Turning 60: What Does It Mean to Live Well—And What Does That Have to Do With Getting Dressed?

There are more years behind me now than there are in front of me.

This year, I’ll turn 60.

It’s quite a thing.

I could say all the usual things—how quickly the time has flown (it has). I could say that I feel much the same as I did when I was younger (in some ways, I do). However, more than anything, I feel grateful.

I’m deeply thankful to have lived long enough to mark this milestone. My mother, my father-in-law, and my brother never had the chance to blow out 60 candles. I don’t take that lightly. It makes me wonder what it looks like to steward the years that remain.

What does it actually mean to live well?

There are many ways to answer that. We might say it means living according to our values—knowing what they are, and mindfully choosing them. Letting them shape not just the big decisions, but the small, ordinary ones that make up our day to day lives.

Somewhere in those ordinary decisions is this small, daily act: getting dressed.

It’s not the most important thing, but it is one of the most consistent. Every day, whether we think about it or not, we choose what to put on our bodies as we step into the world.

So I’ve started to ask myself: what does this have to do with living well?

For much of my life, it’s been important to me to fit in—to not stand out in the wrong way. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. Yet, I can see how often that instinct has kept me from fully owning what feels true for me. The need to feel safe overtook the desire to dress in a way that’s truly satisfying.

Maybe turning 60 is a clear and gentle (or not-so-gentle) invitation: to resolve that friction in the day to day. To take ownership—not because style is everything, but because it’s something. A small but meaningful part of how we move through life.

So over the next few months, leading up to my 60th birthday, I’m going to explore what it means to live well—and what that might have to do with the way we get dressed.

As always, you’re welcome to come along.