AGELESS STYLE WITH ROBIN TRACEY

I’m happy you’ve stopped by to check out Ageless Style. Each month my friend Cindy and I interview a different woman. This month I’d like you to meet Robin Tracey.

Gliding Thru Sixty is the name of Robin Tracey’s Instagram account and like Robin, it’s relaxed and easy, and as Robin says, a page for women who have a limited wardrobe and use drugstore makeup. As she says, “I have sunspots and have done nothing except for old micro-bladed eyebrows that are fading.” 

I think Robin is authentic and beautiful, and I think you will, too.

BRENDA: I understand you just turned 69, Robin. Happy Birthday! Aging is getting harder for me. What about you?

ROBIN: I stewed over posting a recent (black and white) picture of me from my daughter’s wedding…It set me back on my heels and I thought, maybe I’d spent too much time in the sun. When I see that picture, I see all the things that bother me. Then I laugh and think at least she photographed the better side of my face because it doesn’t show the recession of my hairline on that side. LOL!

BRENDA: I know what you mean. I was asked to interview one of the 80’s supermodels at an event in Dallas two weeks ago. Afterward, we took photos of the two of us, and I kept asking if we could take another photo and another, thinking I could turn my head a different way and I’d look better. Then I thought, Hello! You’re setting yourself up when you stand next to a woman who was just on the cover of Vanity Fair and Vogue.”

ROBIN: Isn’t it terrible we do that to ourselves? Maybe that’s one of the reasons I started my Instagram account. To show women that if we take care of ourselves and stay current, I think we can all be attractive. Then I posted that picture from my daughter’s wedding.

BRENDA: I think it’s gorgeous. I think you’re gorgeous…You’ve said you struggle with thin sparse eyebrows. I can identify with that. Have you discovered a good way to fill in the holes and make them look better?

ROBIN: About five or six years ago I had them micro-bladed. They were great at the time, but they’ve faded. One of these days I’ll do it again. Doing my brows takes more time than anything else I do.

BRENDA: Me, too. I think brows are a problem for most of us. How are you doing them now?

ROBIN: I pencil them, and it takes a long time.

BRENDA: You fell off a step ladder a few months ago and fractured your fibula. That sounds painful.

ROBIN: I wore an air cast for seven weeks…It was okay. It was when the air cast came off my foot that I realized how much healing in the soft tissues…still needed to take place. But I was able to walk five clicks this week so I’m on the road again.

BRENDA: That’s great because things like that make us feel vulnerable, age-wise.

ROBIN: Definitely. This year when my husband and I were in Hawaii, I sent a video of me collecting shells to my grandchildren. Afterward, I looked at it and thought I can see a woman who’s changing even when she walks. When I read your blog where someone said Stevie Nicks had the gait of an elderly woman, I thought, what do you expect? She’s 75. I used to work out three times a week; we downhill skied and did all sorts of things. Now I’m looking at what else can I do. You age, you change. It’s constant work, Brenda.

BRENDA: You were diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. How has it changed your life? 

ROBIN: It came on really fast when I was 64. I started getting pain in the finger up the arm. I was diagnosed four years ago and all of my exercise programs changed. It was months before my medication kicked in. My husband and I would move out west for five months and we skied each day. We’re thinking about skiing again and instead of racing so hard, we’d be a bit gentler. Eventually, I was able to do yoga again, but at a different level, and I don’t do Pilates any longer…Right now I’m back to walking.

BRENDA: Did you also change your diet? I see that you eat a lot of seeds and nuts. 

ROBIN: Yes. In 2022, nothing fit me in my waist and my boobs, and I decided I needed to lose five pounds. I wasn’t feeling well physically or mentally and wasn’t motivated in the kitchen. Takeout was becoming an unhealthy pattern…I started the online Gina Livy Method. Surprisingly I lost 15 pounds and felt wonderful. A year later, I regained 10 pounds so I’m back on it to lose five of those regained pounds. 

BRENDA: You and your husband have both had health challenges and decided it’s now or never to make some big changes, and you moved. I love how your term for downsize is “right size.” How did you approach this big life change? 

ROBIN: We always said when we retired, we were going to sell the house…but I had an anxiety attack and couldn’t sell the house…So we renovated it and enjoyed it. I wanted to keep the house because I was so attached to my children. I thought the house would attract the kids to come home more, but kids can’t come home when you want them to, so it was silly holding on to this anchor…When I was ready we listed it, and it took days to sell, and I was doing the happy dance…I wanted to be near water, and we found this area near a marina. 

I also let go of my kids and stopped being a clingy mom and it was time for me and my husband to reconnect as well.

BRENDA: You make such an important point about reconnecting with your spouse. I think it’s easy to settle in and become like roommates.

ROBIN: I think it takes work because you get set in your ways and go in different directions, but it’s worth the work.

BRENDA: You have a casual style that suits you and your lifestyle.

ROBIN: I was a dental assistant for all the years I worked so I wore scrubs and with the kids, I wore jeans and t-shirts. I’m still basic classic, and functional, and I tend to keep things longer than I should. I usually buy things on sale.

BRENDA: You posted a photo of yourself in a gold sequin top you weren’t sure you were going to keep. I hope you did because you looked fabulous in it. 

ROBIN: No. I did not. It was during the winter, and I freeze during the winter and need to wear things on my arms.

BRENDA: Well, if you find another sequin top, grab it. You can wear it the other times of the year. 

ROBIN: LOL! I will.

BRENDA: Your daughter recently got married. As mother of the bride, how did you decide what to wear? I imagine your recent fall dictated what kind of shoes you wore, and that can create a domino effect because some outfits don’t look good with flats.

ROBIN: It was a small wedding…So it was going to be a cocktail-style dress. [Because of her foot] I was limited to shopping in stores that were easy for me to get to. I brought home two dresses and gave my daughter and daughter-in-law a fashion show and they told me which one they liked. 

BRENDA: Were your shoes flat?

ROBIN: Yes, Mary Janes. I know they’ve made a big comeback, but I kind of felt silly in them because I used to wear Mary Janes in public school. These were sparkly and reasonably priced and if I didn’t wear them again that was okay, and I used a sparkly purse. I decided this wasn’t about me and what I wore, so just be grateful I didn’t have a cast on my foot.

BRENDA: Do you have any favorite brands?

ROBIN: Whatever fits and may stand up for a couple of years, and I’ll get my money’s worth out of it…I have a lot of things from Calvin Klein and Melanie Lynn (IG) and there’s a little boutique downtown I visit. I don’t really enjoy shopping. I’m overwhelmed and get distracted, and I’m out of there. I don’t understand how people can shop at Zara’s and put these fabulous outfits together because when I shop there, I think ‘no,’ that’s not for you. I really enjoy Tommy Bahama, but I don’t like to order online because sizes don’t always fit.

BRENDA: If I’m in doubt about size, I’ll order two and send one or both back. Sometimes there’s a delivery fee, but that’s the price of shopping. It’s the equivalent of how much I’d spend on gas driving to the mall and back and what my time is worth. That’s how I feel. I’m not a shopper either, and I get overwhelmed because I just see a sea of things on hangars, and I leave the store. Online shopping is easier for me because I know what looks good on me and I have favorite brands I go to. 

Talk to me about what you use for your skin and the makeup you use.

ROBIN: I like Riversol. It’s a Canadian product, and I use their cleanser, exfoliant, hydrating cream, and their sunscreen. The nice thing about this product is you can go on their website, and they’ll send you a 10-day supply for free so you can sample it. Also, I love The Ordinary’s serums and oils. Their rose hips oil is the Holy Grail. Put it on your skin and your chest. And I use Nivea cream’s CQ10. 

BRENDA: Thank you for visiting with me. This has been fun.

ROBIN: Thank you, Brenda. You made it easy for me and made me feel so comfortable. 

Thanks for reading Ageless Style with Robin Tracey. Don’t forget to see who my friend Cindy is interviewing this month!