Iris Apfel… So Sassy!

The first time I saw this woman was through a photo quote (top) that I saw on FB that I wanted to share with a friend. My first thought was “This woman is quirky, I wanna be just like her when I get to that age.” LOL    I had no idea who she was then until I found this blog post. I didn’t know she was a fashion icon. The more I found out about her, the more interesting she became. She is an inspiration and she’s quite empowering to women. She oozes with confidence and she’s still got a lot of spunk at 94 years old.

 

She is Iris Apfel,  an American business woman,  interior designer and eccentric fashion icon. Apfel is someone who dresses to impress. Never one to follow trends, her eclectic style is a mix of high-end, low-end, and vintage duds. In 1948, she married Carl Apfel, a textile veteran.  The love of her life, Carl, died on August 1, 2015, just 3 days shy of his 101st birthday. They’ve been married for 67 years. Iris is the subject  of a documentary by Albert Maysles, called “IRIS” , A Fabulous Film About A 90+ Fashionista. Iris Apfel’s rise to fame came unexpectedly when the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York exhibited her fascinating wardrobe and spectacular jewellery in 2005. The resulting show, Rara Avis: Selections from the Iris Apfel Collection, was a spectacular success.Iris Apfel’s one of a kind couture jewelry collection has toured several major museums including The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She consulted with the wives of 7 US presidents and decorated and changed the White House numerous times.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Iris has words of wisdom about fashion and style. Here are a few gems:

♥ “I like individuality. Everything is homogenized today.”

♥ “The best thing was getting dressed for the party. I didn’t care about going to the party.”

♥ “My mother said: ‘Buy a little black dress and you’ll always have something to wear. You can dress it up and dress it down.’”

♥ “Accessories can transform an outfit.”

Iris on Aging:

Iris is equally engaging about aging. Here’s what she said:

♥ On illness: “If I don’t feel well, I go shopping and I get a fix.” (Great advice Iris. Me too. Me too.)

♥ On plastic surgery: “It could come out looking like Picasso. Everybody knows how old you are.”

♥ On happiness: “It’s better to be happy, than well dressed.”

♥ On friendship: “I could never be friends with anyone who isn’t curious or doesn’t have a sense of humor.”

♥ On matters of health: “As my mom’s friend used to say as you get older, ‘I have two of everything and one hurts.’ You can’t do what you did. Now I get tired.”

♥ On the difference between women and men: “In the words of my grandpa, ‘A woman is as old as she looks. But a man is never old until he stops looking.’”

And for sure, Carl as he turns 100 is ‘still looking.’ Why not, he has the legendary taste maker and geriatric starlet to look at every day. Who wouldn’t want to look at Iris? She is so interesting.

 

Anyway, I was going to write a blog about her initially but then I decided that since I found her through Lexa, it’s just right that I reblog so that people may find their way to Lexa’s blog. Givers gain 🙂

 

Carpe diem!

LIVE   LAUGH … BELLE PAPILLON 

lexa

This is exactly the kind of 94 year old I want to be.

Ignore the fact it is a car commercial. I clearly don’t get paid sponsorship money. It is the fact that this lady, quite simply, kicks ass:

I am just so sick of seeing plastic 20 year old models telling me what is en vogue, the right thing to say, eat, do or put on my face.

Who are you “duck-face” pouting to down the lense you Gigi, Bella and Kendall wannabes? If it is for the guy that likes it, I would wager 10 Great British Pounds that when the pout deflates and the backside inflates, he will be on to the next bright young thing. For like a flower, your beauty is merely fleeting. Your style, charisma and intellect on the other hand will continue to grow. So cultivate it, and ditch the loser.

I don’t mean…

View original post 284 more words