Q: What advice would you give older women about their style?  

CD: "Interestingly, I have had friends tell me I should dress more age appropriately and just as frequently, I’ve had people suggest they like that I dress “young.” I’m not sure how to square the difference so I simply dress comfortably... and more importantly, I am intentional about what I wear each day depending on the impression I want to make. Some days I want to foster interactions with strangers so I might wear bright colors. Other days, I want to blend in while feeling elegant and chic, I wear more subdued colors and long lines. All in all, what I wear is a statement of who I am, without using words."

Q: What do fashion and style mean to you? 

CD: "I grew up in a small rural town in North Carolina where many of the women were seamstresses and men were barbers. These were not their career choices but career necessities. People of color were not allowed to try on clothes in the few local department stores in town, nor would any of the local barbers cut Black men’s hair. For my generation during the Civil Rights movement, clothing — what we chose to wear — expressed our hopeful status, provided armor against potential brutality and aided our attempts to assimilate into the greater society. My grandmother was an excellent dress-maker who could create any design I desired, either from a McCall’s or Simplicity pattern or from cut -outs I brought to her from Ebony or Glamour magazines. So as a young girl, she recreated any look I desired."