Iris Apfel - Ageless Style Icon

If you are looking for longevity secrets like what to eat, etc., don't ask 96 year old Iris Apfel. She'll quickly tell you: “It’s not my place to tell other people how to live.”

But, from the signature Mr. Magoo sized glasses to her ridiculously fabulous couture costume jewelry, the raw sight of Iris Apfel lets you know she is a tour de force. It's no wonder she is known as the "rare bird of fashion". Her renown design expertise has been sought after by nine presidents and at age 96 she is experiencing a type of renaissance in the public's eye that I find refreshing and hopeful. The world is paying attention to thriving older adults, like Iris, recognizing a common held attitude that reminds us Aging is Living.

On my recent visit to NYC, fashions inspired by Iris' eclectic sensibilities were on display in Coco Chanel's windows on Fifth Avenue. You can also find her in a recent award winning documentary, Iris, by the late then 87-year-old Albert Maysles—who directed such classics as Gimme Shelter and Grey Gardens.

Here are some of the photos I took. Click on each picture to find out more.

Apfel also inspired a 2005–6 exhibition at the Met, Rara Avis. The exhibit featured forty select fashion and style objects, which focused on the individual above the collective.

Most recently, you can find Apfel's book, Iris Apfel, Accidental Icon on the shelves of bookstores. She did not want to do a cofffe table or how-to book, but "there are plenty of essays offering insights into her tenacity, not to mention the last section of the book: “How to Live to Be 200.” Apfel doesn’t stop."

Go Iris go!