#IrisApfelFashion | Valentina Expressions

What Did She Teach Us?

Fashion’s grande dame, Iris Apfel, known for her sheer brilliance in dressing up, left this world (Aug.29, 1921 – March 1, 2024). She has been called “The Queen of Queens”, The Maverick of Style”, “The Fashion Bird” you name it and all meant she was unapologetic about her fashion expressions. She was a purist of original style and didn’t care to follow trends as she trusted her own taste in clothes.
She combined new with vintage, modern with eclectic style and flea market finds, she had no limit to her fantasy. The most extravagant expression of her dressing up was the jewellery. She knew how to combine bold pieces of jewellery, mixing textures and metals in such a way to always look elegant, full of fantasy, witty and never vulgar.
She was “The Interior Designer” of the White House for eight presidencies, then became a fashion designer and a senior model in her 80s. She has inspired women around the world who love to dress up every day and dare to be different.

In her words:
“When the fun goes out of dressing you might as well be dead.”
“More is more and less is a bore.”
“You don’t have to be beautiful to be stylish.”
“Dress the way you want to feel and not as you feel.”

I searched for a photo of her free of copyright without any results. We all know who she is, I don’t need to take someone else’s photo.

In her honour and the red flamboyant clothes she wore, I came up with this red outfit with a long fringe in the front to elongate my figure. I found it years ago in a fabric store, sold by the yard, I don’t know what it was used for, I bought it to wear on the waist to embellish skirts and pants. This time, I will wear it on the torso and I will go to an outing with friends at a Chinese tea house. I thought the Chinese-style ankle boots made of silk embroidered fabric are appropriate.

Never like today has been so important to get out of the flat massification and become thinking individuals. Thanks for your undiluted love of fashion, Iris, your grace and the inspiration will accompany me. Ciao,
Valentina

Valentina Cirasola is an interior-fashion consultant, author of 6 published books, a storyteller, and a blogger of many years. Her books are non-fictional practical ideas to apply in the home, fashion, cooking and travel.
Get a copy of her books here: Amazon and Barnes&Noble

Maverick Of Style | Valentina Cirasola | Designer

Welcome to my Friday Fashion episode.

Call her “A rare bird of fashion”, call her “A Maverick of Style”, the woman with huge round frame glasses is still making headlines in her third age of life.

She says a beautiful woman can live off her look as long as her natural beauty vanishes, but an interesting woman who says and does interesting things and she is not necessarily beautiful will always attract people to her because her quirks. This is Iris Apfel, interior, fashion designer of the rich and famous and business woman. In her career, among many activities, she produced Old World wallpaper to decorate most historic homes in the country and even the White House under various administrations.
(Click on each photo to view it larger).

Today some people look at her with a bit of envy and a lot of admiration. She is a fashion icon and an example to follow.
Her strong fashion sense can raise the dead and can also inculcate a strong self-esteem in those women who do not have it. She can dare with bold jewelry, bold clothes and colors making everything fit together perfectly.
The secret of her successful combinations is having no rules and pair accessories that don’t look put together on purpose.

Jewelry Collection

Ethnic Jewelry

Necklaces

Scarab Bracelets

Exhibition

Sculpting

Jewelry Collection

Sculpting

(Photo credits to KQED – I photographed them from my TV while watching a program dedicated to Iris).

Dressing up, she says, should be a great experience for every woman, creating originality while following one’s personality, making a personal style, putting things together differently every time and breaking rules. She encourages to play, have fun with fashion and amuse people with the clothes.

According to Iris, composing, layering and sculpting are the three key elements when putting an outfit together.
Composing the outfit based on one’s body shape. It is the same process a musician uses to compose music with different notes that make harmonious sounds.
Layering colors to awaken dormant energy. Layering lines and patterns to create an interesting rhythm.
Sculpting is done with accessories, large and small, glitz and flat finish, long and short, ethnic, antiques, vintage and modern, finally playing with texture that makes jewelry appear as one piece.

Iris owns one of the few most beautiful jewelry collections in the country and often lends it for exhibition in museums. It conquers visitors with great success every time. It seems to her that “finally people caught up with her style and as much as they don’t want to be bothered with it, as everybody wears the black uniform these days, they do yearn for style”.

She could never be friend with anyone who wasn’t curious, commented in a TV show, I couldn’t either, I add. She is a very interesting character the reason why she is lasting so long, touching and inspiring so many people.
Be different, be curious and experiment with new looks, you will see many doors opening for you. Ciao,
Valentina
https://valentinadesigns.com/services#fashion-services

Valentina Cirasola is a trained Fashion and Interior Designer, born in Italy in a family of artists. Style surrounded her since the beginning of her life. Her many years of experience led her to offer consultations in both specializations and now she can remodel homes as well as personal images. To better help people in the world she offers consultations online. She is the author of three books. Get your copy of Valentina’s book on colors: ©RED-A Voyage Into Colors on
Amazon: http://goo.gl/qNxXrB
Barnes&Nobles: http://goo.gl/q7dQ3w