Joan Collins said it best: “Age is just a number. It's totally irrelevant unless, of course, you happen to be a bottle of wine.” Or a magazine for that matter, because this statement rings true for South Africa's top woman’s glossy magazine, SARIE, which celebrates its 60th birthday this July, improving in character and content with each passing year.

The very first issue of SARIE appeared on 6 July 1949 and completely sold out across the country in just 24 hours. It was on this triumphant note that SARIE built its steadfast foundation and six decades later, is still the favourite glossy of Afrikaans-speaking women, inspiring them with relevant content. Ever-evolving and abreast of the latest trends, SARIE has gracefully grown into a sophisticated, contemporary and modern publication with a loyal following.

SARIE has been under the editorial leadership of Michélle van Breda since 2001 and is continuously commended for its innovation, award-winning and pertinent journalism. In the past year SARIE has been honoured with numerous industry awards – Michélle van Breda was awarded the Piet Cillié Prize for Journalistic Excellence; Food Editor, Barbara Joubert, won silver in the esteemed Galliova Awards for food journalism, and most recently Riette Rust, SARIE’s financial and business writer, won the Citadel Words on Money prize in the consumer education category, beating six other established financial titles to clinch the gold. The title also won a PICA in 2008 for SA’s Best General Magazine and gold in the 2009 ADvantage ADmag awards, adding to a long list of achievements.

According to Michélle, working on the birthday issue has been a nostalgic and extremely proud process. “We feel SARIE’s story in our bones and we know her innermost workings. We acknowledge her history and her rich heritage and we proudly follow in the footsteps of every person who has ever made a valuable contribution to our magazine”, she says.

“We write and create, we offer opinion, we travel the world and fill our photo archives to the brim, we share one another’s pain and disappointments and together we taste joy and victory. But more than that, we tell endearing South African stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We make memories. I hope that we as a team will further strengthen SARIE’s ability to inspire and empower the Afrikaansspeaking woman for at least another 60 years to come,” concludes van Breda.

The July 2009 issue, on shelf 8 June, will take readers on a trip down memory lane, showcasing covers from the first 1949 issue and how the face of the magazine has changed over the years as well as profiling six local personalities from Idol-winner, Jody Williams, who is in her teens, to the beautiful 60-something Sandra Prinsloo, one for each of SARIE’s six decades. There is also an in-depth profile on Editor, Michélle van Breda, the inimitable, dynamic driving force behind SARIE’s success over the last eight years. The fashion pages recreate vintage looks from the glamorous 50’s and 60’s and Barbara Joubert cooks up a 6-course feast for any party occasion.

SARIE’s 60th birthday celebration will extend over two issues – the July 2009 issue as well as the August 2009 issue which appears on shelf on 6 July, exactly 60 years to the day that the first issue appeared.

*SARIE is issued by woman360, publishers of SARIE, SARIE KOS, FAIRLADY, TRUE LOVE, FEMINA, PSYCHOLOGIES and LÉÉF.