Associate editor Doria Diacogiannis interviewed Frumin-Bercik prior to the seniors’ graduation.

Where do you shop?

“I am a big person on bargains and so if I’m shopping for my stepchildren or my husband and I see something for me because it’s at a good price, then I’ll get it.  There is absolutely no shame in the so called cheaper stores. Every once in a while, Target has what I need, Walmart has what I need, and you know, the more expensive stores, Sears does not, Old Navy does not. Shop for your age and for the location and occasion.  I found slacks at J.C. Penny for a mere $15 that I can’t seem to find at Lord and Taylor because they don’t care to curvy women. So I shop by opportunity and what fits, not so much by what it costs.”

Do you have any favorite brands?

“No, I do not. The favorite brand is how I look in it. My husband does, all about polo, that little horse on the shirt.  There is no true name brand clothing for women and/or young ladies that are so well known that you can look and recognize them immediately, ‘Oh my God, you’re wearing Dulaney, darn, oh my God I can’t fit into that,’ so you know, Old Navy has its own styles but they are mostly aimed at the thinner more adult women and shaped young men, the 20s and 30s, and no more than early 40s, but there’s no name brand out there  that is affordable, easily accessible and recognizable that I would want to go out of my way to say oh yes, no, I only wear Chanel, yes you know, that big ‘C’.  I wear for my age and the occasion, and obviously for my size, you know a lot of young men and women today have a much stronger, better self esteem than I did when I was your age, and I would not be caught dead walking the street in teenie weenie little shorts that allowed my toosh cheeks to show.”

How would you describe your look?

“My style [is] definitely a professional, not casual, to truly professional.  I have a hard time leaving the house without makeup, I have a hard time getting dressed in a way that would show my undergarment straps, you know, I’m very privy to high heels.  Side note: today I’m wearing casual but the reason is because I’ll be attending graduation this evening, and I’ll be wearing the heels all evening at that point and I learned last year that was very painful.  So, definitely professional casual/dressy casual. You want to put out a good image regardless, and unfortunately, young people today don’t really know how to do that.”