We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Stephanie O’Dell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Stephanie below.
Hi Stephanie , really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I began to find my purpose by asking questions of myself of what interested me. I got a part time job at Athleta and found a love of helping women understand their shape especially as they aged. That lead me to become a stylist for Athleta and Stitch Fix (an online styling site) and start my own styling business. It was paying attention to those things that filled me up and I loved doing. It was gaining the confidence to take steps forward as I became more confident. I tried many paths and really listened to my gut and the energy I had with each venture. I started Celebrate The Gray as a blog to speak to women about fashion, aging and invisibility, something that my older clients were feeling (me included). I learned to listen to my internal voice, trust my instincts, have courage to get out of my own way, be okay with not knowing what’s next, allow failure, don’t listen to those that don’t see your vision for yourself and most of all have patience with my journey.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Stephanie O’Dell, founder & CEO of Celebrate The Gra, is passionate about updating the age of models used in marketing and giving women their power back in their aging journey. She has built a strong following and community of like-minded women who want to change the face of aging.
Celebrate The Gray Agency is for and about the 50+ woman representing over 200 gray/silver haired “real” models. We have access to 100s of influencers aged 50+ and offer age inclusion consulting for brands and companies. Women want to be seen as they age in marketing and want their faces, bodies, voices and opinions valued and authentically represented.
“We are a strong, engaged collective of women who are passionate about updating the way women are viewed as we age,” O’Dell says. “We want our facies, bodies, voices, and opinions valued and authentically represented. I believe that being a woman today means not letting anyone define you. You define you!”
Stephanie is a national speaker and thought leader on age inclusion. She has been a featured speaker at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club, Gennev, Crunchy Tales, YWCA, WIT and numerous podcasts (Jumble & Flow, She’s The Boss, A Certain Age, Teatime Midlife, The Rant, The Woolfer/Raging Gracefully, Brand Fifty, Badass Women, Mean Magazine, Prime Spark) and featured in local and national press (AARP “Disrupt Aging”, NextTribe, GirlsGone50, Better Not Younger, Sanctuary, Dallas Morning News).
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Patience Self Belief that you are capable of anything
Learning it’s okay to ask for help
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Getting bigger brands to authentically engage and represent the 50+ woman. Brands will put an older woman in a catalog but won’t actually speak to her to make sure their product/service really works for her. Smaller brands being started by the 40+ woman are leading the way in truly seeing the value of the 50+ consumer and representing her authentically in real visual and narratives.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.celebratethegray.com
- Instagram: @celebratethegray
- Facebook: Celebrate The Gray and Celebrate The Gray Collective (private group for women aged 50+)
- Linkedin: Stephanie O’Dell, Celebrate The Gray
Image Credits
Amy Carr Claudia Goetzelmann Ash Baker
