Getting Ready for Fashion Week

Fashion Week in New York starts this week. And one of my pre-show rituals is to read a book to get myself in a fashion frame of mind. This season I'm reading Blow by Blow about the fashion icon Isabella Blow, whose eccentric style brought us many discoveries before she took her own life in middle age.

Another pre-fashion week ritual: shopping . My new mantra is "effortless chic" so I put together a streamlined Fashion Week wardrobe (I'll post pics next week of what I'm wearing) that will be easy to pack and even easier to put together each day.

Then there is the pre-Fashion Week beauty. Like the other fashionistas who will also attend Fashion Week, I have a pre-Fashion Week rundown of all the maintenance and primping that I'll need to look good.

So I started down the expected path by lining up a Botox treatment (the girl in the office said I'd probably need at least three areas this time.) Why stop at just Botox? I started researching deal-a-day offers for things like a full set of false eyelashes and exotic facials. And just when I was about to take the needles & primping plunge, I decided to try something different.

For quite some time I've tried to follow the legendary advice of Eleanor Roosevelt who urged: "Do one thing every day that scares you." I believe this to be excellent advice for people our age who tend to get stuck in a rut.

I don't think you need to do ridiculous things like go base jumping or race car driving, but getting your heart pumping and pushing yourself past self-imposed limits is one way I've found to spur on personal growth.

So I scratched the Botox and scheduled a reining lesson. For those of you not familiar with horse events, this is the one where the do crazy fast spins and sliding stops. Both of my girls had been doing it for a while, and I was dying to give it a shot.

As I thought, it was a blast (helped along by the fact that I was riding a top-notch show mare.) The next day, I was sore in places I didn't even know could get sore (and I have a horse that I ride almost every day!)

Naturally, I am hooked and have been back for more lessons.

I never got around to getting the Botox or fake lashes or any of the other beauty treatments that most Fashion Week goers rely on (especially at this age.) So I'll be a bit wrinkly (or should I say au naturale?) But I do have a giant smile on my face because I realize at this age, I've still got it.

More about the Fashion Industry:

• Fashion Week for Grown-Ups 
• Fashion's Night Out, Sept. 8 
• 8 Midlife Fashion Icons