fashion over 40

Special Occasion

Hey ya’ll!!! I know it’s been awhile but I am back to blogging…with a new perspective. If you noticed I changed the blog’s name to Several People’s Mama a few months ago. The reason for the name change was to reflect my new position in life as a seasoned single mama of four. The blog will still cover style and beauty of course because that’s my first love but I will also include more posts on cooking, lifestyle and managing life as a single mom. I hope ya’ll will stay tuned. There will also be some YouTube videos! I’m so excited!!!

Now about this dress! I bought this dress from H&M (sold out) almost two months ago. It was love at first sight and I knew exactly how I wanted to style it but still never wore it. I was saving it for that non-existent special occasion. Let me say this we have to stop living our lives and not enjoying the things we love because we’re waiting on something special to happen. WE ARE THE SPECIAL OCCASION. Everyday we wake up, open our eyes and take a breath is special because someone somewhere didn’t get that opportunity. We are what makes life special. We create the experiences and the memories we want. We are the magic! So whatever it is you’ve been wanting to try, wear, go or do, don’t wait! Life is short, YOLO, etc – in other words, MAKE IT HAPPEN FOR YOURSELF!!! Sorry for the all caps but you have to understand the only thing in your way is YOU. PERIODT like the City Girls say. And you’ll discover thru the new blog content I’m on a mission to live life for me on my own terms. So what’s something you were saving for a special occasion?

Earrings & bangle : Paparazzi (Contact me to purchase)

Love, Ricki

What to Wear?

Dress: Forever 21 (Here in other colors) Shoes: Zara (no longer available)

So today I thought I would share a simple date night look with y’all. Let me first say being seasoned and dating is very interesting! There are a lot of things that have changed since my younger days. And unfortunately actually going out on a real date doesn’t happen like it used to. I won’t comment here but check out my instastories on IG where I talk about what I believe a real date is.

So what would a seasoned woman wear on a dinner date? Something slightly trendy, stylish and accentuates your best accents. This dress fit all of that in my opinion! This dress was a winner in my eyes because it was on trend with the button down look, midi length so you don’t show much leg but had some sexiness with the neckline. Now this dress was perfect for ME. As a seasoned woman you should be familiar with your shape, what you feel you look good in and your best assets. My suggestion (and this is totally opinion) but I would wear a dress or skirt that embodies those qualities for the first date. Femininity is a lost art that men still appreciate.

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I also liked this dress because I feel with a tank under I could wear it again for work with some heels or cute slides. You know I always like to get the most bang for my buck! So tell me what would you wear for a first dinner date?

Love Ricki

The Shirtdress – 3 Ways: Part 1

One of my main goals when it comes to buying clothes is to be able to wear the item in several ways. I had been wanting this cute shirt dress from NY and Company for a minute but it was either not on sale or not in stock. So when I finally visited my local mall and it was there and on sale for 50% off I figured I would snatch it up. A shirt dress is a wardrobe essential because it easy to wear, just add some accessories and it can be styles in several ways.

I personally thought of at least 3 ways I could wear it and plan to show you in upcoming blog posts. First up is the obvious way, as a dress! I paired this with some simple silver jewelry which I got from my Boo The Cost Conscious Fashionista who is also my sponsor on our Paparazzi jewelry team. Check out my $5 bling here. I also went with simple wedges I got from Just Fab. They are a dupe for the popular Marc Fisher wedges for a fraction of the cost. To join JustFab use my referral link here (I do earn rewards so you’ll be helping me bring more cute shoes to the blog! LOL). Easy, lightweight and a perfect look for summer. Stay tuned for more ways to wear this item!

Love Ricki

Summer Essentials-The Jumpsuit

I will be the first one to admit I wasn’t ready for this heat! As much as I complained about the cold weather I really wouldn’t mind it right about now! Yesterday in Houston the temps reached 100 degrees and if you have ever been here you know humidity made it feel even hotter. To prepare for these rising temperatures (cause it will only get hotter) I am wearing jumpsuits all summer and you should to.

The jumpsuit is a summer essential in my opinion because it’s easy to put on (until you have to go to the bathroom) and it’s an outfit you can put together in a hurry without much thought cause it’s all one piece. Just throw on your Paparazzi jewelry (shameless plug but check out our fabulous $5 jewelry here !) and some shoes and you are out the door in no time!

This one is from Forever 21 and the lightweight material makes it perfect for this heat. I am also in love with the color because it exemplifies the spicy seasoned woman!

I plan on getting the most out of my clothes so you will see me wearing this jumpsuit to work with a white shirt underneath since I work in a casual environment on a future OOTD (follow me on Instagram at Rickiloves to see) I could definitely see it with a cardigan too.

Look forward to seeing more jumpsuits on the blog cause I think I’m slightly obsessed.

Do you enjoy wearing jumpsuits or are they just too much of an inconvenience? Comment below.

Love Ricki

Represent

When I first started my blog all I heard about was finding your niche and identifying your target audience. You had to know who you were speaking to and who you were serving. I really had no idea who that was. I knew I loved fashion and makeup and everything associated with those things. I knew I was a woman of a certain age and I could no longer relate to younger women who were showing more than I cared to show anymore. I settled on blogging for women who were my age and enjoyed the things I loved and who wanted to see what I saw. But eventually that wasn’t enough for me anymore. Fashion is awesome and where would I be without concealer but I wanted to cover topics that were relevant to me and possibly to other women who looked like me.

I wanted to represent for the ladies that are in that weird place in life (at least it was weird for me) where you are getting older but you are not old! You still have so much life to live and share but you can now do it with more confidence because life experiences have taught you valuable lessons. I was stuck on how to describe this woman when my good friend Sheena (who I actually met through Instagram follow her @she_is_fab) told me you are not getting old you are just becoming seasoned. Thank you Sheena because I took this word and as you know I ran with it! I think it is the perfect word to describe where I am in life as well as other ladies in my audience. What does it mean to be a seasoned woman? My definition is a woman who has not just survived but conquered all those things that life tends to throw at us like hurt, pain and loss. Even though those experiences (which we tend to collect as we age) can be hard those experiances are necessary and help to sprinkle us with wisdom, perseverance, strength and that certain je ne sais quoi! Shoot that description right there makes me proud to be a seasoned woman! I mean who really wants to be bland anyway?

I decided at the request of my fellow seasoned sisters to create merchandise geared for us. My first venture into this scary new world is a graphic tee. I love T-shirts like the next person but I am careful about what I broadcast across my chest. For instance, I love trap music just like the next mother of teenagers, but I don’t want a T-shirt that says TRAP QUEEN. I wanted a T-shirt that was fun but at the same time expressed my pride in being a Seasoned Woman. I designed two shirts so far that I felt expressed and I hope you like them. Of course, these are samples and the final edit will be a little different (and better quality, I am figuring all this out as I go!) but I am uber proud of what I have came up with. So be on the lookout in the future for these and more! (Hint: sign up for email so you can get updates on the launch, pre sale information and discount codes. Do it now!)

Are you a seasoned woman? Does the definition describe you? Also what do you think of the shirts, would you buy and wear one? Let me know in the comments!

Love Ricki