Last Friday, the American interior designer turned fashion influencer Iris Apfel died aged 102. Her eclectic way of dressing, featuring a discordance of colours, patterns and textures, broke all the standard fashion rules and amassed her legions of fans. Here, some of them explain how they, too, dress for joy.
My father used to work in a textile company. At Christmas he would come home with some fabrics and I would get to pick – I always gravitated towards the very bold and colourful prints. As I grew older I realised that part of the reason I loved them so much is that I could mix and match unexpected combinations to experiment. I’m loving orange and neon green at the moment.
I love Iris so much. She was fearless, she was bold. She said something I totally agree with, which is “more is more and less is a bore”. I just love more is more – keep giving it to me and I’ll keep trying it on. I know naturally some people are minimalists and I do appreciate that. But fashion is having confidence in whatever you’re wearing. For me, colour is life!
I do a lot of vintage shopping and upcycling. I had a pair of shoes I’d never worn and I upcycled them with red uninflated balloons, about 95 per shoe. The balloons cost me £4 and the glue cost me about £3. People thought it was from a high-end brand. I upcycled a blazer that I hadn’t worn in more than three years. I Googled butterflies and found some decorative ones for about £3, different colours, different sizes. I have worn it over and over. Another time I bought green pompoms from a local lady who sells sewing materials and attached them to an oversized pink blazer.
I think rules in dressing can provide structure and foundation but true style for me emerges when I feel as if I’m breaking the rules. The way I dress now is different to how I dressed five years ago. Over time you will find yourself, you will evolve and discover what you’re most comfortable in. Rule-based dressing should be a foundation, not a limitation.