps, for the first time since our teenage years, we can relax into being ourselves and accept the very things that make us unique.

Sherrie insists that cool doesn't mean wearing black all the time. It's “knowing who you are and realizing your full potential."

Amen to that!

To learn more (a sequel is due out in early spring 2009), visit Sherrie's website at www.sherriemathieson.com.