embracing the 50’s and beyond
Support worker by day and influencer by night, Marion Maclean, or Maz, has a whopping 80,000 Instagram followers, who she encourages to look after themselves, stay fit and dress up, for no other reason than because it ‘makes you feel good’.
Words Ali Millgate @alimillgatewriter
Images Spencer Dungey @loveofmine.co
Maz’s Instagram page embrace_the_50s, is dedicated to fitness, health and fashion and captures Maz in a colourful array of swimwear, lingerie and dresses, to illustrate her message to women. “Make time for self-care. Get dressed up. Wear makeup, wear heels and stockings. It makes you feel so good,” says Marion.
“I’ve really come out of my shell in my fifties. I absolutely love it when I’m dressed up and I’ve done my make-up and had my hair done at the hairdresser. It makes me happy and that makes my family happy,” explains Maz.
Maz says she’s “daring to be different” by sporting her long hair. “Most people don’t have long hair at my age, and I thought, why not? I love it.” She decided not to cut her trademark mane as planned when she turned fifty, and also discovered a new love of bright clothes, both signs that she was set to tread her own path in middle life.
A former gym manager, diet and life coach, Marion likes to “walk her talk” when it comes to health and fitness and embraces a healthy lifestyle. “I’m a big believer in resistance training, because, at my age, muscle breaks down. I do squats, push-ups, sit-ups and I try to do 10,000 steps every day and swim a lot in summer”.
It was Maz’s daughter, Alana, who first planted the seed about Instagram, encouraging her stylish mum to give it a go. Initially just a bit of fun, Maz connected with a photographer and launched her own page on the social media platform, however, lockdowns meant Maz’s early posts were mostly shots of her at home in the kitchen.
“It’s not about the book being a best-seller, that’s not my goal. It’s more about, ‘Hey, listen, this is what I did in my fifties, warts and all’. That’s the message I want to send to other ladies: age is just a number.”
“There wasn’t an opportunity for me to go outside to do photos, so my first 10,000 followers really just followed me in my kitchen! I was probably known as ‘that lady on the kitchen bench’ because, in nearly all of those photos, I was in my kitchen.”
Fast forward three years and Maz posts almost daily and does a photo shoot each week, often on location in the Illawarra and almost exclusively in garments from Wollongong vintage boutique, The Classy Closet.
In the name of practicality and sustainability, Maz initially searched for dresses at multiple second-hand stores for her shoots, however, an ongoing collaboration with The Classy Closet, means she’s almost exclusively snapped in their preloved clothes.
Maz, who says her “cup is always overflowing,” also collaborates with Destination Wollongong and international brands like skincare company, Herbal Face Food, and swimwear brand, Flaxmaker.
Currently working on an Embrace the Fifties coffee table book, Maz is passionate about reaching as many women as she can.
“It’s not about the book being a best-seller, that’s not my goal. It’s more about, ‘Hey, listen, this is what I did in my fifties, warts and all’”. That’s the message I want to send to other ladies: age is just a number.”
As she approaches her sixth decade, Maz says she’s not sure what she’ll do next. “I’m 60 next year and I’m not making any promises about where I’m going from there.” Whatever it is, no doubt it’s going to be fabulous.
Follow Maz at @embrace_the_50s and visit The Classy Closet at 81-83 Church St, Wollongong.