Rosheen Kriegler on Ageless Style, Starting Over, and Living Beautifully After 60

Some women dim a little as the decades stack up. Rosheen Kriegler does the opposite. Born into a world of Chanel suits and Sobranies, and raised by a mother who understood that beauty was a serious business. She made a dramatic pivot to running one of South Africa’s most talked-about guest farms from the middle of the Karoo in Prada boots with a Bengal cat in her quad bike basket. Rosheen has always written her own rules. She’s a brand ambassador, a Dream Weaver (her words, and I love that), and one of the most instinctively stylish women I’ve come across in the eight years I’ve been running this series. If you believe, as I do, that the most interesting chapter of a woman’s life is often the one nobody saw coming, settle in. This one’s a good one. Let’s chat with Rosheen Kriegler on Ageless Style, Starting over, and Living Beautifully After 60.

Rosheen, you’ve lived quite the cinematic life, from the wilds of the Karoo to Cape Town and now Johannesburg with family. Can you take us back to the beginning and tell us a little about where you grew up and how that shaped the woman you are today?

So, it started when I was a little girl, my mother worked for The House of Chanel in Cape Town and she was always dressed glamorously: in Chanel suits, white gloves and a huge hat with Chanel glasses. I was a little girl at St Cyprian’s School and all the other mothers were housewives. I could smell my mother’s fragrance before she arrived at the classroom and I used to die of embarrassment while all my school friends were madly jealous. We lived in Constantia where my mother built the most “out of this world” Georgian house where she never stopped entertaining: Caftans, Champagne and Ciggies (Sobranies of course) and Oscar de la Renta caftans. She was educated at Roedean in Jhb and lived a very privileged life in Houghton, sailing around the world and being presented as a debutante to Princess Margaret and was part of the haute debutante society at that time. This is, of course, the only way she knew about life. 

Danielskraal Farm outside Calitzdorp became something of a legend in South African travel circles, guests arriving to a beautifully set stoep table, a Bengal cat named Juniper riding a quad bike, and you greeting everyone with “Dahlings, you have arrived!” How did that remarkable chapter begin, and what did running a guest farm teach you about hospitality that you carry with you everywhere? Also, the Karoo is about as far from city life as you can get. You were described as an “unlikely Karoo resident,” so what drew a cosmopolitan woman like you to trade urban buzz for wide-open skies and rescued kid goats?

I had a horrific divorce and decided to take myself down to a Karoo farm that I owned and which I had bought as a “folly.”  It was used once a year by me as a family Christmas destination. It was never formally decorated and had the the cast-off furniture from whatever new house I was creating. Somehow it became my favourite, most stylish home, slightly worn, totally unpretentious but always adorned with Waterford Crystal glasses, silver cutlery and antique Rosenthal crockery – all placed on thick heavy antique sheets I bought in France.  Of course, I always had “mad” little Staffordshire dogs on the table with an abundance of Karoo bos in pewter and silver vases.  I knew nothing about running a guest house, nor hotels, but was very fortunate when I was younger as I had travelled internationally with my mother all over the world. We always stayed at the Georges V in Paris, and we were entertained all over France by Captains of Industry – I think entertaining came naturally to me when I started entertaining at the farm. When I went to live there permanently, it was a huge shock. Can you imagine being alone on a 2,200-hectare farm when your staff are in the township and an hour away from you?  I made sure that I was never terrified of snakes, creepy crawlies, flying insects, baboons, leopards, or any wildlife.  I was very lucky that a dear friend of mine tentatively asked me if she could come and help me host guests on the farm. I told her she could leave if she loathed it – thank God she was the total opposite of me: feared guests, adored fixing quad bikes and blocked drains and geysers. I had a gorgeous little house away from the main farmhouse and when I heard the guests arrive, my goats in their Chommies collars and painted non carcinogenic pink horns would race down to welcome them with me in my Prada boots and my Bengal Cat in the basket of my quad bike. I am a Leo and am drawn to people and slightly eccentric and I could read my guests and know what their mojo was. Hopefully, I never overstepped the mark – but with Sandra’s help we were Perfect Hideaways top seller destination for two years in a row and had waiting lists forever.

I had many houses around the world  – London and France as well as Cape Town and the Karoo. I built an extraordinarily beautiful house in Johannesburg and had a very successful packaging company, supplying BOPP to all the FMCG manufacturers in Jhb. My main supplier was in China, then Dubai, Pakistan, Oman and Mauritius.  So I had offices in each of these places, and I would take my South African clients there to proof their products.  It was exciting and challenging, and I was always meeting senior and powerful owners of companies. I was never daunted nor afraid and loved going shopping in London after every factory visit. So, in turn, when I moved permanently to the Karoo farm it never frightened me.

Your Instagram bio calls you a “Style Enthusiast” — I love that. How would you describe your personal style in three words?

Individual, uncontrived and unique.

Let’s talk fashion staples. Every stylish woman has her non-negotiables, the pieces she reaches for again and again. What are yours right now?

Always my Tom Ford glasses – they cover my face, Lora Piano Scarves (never date), my cross -over Longchamp bags, and my Etro trainers. And, of course, my MAC lipstick – Lady Danger

One thing I always love to ask the women I interview is how their relationship with fashion has evolved. Do you dress differently now than you did in your 30s or 40s, and do you feel freer or more intentional about style as you’ve gotten older?

I am not a fashionista, I love beautiful clothes, material and jewellery – I very seldom dress up but always am on point for whatever the occasion.

Are there any fashion rules you used to follow religiously that you have since happily thrown out the window? And is there one “rule” you actually think holds up?

I don’t believe the “adage” that older women cannot have long hair. My hair has been silver since I was 32 – I called myself the Silver Fox and it is now halfway down my back where I wear it dead straight with a huge pearl alice band, scraped off my face.

I know the South African sun can be harsh. What has years of that climate taught you about protecting and caring for your skin?

My Mother started The House of Gallia with her partner Dick Mathias – which comprised of:

Elancyl: Glove and skin care products for cellulite

Clarins

Dr. Babor

Juvena

Gallia, which she produced locally

Oscar de la Renta fragrance and body products

Angel – Thierry Mugler as well as the body products.

Taylor of London

Floris fragrances

So, from the age of 15 when my mother brought Clarins Skin Care products to this country, I was educated in France by the owners of the company and visited their salons all over the world. I was aware of the dangers of the sun and used to use instant tan and a sunhat.

I know my readers are always on the hunt for product recommendations from real women. Are there any skincare heroes you swear by, a serum, a moisturizer, an SPF — that you would never travel without?

I adore the Double Serum by Clarins and use it by the bucket load and always the Clarins hand cream – one forgets about your hands driving, etc. and I am mad about the L’Occitane body products.

As we get older, so many of us notice that our skin’s needs change dramatically. Has your approach to skincare become more or less involved over the years, and is there anything you wish you had started doing sooner?

I used to use sun beds, coated in Clarins suntan SPF’s not realising the danger of them – in the 80’s nobody really knew how damaging they were.

You describe yourself as a “Dream Weaver”.  I mean that quite literally too, because I’ve heard weaving has become a real passion. How did you discover it, and what is it about the craft that speaks to you at this stage of life?

This is something that I am exploring – once I am totally versed in it – I will share it with you – it’s very creative and healing.

Elevating brands and experiences is clearly in your DNA, from Danielskraal to your role as Brand Ambassador for the Dorp Hotel. What does it mean to you to champion a place or a brand, and what do you look for before you lend your name and energy to something?

I have to resonate with it and I must be able to add my own eccentricities that work for me and the brand. I adored the farm, especially interacting with my guests. I brought huge glamour to Dorp Hotel – organising soirees with iconic individuals such as Embeth Davids (international actress and director of “Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight”) and chic phenomenons such as Susan Greig creating out of this world cooking classes (that were so successful that we had to turn away at least 50 guests as we just could not squeeze them in).  Gail Behr, the founder of Dorp Hotel, was a very dear friend of mine, and we “got” each other – she was my hero in every which way – she just had the “je ne sais quoi” and never put up with bullshit.

Your bio mentions “New Chapters Unfolding” — which feels very intentional. At this point in your life, are you someone who plans those chapters carefully, or do you follow your instincts and trust that the story will reveal itself?

I never believe in co-incidences and all my unfoldings have been serendipitous breaks that occurred.

Women over 50 often talk about a shift in confidence, a point where you stop dressing for others and start dressing purely for yourself. Have you experienced that, and was there a moment or a turning point you can pinpoint?

Nothing has changed for me.

You have such a gift for creating beautiful spaces, whether it’s a beautifully laid farm table or the vibe of a hotel. Does that same sensibility extend to how you get dressed? Is getting ready each day a creative act for you?

Depends on the day and what it holds for me – in a creative way.

For the women in our community who are perhaps in a life transition themselves. What is the one piece of advice you’d give from your own experience of starting over somewhere completely new?

Do not be overwhelmed by fear and being alone – go out and talk to strangers in shopping centres.

Finally, what does “ageless style” mean to you personally?

To age gracefully without all the fillers, botox and surgery.

If you could give your younger self any words of advice, what would they be? 

Not to have been so flamboyant and wild.

Share your words to live by:

The Serenity Prayer

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.” 

Get Rosh’s Look

What I keep coming back to after this interview is this: style, real style, has nothing to do with age and everything to do with knowing yourself. Silver hair to her waist, Tom Ford glasses, Lady Danger on her lips, and the Serenity Prayer as her compass. She is living proof that the women who interest me most are the ones who stopped performing a version of themselves a long time ago. If the Ageless Style Series has a recurring theme, it’s that. Rosheen said it simply and I think it’s worth holding onto: age gracefully, skip the fillers, and go talk to strangers in shopping centers. Not bad advice at all. Thanks Rosheen. This was fun.

You can follow Rosheen on Instagram here

If you would like to catch up on any of my previous Ageless Style Interviews you can do so here