Michelle Obama: fabulous at 50

Michelle Obama is 50 today, Francoise Hardy is 70, and yesterday Kate Moss turned 40. Old is the new young. Having turned 50 myself a couple of weeks ago, gone are the wobbly, 'is-this-it?' days of my mid-forties, I feel happier in my own skin, more confident than my younger self and a lot more settled than I have done for some time. Thanks to other women online - I love blogging, it continues to be both an adventure and an education - as well as in the public eye: like Michelle Obama, Emma Thompson and Ines de la Fressange, midlife has been reinvented. Gone are the frumpy days of yore, now fifty really is fabulous. Obviously health, wellbeing and taking good care of yourself are important too, but as Oscar Wilde said, ' Everything in moderation, including moderation.' 

To celebrate significant birthdays everywhere, here's what Michelle Obama's intelligence and intelligent approach to fashion has taught me:


1. The benefit of high-low dressing, and that J Crew is cool.

 2. The importance of accessories, metallics and embellishment:

 3. Simplicity is always chic.

 4. Keep fit, have fun and hopefully there'll be more, more years...

Photos: nymag and mrs-o.com.

And here's a link to a longer piece I was commissioned to write about Michelle Obama last year.