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.
