iris apfel, an icon in motion

February 16, 2010

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzf_WPqsmTM&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

a great video featuring my favorite trendsetting octogenarian, iris apfel. it's basically a little bio on her, her tastes, her influences, her textile business. it's chock-full of great old photos of her from "back in the day" and lots of sage, style/life advice.
i've been a big fan of hers since seeing the 2005-2006 MET costume institute show, rara avis, that featured selections from her fun, bold wardrobe.
seeing her free and bold use of color, shape, motif, and texture was incredibly inspiring to me. it's still inspiring to me! she's a woman unafraid to experiment and try new things when it comes to fashion, and at the same time, she knows who she is and curates her style accordingly.
love these quotes from her in the video:
"i just mix and put things to together the way the spirit moves me"
"the fun of getting dressed is that it's a creative experience, sometimes it's better than another time"
"freedom of expression, of expressing yourself is the most important thing; if you don't you're all bottled up and choking."
"[be] free, free"
"you only have one trip [life], you might as well enjoy it"
...basically, i think she's saying:
if enjoying [style] means wearing what you like, the way you want to wear it, when you want to wear it, then... GO FOR IT. and make no apologies.
wise words! iris, you are wonderful!
(via advanced style)

exactitudes, part deux

February 11, 2010

(images via exactitudes)

you could see these girls on the street in any major city across the globe, no? indie girls trying to set themselves apart from the pack. or perhaps, trendy girls with nice bags, looking blase in their ballerninas. i've seen my fair share on the streets of chicago (where i still am at the moment!), in wicker park, and on michigan avenue, respectfully. those gals might see themselves as unique, think they are "different"...but, whoa, they all look so scarily similar, do they not? the same type of bags, the slouchy knit berets, the long, layered tresses tossled just so, the ubiquitous skinny jeans...
are any of us really "different"? or as "different" as we think we are?
nope. not really!
it's pretty curious, eh?
we're really very categorizable, moreso than we probably want to believe.

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i called this post exactitudes, part deux, because, whatdaya know, it seems i wrote about the exactitudes project way back in early 2008...but it seems to be making the internet rounds again. and for good reason, as the project is ongoing, and utterly facinating.

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a quote from my original post on the exactitudes project:

"ari versluis and profiler ellie uyttenbroek have been working together since 1994 on a documentarian-style photographic project called exactitudes (a word that is a mash-up of the words “exact” and “attitude”). the pair has scoured rotterdam and a smattering of cities around the world, gathering people from various social groups that appear to share the same “dress code”. these individuals are styled, posed and photographed in such a way that emphasizes their similarities in the way of outward expression."

you can read the rest here, if you so wish!

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go to the exactitudes website to learn more about the project.

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p.s., a tip: turn your sound up when looking at the groups of photos on the exactitudes website, as the individual photos are accompanied by little illustrative soundbites!