Iris Apfel Was a Peacock Among the Swans

Froma Harrop on Mar 12, 2024

Iris had great admiration for Harlem's church ladies, all done up in vividly colored suits, their heads crowned with fabulous hats. "That was real style."

Iris was not above peddling scarves and baubles she had designed on the Home Shopping Network. She and Carl had built a successful textile business. They were workers.

As for all those young women who worship her guts but are afraid to wear a yellow ruffled jacket with a tunic from the Mao people, she says, don't do it. "You're gonna look like a jerk, because you're gonna be so uncomfortable."

When asked whether it was easier for older generations to be glamorous, Iris let loose. Younger people are "devastated" by technology, she said. "Very few relationships they have last. They don't know how to read. They don't know how to write. They have no social grace." Adding, "I am just appalled by it."

Glad you asked?

Iris says she was never pretty. Young women who get by on natural beauty rather than developing themselves don't age well. "I don't happen to like pretty," she says at the documentary's end. "Most of the world is not with me, but I don't care."

So glad she didn't.

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Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.

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