Style lessons from Iris Apfel
Ninety-four-year-old Iris Apfel is an internet sensation, and she doesn’t even own a computer. Constantly spotted wearing outrageously fabulous outfits, we can all, young or old, learn a thing or two about style and confidence from the fashion icon.
1. It’s all about the accessories – You merely have to take a quick glance at Iris Apfel to know she’s a fan of the accessory. Constantly decked out in huge glasses and layers upon layers of opulent necklaces, Apfel lives the fashion version of the philosophy, “Go big or go home.”
2. Be yourself – Apfel wears what she wants, and is more afraid of conforming than standing out in the crowd. "They say they want to be different and they all wear a uniform. I mean, in New York you can probably tell somebody’s zip code by what they are wearing,” Apfel explained to AnOther Magazine.
3. You don’t have to be “pretty” to be fabulous – Apfel doesn’t follow the societal hype of conventional beauty, preferring to embrace what she’s been given, instead. The fashion icon explained to The Guardian, “I’m not a pretty person. I don’t like pretty – so I don’t feel badly ... Most of the world is not with me, but I don’t care.”
4. Style isn’t always effortless – Apfel spends hours searching for accessories and bartering with shop keepers to find the perfect fabric. Not one to sit behind the computer and shop online, Apfel procures all her fashion finds herself, and it pays off.
5. Happiness comes first – According to Apfel, one’s own contentedness should come before fashion. “It’s better to be happy than to be well dressed,” she says.
6. Don’t be boring – You’d be hard-pressed to find Apfel in an outfit that isn’t colourful or wild by conventional standards. Even when she wears black, she offsets this with texture, donning furs, feathers, metals, and jewels – everything, it would appear, but the kitchen sink. But if anyone could pull that off, we bet it would be Iris too.
Images: Instagram