Carl Apfel, who passed away August 1, 2015, and his wife Iris Apfel lived and loved lives immersed in style.

What Love And Style Have In Common? Married in 1948, they founded Old World Weavers in the 1950s. As the NYT reported, “The small but prestigious company sourced and produced textiles from all over the world and provided fabrics for the White House to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.”

The two travelled the world to research and gather their wares. “Until recently, I never went anywhere without him,” reported Iris.

Mrs. Apfel’s 2005 Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute show, Rara Iris, was a big hit, which drew from her extensive personal collection of apparel and accessories. She subsequently partnered with MAC Cosmetics and The Home Shopping Network. With Mr. Apfel’s approval? “He wallowed in it,” said Iris.

While Carl was alive and the Metropolitan show was being planned, Albert Maysles, the documentary filmmaker produced a marvelous film featuring the couple at home and out and about New York City. “Iris” was released April 29, 2015.

Here are some of Iris’s responses to questions from fashion writer Eric Wilson writing in the May 2015 issue of InStyle:

“I don’t like to describe it (my style) because I don’t know what it is. If it feels good in the pit of my tummy, then I know it’s right”.

“When I get it right, it’s like wearing a suit of armor”.

“I try to get older people out of their seats and let them know they still have a life”.

“Do not slavishly follow (fashion) trends, they look silly. You have to know who you are”.

So if we’re asking, “what love and style have in common”, the answer is “Everything”.

-Ed 

photo credit: http://www.thefashioncult.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/iris-apfel-with-husband.jpg