Inspiration, Conversation, and Hell Yeah!

Because the Third-Third is a giant space where we can explore the unique experiences and issues of women in this exciting and vastly interesting decade.

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Tools for Living Brilliantly

12 Words, 12 Months

A Year of Transformation

12 Words, 12 Months is a guided journal built around a simple but powerful idea: transformation happens gradually when we choose our focus intentionally.

Rather than selecting one word for the entire year, this journal invites you to choose a new word each month. Each word becomes a theme that shapes how you think, act, and move through the weeks ahead.

Inside the journal you’ll find:

• A guided process for selecting a meaningful word each month
• Discovery prompts to help you clarify what you want more of in your life
• Weekly reflection questions that keep your intention alive
• Daily journal pages to capture insights, observations, and progress
• A year-end reflection that reveals how far you’ve come

This is not a productivity system. It is a personal practice that helps you stay engaged with your own evolution.

When His Long-Awaited Freedom Meets Your Already-Full Life

Retirement can be a second courtship. There is time now to rediscover each other without the urgency of careers or carpools. There is space for spontaneous road trips and long conversations that are not squeezed between obligations. But there must also be room for separate growth.

Patty Lowell

5 days ago4 min read

Growing to Great Lengths

Scroll social media, flip through fashion coverage, or simply pay attention in the real world, and you’ll see it everywhere: silver hair worn long and loose, glossy ponytails swinging with confidence or peeking out from the backs of baseball caps, soft waves framing faces rich with experience, and long hair has become one of its most visible signatures.

Patty Lowell

Mar 54 min read

Stepmother at Sixty: When the Kids Are Grown and So Are You

While becoming a wife again may have been your heart’s desire, becoming someone’s stepmom likely was not. And yet there you are, newly married at 62, 65, maybe 68, and “stepmother” to adults who are 34 and refinancing their mortgage.

Patty Lowell

Feb 264 min read

Lessons from my Sixteen-Year-Old Self: Reclaiming Freedom in our 60s

There’s a quiet but radical idea here: aging doesn’t always require reinvention. Sometimes it calls for reconnection and extracting the very best from every age. It’s about revisiting moments when the world felt wide open and possibility rushed in.

Patty Lowell

Feb 134 min read

It’s Time to Change Your Mind

For many women, the 60s are the decade when we begin to loosen our grip on long-held “musts” and “nevers,” not because we’re confused, but because we’re clearer, and clarity has a way of creating space.

Patty Lowell

Feb 54 min read

Patty
Lowell
Want to know something about me?

The Brilliant Age is the culmination of six decades of writing, interviewing, and storytelling shaped by meaningful conversations with accomplished, insightful people. I began my career as a fashion journalist, transitioned into branding, marketing, and communications, raised two remarkable daughters as a single parent, and earned a master’s degree in creative writing at 50. This blog is dedicated to women navigating midlife and beyond—those stepping into The Brilliant Age with experience, curiosity, style, and a desire to break a few rules.

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Why The Brilliant Age?

“Unthinkably good things can happen, even late in the game,” Frances Mayes in Under the Tuscan Sun.

Something happened when I put a 6 in front of my age. Suddenly, I wanted to slam my foot on the gas and really begin creating and curating an extraordinary life for myself.

As I went searching for inspiration, I found that I kept walking headfirst into information about women "50 and older." But as any woman who reaches her sixth decade knows, the issues and interests of a 67-year-old facing retirement decisions are far different from the 52-year-old woman struggling to separate from children heading off to college.

I felt overlooked in the giant swath of 50+ content, so I set out to create a beautiful, thoughtful, engaging space for women to have important and inspiring conversations about this incredibly fertile and fruitful decade of life.

The Brilliant Age is about just that—finding, creating, evolving, and enjoying our vibrant selves.

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New week. New momentum. Let’s meet Monday with bright eyes, bold energy, and the quiet confidence that this season is ours. #thebrilliantage #womenover60 #midlifeinspiration

You’ve built a career on fearless truth-telling, razor-sharp timing, and the kind of confidence that only gets better with age. From stand-up stages to scene-stealing roles in The Upshaws, you prove that humor is power, and experience makes it lethal. Smart, bold, and gloriously unfiltered, you remind us that getting older just means you have better material. #thebrilliantage #wandasykes #womenover60rock

Something interesting is happening out in the great wide world. Women over 60 are rocking long, shiny, wavy locks, tied back in ponytails or peeking out from baseball caps, and honestly, they look terrific.

It's not about trying to be 21 again. It’s about authenticity, freedom, and happily joining in on the style conversation.

My latest essay explores why long hair over 60 has become one of the most visible signs that later-life women are living on their own terms.

Read the full story at The-Brilliant-Age.com. Link in bio.

March is your reminder that growth doesn’t ask for permission. Step into this week like a woman who knows she’s just getting started. #thebrilliantage #womenover60 #midlifeinspiration

A friend became a stepmother at 65. Not exactly what she had on her 5-year plan.

No carpools. No custody battles. Just adult children, established traditions, and a new marriage layered onto decades of history.

I wrote about what this role really looks like in your 60s. It’s thoughtful, steady, and surprisingly hopeful. Link in bio.

#TheBrilliantAge #SecondChapters #WomenOver60 #ModernFamily #LoveLaterInLife

And Just Like That, you continue to shape the conversation on women, identity, and growing older, with style, on your podcast Are You a Charlotte?. Aging with curiosity, confidence, and zero apologies looks very good on you.
#KristinDavis #thebrilliantage #sexandthecity #andjustlikethat #midlifeinspiration #womenover60rock

This week remember to fuel your body like it’s carrying you toward something wonderful—because it is. Every nourishing choice is a quiet vote for energy, strength, and joy.

#thebrilliantage #womenover60 #midlifeinspiration

Wellness isn’t about restriction or rules—it’s about feeling good in your body and clear in your mind. Start this week by honoring what you need, not what you “should.”
#thebrilliantage #midlifeinspiration #midlifewisdom

“The road is open again. And this time, we know exactly how to drive.”

Experience changes everything. And that might be the greatest freedom of all.

In my latest blog post I revisit what it's like to feel 16 again--new driver's license and all. Read more at the link in bio.

#LifeAfter60 #AgingBoldly #SecondChapter #TheBrilliantAge

Live boldly this week—say yes to what lights you up and no to what drains you. You’ve earned the freedom to choose yourself without apology.

#thebrilliantage #womenover60 #midlifemindset

They say we get “stuck in our ways” as we age.

Research says nonsense!

Changing your mind at this stage of life isn’t confusion, it’s confidence.
I wrote about why updating our perspective later in life isn’t a bad thing—it’s a brilliant one..

Read the full post on The Brilliant Age. Link in bio.
#TheBrilliantAge #ChangingYourMind #WomenOver60 #MidlifeWisdom #LaterLifeLiving #AgingWithConfidence #CuriousAtAnyAge

Your career is a masterclass in longevity, depth, and choosing roles that only get more interesting with time. You’ve shown us that aging isn’t about fading. It’s about refining, expanding, and owning your power. Smart, soulful, and effortlessly stylish, you make growing older look like the privilege it is. #lauralinney #women60plus #thebrilliantage

This week doesn’t need to be perfect—it just needs you showing up with curiosity and confidence. Step into it like you belong here, because you do. #thebrilliantage #womenover60rock

You don’t need a reinvention, just a realignment with who you are today. Explore more midlife inspiration and visit the-brilliant-age.com at the link in bio.

#midlifemindset
#TheBrilliantAge
#MidlifeInspiration
#WomenOver60

Ever sit down to “get organized” and somehow end up overwhelmed, stuck and looking for a snack instead?

You’re not imagining it. Your brain may just be tired of deciding. Which project to tackle first? How to respond to a coworker's snippy email? What protein-packed meal should you fix for dinner? I wrote about decision making fatigue and why simplifying choices can actually give you more energy.

Make this the year of clearing mental clutter—link in bio.

From a teenage breakout in The Outsiders to a grown woman feuding in Capote vs. The Swans, she’s shown us that beauty deepens when confidence and craft catch up with experience. Here’s to a life (and career) that keeps getting more interesting, more fearless, and more her.
#dianelane
#ageless #happybirthday

A new week brings fresh energy at every age. Tap the link in bio for inspiration for women loving later life. For more midlife inspiration, visit the-brilliant-age.com Link in bio.

• #AgingBoldly
• #MidlifeWisdom
• #RedefiningMidlife
• #LifeWellLived

Brooches are officially back—and they’re having a moment.

From wrangling silk scarves to adding sparkle to handbags and creating shape at the waist, this once-forgotten accessory is stealing the spotlight again.

Chances are, you already own one (or a few!) tucked away in a jewelry box with stories to tell. I’m sharing modern, creative ways to wear brooches now and why sentimental style feels especially right at this stage of life.

👉 Read the full post on The-Brilliant-Age.com
🔗 Link in bio

#TheBrilliantAge #BroochesAreBack #MidlifeStyle #StyleWithStory #WearWhatYouOwn #ModernClassic #AgelessStyle

Happy birthday to Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the undisputed queen of smart, fearless comedy. From sitcom icon to podcast queen and cultural force, she’s proven that talent, timing, and confidence only sharpen with age. She makes ambition look joyful, humor look intelligent, and success look unapologetic. Here’s to a woman who keeps raising the bar and laughing while she does.
#julialouisdreyfus #agelessstyle #over60women

This week isn’t about doing more. It’s about choosing what matters now. Discover midlife motivation and purpose at The-Brilliant-Age.com, link in bio.

• #MidlifeReinvention
• #IntentionalLiving
• #SecondActLiving
• #MidlifeMotivation
• #PurposeDrivenLife

Happy Quitters Day, the second Friday of January when most New Year's Resolutions are abandoned and old habits are restored. It's also the official end of Dry January for many.

I'm celebrating with a chai latte and chocolate croissant! Onward to a brilliant 2026!

Rebranding isn’t about becoming someone new.
It’s about becoming more you.

In my latest post, I share why your 60s are the perfect moment for a personal rebrand—and a simple framework to help you:
✨ audit what feels outdated
✨ define what matters now
✨ design days that actually fit the woman you are today

Your sixties aren’t a sunset. They’re a spotlight.
Link in bio to read the full post.

#TheBrilliantAge #ReinventAfter60 #PersonalBranding #MidlifeMagic #WomenRewritingTheRules #LifeDesign #AgingWithIntention #MidlifeWomen #Over60Style

Monday is your reminder that your life is still expanding, not shrinking.

I’d love to know—what intention are you setting this week?

Find more inspiration for midlife living—link in bio.
• #TheBrilliantAge
• #MidlifeInspiration
• #WomenOver60
• #MidlifeMindset
• #LifeAfter50

A new year brings a new name—Self in the Sixties is now The Brilliant Age!

Same heart, same voice, with a bigger, brighter vision of midlife and beyond: curious, stylish, intentional, and willing to break a few rules.

Start the year with energy and inspiration. Visit the-brilliant-age.com and join Spark 60, our weekly, one-minute of motivation and magic. Check us out at the link in bio.

#midlifemindset
#TheBrilliantAge
#MidlifeInspiration
#WomenOver60
#MidlifeMindset
#LifeAfter50

60 is its own fabulous, extraordinary adventure ✨ Join me at the-brilliant-age.com

Starting the year with a dose of sunshine!🌞

Your 60s are a wide-open canvas—fresh, bright, and ready for every inspiration, adventure, and bold new beginning you’ve been waiting to claim. The new year offers the ideal clean slate moment, and the world is absolutely ready for what you do next.

#WomenOver60 #MidlifeMagic #ReinventionAfter60 #VibrantLiving #SecondActStyle #InspiredAtAnyAge #SelfInTheSixties

Happy 60-something birthday to Donna Tartt, a Pulitzer Prize–winning author whose haunting, meticulous storytelling has captivated readers for decades. Let's raise a glass to this literary force whose novels continue to resonate, linger, and shape the landscape of modern fiction.

#DonnaTartt #LiteraryIcons #WomenAuthors #PulitzerPrizeWinner #TimelessStories #AgingCreatively #SelfInTheSixties

Bette Davis reshaped the landscape of film with her fierce talent, unforgettable characters, and uncompromising commitment to her craft. Her legacy lives on in every woman who dares to be bold, complex, and impossible to ignore.

#BetteDavis #ClassicHollywood #FilmIcons #WomenInFilm #LegendaryActress #CinemaHistory #SelfInTheSixties

Amelia Earhart showed the world what fearlessness looks like, lifting generations of women with her courage, curiosity, and unstoppable drive to fly beyond every boundary. Her legacy still reminds us that bravery isn’t the absence of fear—it’s the choice to rise anyway.

#AmeliaEarhart #WomenInHistory #FearlessWomen #TrailblazingWomen #InspirationForWomen #WomenWhoLead #SelfInTheSixties

Happy birthday to Donna Brazile—trailblazing political strategist, author, and commentator who has spent decades navigating (and often taming) the wild waves of American politics. Here’s to a 60-something icon who always brings a touch of humor to the national conversation.

#DonnaBrazile #WomenOver60 #AgingBoldly #SelfInTheSixties

Every week, wise and wonderful women open their inboxes to a one-minute jolt of inspiration—something fresh, fun, and totally doable.

From bold lipstick moments to tiny habit shifts to “I-needed-this-today” mindset sparks, the response has been incredible. Women are writing in saying Spark 60 is the brightest thing in their week—and honestly, that lights me up too.

If you want to feel more vibrant, more intentional, more you in this next chapter, click the link in bio and visit selfinthesixties.com
Your future self will thank you.

#Spark60 #TheBrilliantAge #MidlifeInspiration #Women60Plus #VibrantLiving #ReinventionAfter60

Twyla Tharp continues to prove that artistry—and audacity—don’t have an expiration date, redefining what longevity looks like in dance with every bold, breathtaking move. Her lifelong commitment to creativity reminds us that movement, reinvention, and joy are always within reach.

#TwylaTharp #WomenOver60Inspire #LongevityInDance #AgelessCreativity #MidlifeMagic #VibrantAfter60 #SelfInTheSixties

Happy birthday to Daryl Hannah—whose decades-long career began with her iconic turn as a mermaid opposite Tom Hanks and has evolved into a body of work as bold and memorable as she is. Here’s to a 60-something legend who keeps proving that talent, longevity, and reinvention age beautifully.

#DarylHannah #WomenOver60 #IconicActresses #AgingBoldly #FilmLegends #selfinthesixties

Happy birthday to Julianne Moore—an actress whose 60-something glow is matched only by her astonishing range, from unforgettable indie roles to powerhouse performances on Hollywood’s biggest stages. Here’s to a woman who continues to redefine what brilliance, longevity, and fearless storytelling look like.

#JulianneMoore #IconicActresses #WomenOver60 #AgingWithGrace #FilmLegends #TimelessTalent #SelfInTheSixties

Happy 60=something birthday to Ann Patchett—beloved writer, bookstore owner, and creator of some of literature’s most unforgettable, complex women. Her stories remind us how powerful, resilient, and beautifully layered female characters can be.

#annpatchett
#womenwritersofinstagram
#greatbookstoread
#selfinthesixties

As Viola Davis reminds us, aging is not something to hide from—it’s the gift of becoming more ourselves. With every year, we gain depth, strength, and a joy that comes from knowing exactly who we are.

#SelfInTheSixties #WomenOver60 #JoyOfAging #AuthenticAtAnyAge #PowerfulWomen #AgeConfidently #VibrantAfter60 #ThisIs60

Some holiday traditions shift with time, and some stay beautifully constant. Making this recipe is one of mine. I wrote about reimagining holiday traditions on the blog, check it out at the link in bio!

And let me know, should I drop the recipe? 👀

Cheers to the wisdom that comes with age—and the fire that refuses to dim.

#SelfInTheSixties #WomenOver60 #AgeBoldly #PowerfulAtAnyAge #WisdomLooksGoodOnYou #VibrantAfter60

Oprah reminds us that every laugh line and sun-kissed crease is a souvenir from a life well-lived. Wear them proudly; they’re proof of the joy you’ve collected along the way.
#SelfInTheSixties #WomenOver60 #VibrantAfter60 #AgeBoldly #ConfidenceAtAnyAge #AgingIsLiving #EmbraceYourStory

Birthday cheers to the incomparable Diana Krall — your voice gets more captivating every year. You’re proof that elegance only grows richer with time. Keep jazzing up our lives with that timeless cool.
#DianaKrall #JazzLegend #Over60AndFabulous #TimelessElegance #BirthdayVibes #selfinthesixties

When British Vogue asked, “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now?”, Gen Z shouted “YES!” But women over 60 have been onto this secret for years: happiness doesn’t hinge on a plus-one.
Read how we’re redefining love and singlehood → selfinthesixties.com or tap the link in bio.
#SelfInTheSixties #SixtyAndSingle #BoyfriendOptional #VibrantAfter60

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Inspiration, Conversation, and Hell Yeah!

Tools for Living Brilliantly

12 Words, 12 Months

A Year of Transformation

When His Long-Awaited Freedom Meets Your Already-Full Life

Growing to Great Lengths

Stepmother at Sixty: When the Kids Are Grown and So Are You

Lessons from my Sixteen-Year-Old Self: Reclaiming Freedom in our 60s

It’s Time to Change Your Mind

Patty Lowell Want to know something about me?

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YOU CAN ALSO FIND ME ON

Why The Brilliant Age?

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Follow us on Instagram

Contact

Patty
Lowell
Want to know something about me?