Style Icon Iris Apfel Turns 100 This Month, and She’s Celebrating With Work.
Legendary style icon Iris Apfel, who turns 100 this week, is living proof that you’re only as old as you feel. “Everything about turning 100 is fantastic, but I really do believe that I’m still the world’s oldest teenager,” she jokes. The secret to her youthful joie de vivre? Equal parts passion and drive.
After starting the fabric house Old World Weavers in 1950 with her late husband Carl, Apfel worked for decades as an interior designer, even helping with décor and restoration projects at the White House for nine different presidents. While she always had impeccable personal style and an eye for fashion, the industry didn’t officially come calling until much later. “My first big job in fashion came when I was 84, so as cliché as it is, age really is just a number to me,” she says. “But being passionate about my projects and putting my heart and soul into them has kept me young. That’s why I’ll never stop working.”
With an Instagram bio exclaiming that “more is more & less is a bore,” it should come as no surprise that Apfel is a master of bold and eclectic sartorial choices. Her signature oversized glasses are often paired with vibrant hues and layers of chunky jewelry, mirroring her flair for the flamboyant in a unique sense of style that is wholly her own. As a firm believer in individuality, Apfel’s daring charisma shines through in not only her wardrobe but also her words, exuding a no-nonsense—almost blunt—attitude crafted from an admirable sense of self-confidence.
