Follow Friday! Meet Hilda Smith of ‘Over the Hilda’

What do a retired English teacher from across the pond and a secretary from Louisiana have in common? I’m sure the logical answer to that question would be “not much!”. ..So to answer that question, I’d love to introduce you to a fellow blogger I met through my midlife blogging support groups on social media. Hilda Smith is an Irish firecracker, who is embracing midlife and turning any preconceived notions about aging on its head. She’s educated, well-travelled and adventurous, and willing to learn and experience new things. I love the name of her blog and Instagram account – ‘Over the Hilda’ – how cute is that? So let’s add creative to the list. Oh, and I have to add that she is extremely stylish and is making a name for herself in the lifestyle and fashion blogging world, as she successfully creates her brand. Read on for more information on this engaged and dynamic blogger. I can’t wait for you to meet her! I think you’ll be inspired!

I asked Hilda a few questions, and here are her responses. She graciously shared photos and links to a few of her blog posts. Please click those links and enjoy!

Tell me a little bit about yourself:

I am from County Laois from the midlands of Ireland. Brought up on a small farm, I won a scholarship to a boarding school when I was eleven, the same school I taught in once I had finished my degree in English in Trinity College Dublin. I loved teaching, but was exhausted by a long commute and retired at 56.

Married to my lovely Graham and mother of two wonderful daughters and grandmother to Logan aged 2, I live life to the full.

I played tennis for years, but back problems meant I had to give it up recently. But golf has filled a gap there and I also recently took up bridge and am addicted. We love going to the theatre too. We did very little travelling when we were young but are recently back from a wonderful trip to India, which I wrote about on the blog.

We look after Logan one day a week and babysit frequently.

Why did you start blogging?

I was sitting at the dinner table with my family and bemoaning the fact that there were no bloggers catering to women of my age. It was as if only young people were interested in fashion. Also, I was tired of being sold skin creams and make-up that were not right for an older woman’s skin.

In a moment of madness, I said I was going to start a blog myself. They laughed in my face. I am a technophobe, who even found it difficult to get into Netflix so they did not hold out much hope of success.

I realised I had plenty of life experiences to share…menopause, my interest in staying healthy and fit into midlife and older etc., so having laughed in my face at first, they finally got behind me.

I was always an over-sharer anyway…family, sex, ailments were always discussed with anyone willing to listen, so now I just write my posts as if I am chatting to friends and telling them what I am doing: it could be about my experience of cupping, how I am worried about my memory, how to survive 35 years of marriage and not kill him, or about the wonderful new lipstick I have found or the cream I consider is not worth the money.

What is your blogging focus?

I want to share information with other women of all ages.

I have written about health issues,  menopause, my brush with skin cancer, the importance of Vitamin D. I love fashion and like nothing better than a day out shopping and looking at what is new in the stores. But fashion while important is not my focus.

Tell me about your daily style…

I certainly need more casual clothes now and my daily uniform would be skinny jeans and a sweater. I love a leather jacket too and faux furs are a weakness. But we have quite an active social life and dresses are what I prefer to wear when we go out for dinner. I have ventured back into jumpsuit territory last year too. I am not afraid to wear the same trend twice as in the 1970s and now.

Where do you like to shop?

I love boutique shopping, but I am also an avid high street fan and I can never pass by Zara without going in. I love their high-waisted skinny jeans.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by other women, women who say ‘I will wear what I like’ and who still kick ass. I love looking at magazines and examining the trends and seeing what might work for me. (Check out Hilda’s STYLE here)

Do you have any issues when buying clothes?

I find the quality of fabric in some of the clothes is far too flimsy for me. But my biggest problem is that I can’t wear high heels any more. I am devastated! I am always on the search for comfortable shoes with a heel. I have plenty of car to bar shoes, but even shoes to sit down in have become a problem because I have a particularly bad bunion but even worse a ganglion beside it. Surgery beckons but I want to avoid it. (Hilda wrote a terrific post on these boots)

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So back to my original question: What do a retired English Teacher from across the pond and a secretary from Louisiana have in common? We both love our husbands and have been married 30 something years. We are both adoring grandmothers.(the best club to be in!) We both enjoy the theatre. We both love fashion and style and felt underrepresented by the fashion industry. We took a leap of faith and started our blogs, hoping to share inspiration and ideas to our peers. And we both love women who are still ‘kicking ass’ and living life out loud.

It’s been my honor to introduce Hilda to you. I hope you’ll click ALL of the links I shared and browse around Hilda’s blog. You’ll be impressed! Be sure to follow her on Instagram and Facebook too.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! Leave a comment and a shout to Hilda!