Iconoclast: Iris Apfel

No one marries style and message better than Iris Apfel. She has a style that is all her own one that is classic, eccentric and modern all at the same time. I am sad to say that she just recently popped onto my radar screen when her unique style arrived in my mailbox when she was featured in a catalog for handbag brand Coach. As I leafed through he pages of featured models, her look was the one that stood head and shoulders above the rest. Was it the oversized glasses that covered most of her face yet were a perfect fit? Was it the multiple strands of textured and tribal bracelets? Or strands of beads sitting atop a feathered jacket? 

The answer was yes, yes, yes. It was all of that and more. In searching through photos of Mrs. Apfel, I was drawn to her ability to mix textures and period pieces like a perfectly blended cocktail. Her style seems to have evolved naturally as extension of her work as founder of Old World Weavers, one of the most well-known textile manufacturing and interior design companies in the world. I imagined her pouring through thousands of exquisite pieces collected over the years from around the world and longed to hear the story of each treasure’s origin and the great adventure behind its acquisition. 

Most of us probably shouldn’t try this at home but Mrs. Apfel’s style is a message and style marriage made in heaven.