Doyenne Series: The rare beauty of Iris Apfel

Dear Blogger...so you had to delete my Thursday posting of last week...well here it is again, if any of you guys missed it.  

If you read my about page, I had written "When I grow old, I want to have a distint signature style like Ms. Iris Apfel and Ms.Diana Vreeland." My very first post I had

written on my blog was about Ms. Iris Apfel the eccentric and fabulous octogenarian whose style I have loved since I first saw her when I was a teenager at the F.I.T. Costume Museum. I love how she is able to still put herself together with amazing vintage costume and navajo jewelry layered with vintage and couture pieces. Her sense of decor is as whimsical and extravagant as the way she carries herself and dresses.  I was in heaven when I opened the June issue of

Architectural Digest

to see her Park Avenue apartment featured in all its glory.  

She never steps out her apartment without a pair of her signature glasses that she has in various colors.  

I love how she is able to combine a lot of different patterned textiles and textures.  Although it looks cluttered, it seems to work well in her space. 

Bill Cunningham loves when he rans into her at events as she is always dressed differently and is interesting to look at.  Above is his column "On the Street" about her exhibition Rare Birds in Fashion at the Metropolitan from a couple years ago.  

I hope that if I ever get to be her age, I continue to dress as fabulous! 

images via Architectural Digest, NY Times Bill Cunningham "On the Street" Column, Flickr