Midlife Topics: Essays, Reads & Real Talk for Women Over 40

Style is what brought a lot of us here. Life is what keeps us coming back.

Wardrobe Oxygen has always been about more than clothes. Since 2005, this space has been where I share what’s on my mind: the things I’m reading, thinking about, and navigating as a woman in midlife. That means perimenopause, aging parents, kids becoming adults, civic life, cultural moments worth paying attention to, and the occasional strong opinion about something that has nothing to do with fashion (though really, fashion is political…).

Every weekend you’ll find my Weekend Reads roundup: a curated mix of articles, essays, and links worth your time. And scattered throughout you’ll find longer personal essays when something is worth saying at length.

This is the less-polished corner of the site. It’s where I write like myself, think out loud, and trust that the women reading this are navigating a lot of the same terrain. Pull up a chair, I’m so glad you’re here!

Essays & Perspective

I Sold My Soul for a Haircut: Sponsored Content as an Influencer

Navigating paid brand partnerships as an influencer and when money has you lose sight of your beliefs and business goals.

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Essays & Perspective

Alison Gary of Wardrobe Oxygen Offers Personal Wardrobe Advice at IKEA

On March 9, 2013, Alison Gary of Wardrobe Oxygen was invited to speak at the College Park IKEA. With over a decade of fashion experience, Alison Gary offered tips and answer audience questions about how to organize, curate, and update their own closets. The topic of Alison Gary’s presentation was, “Closet Cleanout and Organization: Refreshing…

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Essays & Perspective

True Fashionista: Interview with Angie Cox of YouLookFab

There’s some people who like fashion, and there’s some who live and breathe it, understand it, research it, and share their passion and knowledge with others. Those folk who understand proportion, why Emerald is the hot color of the year, how that Forever 21 dress was made and what designer inspired the print and silhouette,…

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Essays & Perspective

True Fashionista: Interview with Chastity Garner

I get often receive emails and comments from women stating that fashion is unattainable because of their size. That I don’t get it because I have never been larger than a size 18. That they can’t relate to fashion blogs because they never feature fashionable plus-size women. That they can’t wear current trends because they…

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Essays & Perspective

Seeing Morrissey in Concert at Strathmore

This weekend, dear Emily from Capital Style asked on Twitter is anyone wanted to buy her tickets to see Morrissey at Strathmore on January 16th. Um, ME ME ME!!! Since Emily got the chance to instead see Moz in Atlantic City this past weekend, her cool opportunity was an opportunity for me as tickets sold…

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Essays & Perspective

Blogger Burn-out: How to Get Reinspired for the New Year Jan 12, 2013

The fabulous Kat at Ginger, Adorned recently asked on Twitter what fellow bloggers do to get through burnout. It reminded me that I had started a post on this very subject a few months ago but never did anything with it. Kat inspired me to finish my thoughts, and made me realize that my experience…

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Essays & Perspective

Les Misérables: My Worlds Collide

When I realized: Was also: The 16-year old in my heart swooned. Yesterday was a wonderful Christmas. We hosted for the first time; Karl made some sort of breakfast casserole, had fresh fruit and my mom made her awesome coffee cake. Emerson had so much fun and loved what Santa brought. For lunch, Karl made…

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Midlife Topics: Essays, Reads & Real Talk for Women Over 40

Not Fashion Related: Creating a Bug Out Bag

So the world didn’t end on December 21st. I never thought it would, but all the hype did get me thinking about the future. While I do think my family and I have a good plan for hurricanes and natural disasters, we never had prepared Bug Out Bags (also known as Go Bags). A Bug…

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Essays & Perspective | Midlife Topics: Essays, Reads & Real Talk for Women Over 40

Hive on the Hill: The Shoe Hive’s DC Pop-up Shop

Like fashion, I believe in quality instead of quantity for my social life. My evenings and weekends are primarily dedicated to my family, and only a few choice blog events. Last night I attended a fabulous and quality event; Hive on the Hill from The Shoe Hive. While The Shoe Hive has the most adorable…

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