For those of you new here (I know there are many) every month Elizabeth from the Vintage Contessa and I interview someone over 50 with great style. This month I am so happy to feature Sarah Foster from Australia. Sarah is what this series is all about. She is full of life, not afraid to tackle a new challenge and lives her life with great style. Sarah’s ebullient personality is reflected in her sassy style. Welcome to Ageless Style-Sarah Foster.
How Would You Describe Your Style?
“Chic, simple!” I loved this philosophy as named by the fabulous American fashion editor and stylist, Kim Johnson Gross back in the 90s, and it still works for me today in 2019.
I wear clean shapes that are classic and timeless in simple, neutral colours. Mostly this stems from being a fit issue for me due to being a very curvy gal – I’m an Australian size 16, a US size 14 – so well-cut clothes are a must to fit and flatter my shape. I know exactly what works for me after dressing this way for 30 years. I highlight my assets- slim legs and arms and play down my deficits – a full bust and no waist. It’s all about bringing attention up to my face!
Do you have a style muse?
I love the way the society ladies of the 60s dress, so neat as a pin and glamorous whether holidaying in Palm Beach or walking down Fifth Avenue. So all the usual classic style icons have provided wonderful inspiration. Jackie O, Babe Paley, Slim Keith are favourites, as well as Lauren Bacall at any age and stage of her life! Women who knew the value of a white shirt, a black turtleneck, navy capri pants, a tan trenchcoat and a Hermes scarf.
My own mother, Patricia Foster was a huge influence all my life. She passed away in 2016, though her style ‘must-have’s’ were passed on to me – a love of French perfume, a great white shirt and black pants, the best shoes and handbags you can afford to buy and a great haircut were a part of her daily style.
What is your favorite accessory?
It’s always been about the shoes and handbags for me. Because my clothes are so simple, I use shoes and bags as a way to bring in my personality. I swap my handbags over regularly to work with my outfit, so I do have quite a few on rotation at any one time! I have a few gorgeous, designer bags from Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton – the Artsy MM bag being a real favourite – though I also am quite happy to wear a little, no-name handbag if it’s cute and serves my outfit well.
What are your favorite color combinations
I wear mostly black, navy, tan and white as the base of my wardrobe, though I also love bringing in pops of red, orange, green and hot pink. I might wear a red coat on an all-black ensemble in winter or I’ll wear red Capri pants in summer with a hot pink tunic. I have a huge selection of pashminas in every colour under the sun, so I like to bring colour up to my face that way with one of my favourite accessories. I’m quite happy to mix colours on colours depending o the occasion and my mood.
Do you have a signature piece that defines your style?
Yes, I’d have to say a skinny-leg pant in black, white or denim is my ‘go to’. I wear them so much because they fit and flatter my figure. I can dress them up or down, wear them to the theatre or in the garden. The versatility of a well-cut black pant is endless and at this stage of my life, it’s rather like putting on a uniform. I’m also known for my tunics and shirts. I wear a very basic shape in a variety of prints and colours. I’d also say the pashmina is something that often defines my style, as I have so many and I wear them regularly. I love the practicality of them and I have about 40 in different colours. Lastly, I am never seen without my signature chunky, gold bracelets.
What are your favorite beauty products and why can’t you live without them?
I have been wearing ‘Elizabeth Arden’s Flawless Finish’, a sponge on cream foundation in Perfect Beige since I was about 25-years-old. I wear it every day because it suits my skin tone and I like to throw it in my makeup bag and touch up throughout the day. It’s a little security blanket for me, and I believe it has helped to spare my skin from the harsh Australian climate all these years! I also would never be seen without doing my eyebrows! I think a well-defined eyebrow is the easiest way for a woman to give herself a ‘facelift’ and I ensure I take the 2-minutes required to fill in mine every day. I also love a pretty, soft, shell-pink lipstick and gloss and get asked all the time what I’m wearing. But I use everything from the posh, designer brands down to some little lippie I found on sale for $5 at the chemist – our version of the drugstore. I’d have about 20 different versions on the go at any one time because I know what suits me and I work with it. In terms of cult classics, Elizabeth Arden ‘Eight- Hour Cream’ has also been a part of my daily life for 30 years. I mean, who can live without it?
Do you have any style rules that you live by, or do you choose to break the rules?
I don’t think in terms of ‘rules’, though I certainly know what suits me and I do stick with it! Perhaps that’s more a ‘structured’ approach to how I dress than a ‘rule’. I’m a great admirer of women who just do what they want to do with style. I think the greatest style goal is to be a happy and confident woman who radiates joy and love.
What are your favorite online and or boutique sources?
In all honesty, I just don’t shop anymore! I have a wardrobe full to the brim with every single shoe, bag, and piece of clothing I could possibly need for any occasion and opportunity! I have fabulous eveningwear that means I could dress for a black-tie dinner in five minutes flat, or take off on a summer holiday to Italy at the same time. I lack for nothing. The real reason that I’m not looking to shop anymore is that my life out here as a flower farmer requires very little of me in the style stakes. So these days I’m more likely chasing down some rare rose or peony on the internet than a pair of shoes!
Do you have a particular diet and or exercise regime that you follow?
I’m up at 5.00am and work very hard physically for a long day, so at age 56, by the time it’s the mid-afternoon, I’m knackered! I eat a very simple dinner early around 5 pm, so I can get into bed and be asleep by 8.00pm. My exercise routine is to keep moving each and every day.
Do you have any anti-aging foods and or supplements that are your go to’s?
Not really. I take just a basic multi-vitamin, but that’s about it. Fresh air, hard work and getting up to see the sunrise every morning is my beauty ‘go to’.
What advice do you have for women over 50?
Well, by the time we are 50, life has probably delivered us some kind of kick in the pants. It certainly has to me! When I was 44 I had everything the world tells us is important, my life was golden. But then I was diagnosed with cancer and while only weeks into my treatment, I was told my 16-year marriage was over and I was left fighting for my life while being divorced. It was a brutal time and I didn’t think I’d ever recover from the shock and heartache.
In the coming 10 years, I suffered two more battles with the same lymphoma cancer and I didn’t think I could go any lower. But, here’s the good news! In being razed to the ground I had only one choice – to rebuild myself into the woman I wanted to be.
My post-50 life is an example that women CAN survive the blows that come our way. My faith taught me to always keep my eyes looking ahead not back at what was past and to hold on to the hope that my best days were still out ahead of me.
I’ve now reinvented myself from a fashion stylist in the city to a flower farmer in the country growing dahlias, lavender, peonies, and roses. Every day is a joy and a delight! What was meant to hurt me has made me stronger, better, nicer and more fully present and accounted for in my life, and I like who I am at 56 way more than when I was at 44.
Women can do anything they set their minds to. We have all the strength required already inside of us. We just must have faith in ourselves.
If you would like to hear more about Sarah you can check out her blog at Sarah Foster Country Home and Life, follow her on Instagram at sarahfstyle, or her lively facebook page, all of which are filled with positive vibes and her spirited personal style.
Thank you so much Sarah for joining us on Ageless Style. Now hop on over to the Contessas blog to see who she is interviewing this month. You know it will be someone fun!
Finally getting to read this. What an amazing lady and a real inspiration. I can’t believe what she went through, but bravo to her for remaking her life and feeling even better. I love her style. I am headed over to read more on her blog. xoxo
Sarah is one gorgeous girl!! Well done Cindy, another great post and inspiration for me.
Have a wonderful Sunday, Robin
Knowing Sarah personally I can affirm the fact that she is an incredible woman who is the ‘real deal’. She loves to lift women up and bring them together always in a beautiful setting with delicious food! I’m looking forward to seeing her wonderful farm very soon as I love all her styling and also her values in life. She’s an unstoppable survivor! Well done Sarah sweetie! 💖👏🏽👏🏽
Thank you Wendy so much for sharing your feelings about Sarah. I hope one day to meet her. She is an inspiration to all of us over 50 and way beyond like me!!
Here in Australia we love Sarah Foster. She has achieved so much and at the same time remains very much down to earth and relatable. She has great motivating energy for many of us gals 50 + and is always generous and sharing with her followers and many friends. Bravo Sarah for this tribute! Well deserved 🙂
My heartfelt thanks to you and all your readers, dear Cindy! I’m so thrilled to be a part of your beautiful blog featuring so many inspirational women of amazing style and grace. It’s a lovely and special moment for me to enjoy today as I’m knee-deep in compost preparing beds to plant out 150 new roses next month! Not exactly a ‘stylish’ day out here at the farm, but a deeply satisfying and happy one. I’m thrilled to meet your readers and make so many new friends. Thank you so much for providing me with this fabulous opportunity! Much love to you all. Sarah xo
I loved meeting Sarah! Thank you for the intro. We can all learn a lot from her.
I was feeling just a little down today when I read about Sarah Foster who brought an instant
smile to me. I love her style and philosophy. I wish I could see al her flower growing but I see them in my mind’s eye! Thanks so much for bringing this beautiful woman to us. Ann
What a gal! Great interview and love her perseverance. Sarah looks fabulous.
Well, aren’t you the best. I so identify with Sarah. We have the same body. In fact I’d appreciate knowing what brand pants you adore. Can I order them in the states. We busty women need to stick together. I’e subscribed to your blog, Facebook and IG pages. I’m 78 so I too have had tough times. I’ve had tough surgeries also. But pick myself up and get going again. Nice to meet you and your beautiful flowers. In fact you might enjoy looking at my flower paintings. http://www.apartfrommyart.com
Good oneCindy!
Wow! I’m reading along, admiring her photos but thinking, I love her style but none of these outfits would work on me because I’m the opposite–pear-shaped. And then I get to the part about cancer and overhauling her life. I have so much admiration for someone who has faced the worst (and she got a double-whammy) and who comes out of it better than ever. Others have said the word: brave. Sarah is the definition of brave. Bravo, bravo, bravo! Wishing Sarah huge success, and, as the French say, above all, good health!
I love this feature because you and la Contessa find the most fascinating women. It lifts my spirits.
I love her style. I have followed her for years.!! Quite an amazing and brave woman with awesome style.
What a beautiful story. She is proof that we can all recover from hardship and sorrow, and I love that she found healing in the garden. As if all of this wasn’t inspirational enough, she is so pretty, fashionable, and tasteful. Thanks, Cindy. You knocked it out of the park with this one. Sarah, very best wishes to you for continued health and vibrancy – I would enjoy pulling weeds alongside you.
Cindy, I always look forward to your ageless style series because it makes me realize that it’s OK to grow old gracefully. I’m always needing encouragement in that department. So nice to be introduced to Sara for the first time. She brings us some very good advice and looks like one very charming lady.
Wonderful interview! A beauty inside and out.
http://a-woman-of-a-certain-age.com/
Hello Cindy and Sarah! Isn’t this amazing to be able to meet wonderful women of a certain age all inspiring and encouraging one another? Sarah!!! My goodness you are a trooper! I am so glad I found you through Cindy’s blog! I am now following on ig and cannot wait for all that is to come. Bravo Cindy on finding such an amazing gal to feature. Here’s to the good life!
XXXX,
Kim
Hi Kimberly
I so enjoyed Contessa’s interview with you as well. Women like you are why Elizabeth and I enjoy this series so much.
I second every think La Contessa wrote, complete with all of those exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I said for a long time (I’ll be 70 this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) that no one gets through life without paying the price of admission. Once your ticket is punched, it’s up to you to determine what the show will be. Love the passionate response Sarah has made to her life, and, of course, the hats. Her life is a perfect metaphor: when life hands you thorns, grow roses.
Amen to all your comments Patti. Sarah is an inspiration to all of us.
I ADORE THIS WOMAN!SHE has entertained A BUNCH of MY INSTA FRIENDS at her FLOWER FARM!I hope ONE day to head DOWN UNDER and meet her in person!
I adore her shirts and of course her big brim HATS are a FAVORITE TO ME!
WHAT A STORY……….44 CANCER and the HUSBAND moves ON!YOU ARE ONE STRONG WOMAN!
I love that YOU have re-invented your LIFE and are in bed by 8pm!
HATS OFF TO YOU SARAH FOSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BIG HUG from ME to YOU!
XX
She is a kindred spirit isn’t she Elizabeth!