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photo by David Sillitoe

Once upon a time, I adored Ferragamo shoes. Their squat heels, little grosgrain bows and metal buckles suited my conservative style at the time. I bought them in 12 colors. I tired of the style and the shoes. Bruno Magli next grabbed my attention because its open-toe, high heeled shoes were sexier. (I decided I was too.) Today, a single brand no longer suits my somewhat-funky style, and that’s not only true of shoes. I’m out of Chanel mascara, I try mascara from Mac or Cover Girl.  I may have loved my Laura Mercier body wash, but when I’ve rubbed on the last drop, I’ll try one from Olay.  We run out of Cascade dishwasher capsules, I buy Electrasol.  And who wants to go to the same hotel or restaurant over and over?  We’ve been to Turks & Caicos five times and stayed in five different resorts, each one a different experience.

My mother and father were brand loyalists.  We were a Tide house.  Bought chicken pot pies only from Horn & Hardart take out shops. Marketed only at Waldbaum’s. Dad drove nothing but Chryslers. Mom bought all our back-to-school clothes at A&S.

We like lots of choices

Members of my parents’ generation solidified their brand preferences by the time they were 40.  My generation is experimenting with new brands into our fifties and sixties.  I’ve heard over and over again from Fab Over Fifty women how much they like to choose individual pieces of clothing from different collections.

If variety is the spice of life, we’re sure a spicy bunch. Wait till you see how spicy when www.faboverfifty.com launches in a few months.