Monday, August 30, 2010

Iris Apfel: Style Icon.



There is something about an snazzy older woman that is just so awesome. I saw a photo of an older woman and thought "WOW, whata dame!" That woman was Iris Apfel. I am embarrassed to say I had never heard of her before, and yet she is rather legendary. Talk about flair. This lady didn't shy away from style but really embraced it. She was (and is still) known for her flamboyant wardrobe and passion for accessories. She's also known for her trademark saucer-sized glasses. Though she ran in exclusive circles, her taste was very bohemian and wild. Iris effortlessly mixed Dior couture with flea-market finds, which I'm sure was a bit scandalous back in the day. Iris was more than simply a fashion maven, however, she was an extremely shrewd business woman—she and her husband Carl had a fabulously successful textile company that led her to travel all over the world.


Iris is 88 years young and has led an incredibly rich life. In addition to her jaunts around the world to exotic ports, Iris has been featured in Paris Vogue, hob nobbed with designers young and old and the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a standing exhibit of the contents of her Park Avenue closet. I think she's puttin' us all to shame.









As Iris says, "You only have one trip....you might as well enjoy it!" Here is a short but fun little video interview with the lady herself. Did you notice that even the tiger was wearing Iris glasses??? And by the way, I'm soooo getting some of those glasses when I get older.

Stumble Upon Toolbar

15 comments:

  1. OMG... what an amazing woman!!! she's so inspiring... i am deeply impressed!

    i never heard about her before, what a shame. i really think most of the germans didn't either!

    i would so like to blog about her responding to your posting. please let me know if that would be ok for you!

    thank you so much for sharing! :)
    xo.
    nic

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Nic! Of course please repost about her.
    Thanks for reading!
    xo
    alex

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love her color combos!!!!!!! Not sure about the glasses?

    ReplyDelete
  4. LOL The glasses are out of control, I know, but I think that's why i like 'em. They remind me of Carrie Donovans' (Style Editor of NY Times and known for those Old navy commercials! "MAGIC!")

    [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/galexiegirl/CarrieDonov1.jpg[/IMG]

    ReplyDelete
  5. she is pretty cool either way & thanx 4 sharing girlie! I do luv her style mucho <3

    ReplyDelete
  6. I actually used my copy of Rare Bird of Fashion during labour!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Signature glasses are too fabulous. I remember reading an article about her ages ago. Wasn't she in those Old Navy ads?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Miss Leslie you are thinking of Carrie Donovan— the Style Editor of NY Times and known for those Old navy commercials! ("MAGIC!")

    ReplyDelete
  9. She was in the Coach look books last year wearing a monkey fur dress, it was fabulous. I believe that is where your top photo is from, loved reading about her then and love seeing more of her now!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Holy shite! She's awesome. Do you reckon she'd adopt me if I asked nicely? She could teach me all her ways and make me fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I LOVE HER! I saw the show at the Met 3 times it was amazing- real style.
    wrote about her on my blog as well. I love the pics you found- lot's I haven't seen.

    ReplyDelete
  12. 93 years Iris Apfel young is part of the new Spring ad campaign for Kate Spade. But, she made her fortune and reputation owning a textile company.I love the style and exuberance of Iris Apfel. Later in her career she has become know more for her fashion sense than for her interior.this blog were informatic.

    ReplyDelete