The word eclectic is defined as: “Selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources, systems, or styles”.  To define the word “eclectic fashion” one has to go no further than Iris of this style and the master of the genre. The proof of her perfection resides in the well deserved and on-going attention that the contents of her closet demand. 

If you missed the MET’s exhibit of her collection in 2005, then you definitely want to add Nassau County  Museum of Art to this summer must see and do list. Beginning next week, May20th, the museum will be exhibiting the amazing collection of her wardrobe and even more amazing finds have been pried from Iris Apfel’s closet. Iris Apfel:  Rare Bird of Fashion is not to be missed. 

Now in her 80’s, Iris continues to be a role model and inspiration to legions of women both past and present. She doesn’t really follow fashion despite being an intimate of many designers, nor did she really go forth into fashion design despite a “fling with dressmakers, bag makers and shoemakers”. She admits to being “a closet designer who could never sew or cut”. She even claims that she didn’t collect for the ideal of having a collection, what amazes and inspires us is simply her wardrobe. 

Born an only child in Astoria, Queens in 1922, the appreciation for beautiful things and art began when she read art history at NYU and attended the University of Wisconsin art school. By 1950, with husband, Carl, she began Old World Weavers, a textile and design company, which specialized in ancient techniques and exact reproductions of antique fabrics.  She was a famous interior designer, with clients such as Greta Garbo, Estee Lauder and White House, and hob knobbed with high society of the time, but it is not her fame or notoriety that makes her worthy of her legendary status.  It’s simply the contents of her closet, collected over a range of 60 years from around the world, and then, her art of combining those items with their polar opposites  that begets her reign as a true original. For Iris Apfel, true style was not dictated to her or even by her, but was fun and serious and whimsical and amusing, all at once.

It is beyond fitting that Loehmann’s is sponsoring the exhibit as for Iris, like a Loehmann’s shopper, the “thrill was in the hunt”.  And hunt she did just like the rest of us. In an interview with Marilyn Kirschner, Iris speaks of her finding a “true gem”:“…Oh there’s something I just found in Loehmann’s….. For my birthday I go to Loehmann’s because I get a 15% discount, it’s very exciting…and I found this wonderful, wonderful completely beaded coat from Ralph Lauren and it is so gorgeous …all the way down to the floor and I won’t tell you its price because it’s ridiculous…it’s divine and very Marlene Dietrich with crystalline beads on white chiffon…and it was way too long although I am fairly tall…and I went to three dressmakers and they all said they were afraid to tackle it and I didn’t know what to do…Ralph Rucci said he’d fix it but I didn’t want to trouble him…then I met Mr. Ralph Lauren and when I told him he said “Oh we’ll fix it”. So it’s now being fixed….” 

The pieces in the exhibit are from flea markets, houses of haute couture, East Indian Bazaars, thrift stores, discount department stores, Old European artifacts, and handmade boutiques from all over the globe. With over 60 years worth of collecting, Iris was able to pair brand new finds and old:  “mix something I bought last week with something I’ve hoarded for 30 years.” 

From a fashion stand point alone, the exhibit is worth seeing as it features exciting couture clothing from every major European and American designer including Chanel, Dior, Armani, Galanos, Ungaro, Ralph Rucci, Geoffrey Beene, Lanvin, Norell, and Bill Blass among others. Separately, the results of her collection bespeak of a journey though time and fashion that could set the pace for a who’s who in the history of couture. In addition, her accessories and jewelry collections are incredible and also historic. What makes this all so much more is that her outfits are displayed “exactly’ as she put them together herself including her signature oversized black glasses on the mannequins. It’s not so much as the “what” she wore, but the “how” she wore it. 

The originality of her style is revealed in her mixing of Dior haute couture with flea-market finds, Dolce & Gabbana lizard trousers with nineteenth-century ecclesiastical vestments, pink Lanvin worn with ropes of Navajo turquoise. A selection of audacious accessories also comes under the spotlight: a giant necklace made of bear claws, a turn-of-the-century Indian horse ornament worn as a necklace, a parrot’s-head brooch in colored glass and rhinestones.

The final results are unforgettable. When fashion defies limits, creativity soars and taste is redefined.  What Iris Apfel does is remind us that we must be true to ourselves and what we love. Our “look” is then defined by ourselves and what we adore, what we resonate with, what is the outside epitomey of our own souls. It is an opportunity for our self defined inner beauty to be seen on the outside and therefore is nothing that can be prescribed by the trends of the seasons or other outside influences.  When we view the now “art” that is Iris’ closet and see that this non-conformity is beyond our wildest dreams, it can indeed re-inspire us to find our own inner Iris.

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This exhibition was first seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute as Rara Avis: Selections from the Iris Barrel Apfel Collection. It has been adapted for its showing at NCMA and now includes even more stunning items of clothing, accessories and jewelry from Apfel’s collection. Later shown at the Norton Museum in Palm Beach as “Iris Apfel: a Rare Bird of Fashion”, the exhibit at the NCMA is sponsored by Loehmann’s with support from Astoria Federal Savings. 

“Iris Apfel: a Rare Bird of Fashion” opens to the public on May 20^th at Nassau County Museum of Art and runs through September 7^th. Located off Northern Boulevard in Roselyn Harbor, admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $4 for children with an additional $2 parking charge on weekends. Museum members are free. For more information go to the museum website at: www.nassaumuseum.com or call (516) 484-9338. 

In addition, cultural historian Dr. Charles A. Riley II presents “Extreme Iris” a multimedia presentation and “interdisciplinary exploration of genius at work” on Sunday June 22 at 4pm. 

For a rare treat, the museum also offers a Private Tea & Tour of the Exhibition on June 11^th at 2:30 pm. This behind-the-scenes glimpse at the museum’s current exhibition is introduced by the museum’s director, Constance Schwartz, and features a private guided tour followed by a menu of tea, sandwiches, scones and sweets in the beautifully refurbished Café Musée. Space is limited so reserve early.

Admission for Dr. Riley’s lecture is $10 for museum members and $20 for guests.Admission for each Tea & Tour is $35 (museum members, $25) and includes admission to the museum. To reserve, call (516) 484-9338, ext. 12 or write to reginaforlenza@nassaumuseum.com. 

 If you just can’t make it there at all, then check out the book from the original collection shown in 2005 at the Met show in NY: “Rare Bird of Fashion; the Irreverent Iris Apfel” is available at Amazon. With an essay by the fashion maven herself, an introduction by Harold Koda, director of the Costume Institute, and  169 photos by fashion photographer, Eric Bowman, it’s the next best thing to being there.

Continued from last week’s post: Trend Alert: High Waisted Pants: part I

These are the kinds of pants that are actually more designed for a woman’s body, not to fight it. 

They accent the waist, while downplaying the hips as long as the trouser legs fall straight from the hips. If one has a thicker midsection, the high waisted pants will *create* a waist, shorten a long torso, and give the illusion of longer legs when worn with high heels and the hem just skims the ground. A high waisted pant can do wonders to elongate the length of the leg by giving the eye more of a constant visual to follow. 

While a high waist can eliminate the infamous muffin top, they also can accentuate a belly pooch if pleated in the front.  Nobody ever wants to be congratulated on a new pregnancy when they are truly not expecting, but instead just suffering from a pair of bad fitting pants. Some women praise the idea of finally getting all their non wash boarded bellies under the protection of clothing, but if the fit is not correct then bulging pants will still cause the fashion police to wince.

How to wear the new high waisted fashions:

Once you’ve found the perfect fit, make sure you pair it with the right top and accessories.

The newer high waisted pants should be full throughout and finish at a wide leg. While the skinny jean might still have a following, a high waisted, skinny leg cannot be worn by anyone with even slightly larger hips, bottom and/or thighs or those will be accented. While made for the pear shaped, a leg that tapers in any way will cause the hips to look too wide.

The sheer volume of fabric used in these pants makes a fitted top the natural choice. One needs to balance off the top half of their body to match the bottom.  Opt for something fitted and waist-cinching.  A nipped-waist, button-up blouse with short sleeves works well.  Also, wide-leg trousers and a fitted blazer look excellent at work.  Call some attention to the upper body with a bright colored top or commanding jewelry.

Since the length of the torso is elongated as well, either a long torso, or a short one can be adversely affected.  For both cases, showing some extra skin at the neckline will lengthen the neck and create balance.

A thicker waist can be doubly accented when the illusion of a cinched waist is made with a narrow belt and a one- button blazer. In cases where the waste to hip ratio is too close, then added fullness of pleats in the pants and hips can reduce the visual of the middle.

The wide leg styles beg for balance in the form of a thick, high-heeled shoe. The hemline should be just long enough to graze the floor and let your toes peek out. Heels are a must, a pointy toe even better. Without a toe pointing out, one can look footless. Wedges and other chunky heeled boots or pumps will juxtapose all that extra fabric and add length to the legs as well.

The trick to these pants is to get the scale and proportion just right as you don’t want to be wading in too much fabric. They shouldn’t be so wide that you swim in them, especially if you’re petite since it can make you look short and squat rather than long and lean.

Since these are the “new” look pants, keeping them modern with a dark navy wash. Gray also provides a nice neutral to take off from and white can provide a classic “sailor” feel for the summer season.

Although some shoppers may feel intimidated by this aggressively retro trend, with the flattering features and edgy style, the only people who should be afraid to sport this trend are those looking to abbreviate their legs and accent their love handles with passé flair.  You can call it the rebound effect, but the high waisted pants are definitely here and provide a new fashion trend to work from.

Happy shopping!

After many years of the hip hugging, low rider style of pants, the rule of opposites seems to be in effect.  Just when the belly button baring could go no lower, the designers have gone for the other extreme and overcompensated.  The latest female fashion trend that is getting tons of play: High Waisted pants.

A brief history of women wearing pants:

High waisted pants can be considered one of the original fashion trends in the history of the feminine trouser.  Think of a young Katherine Hepburn in her perfectly tailored slacks, turning heads by being so “manly” by rejecting the expected dress and defying convention. Or remember the shocking glamour of Marlene Dietrich in 1930’s Monocco where she donned her famous flares.  Before Kate and Dietrich spurned convention, any decent lady would not dare to be seen in public outside of her stockings, heels and well pressed dress.    

Hepburn has been credited for almost single-handedly breaking down the dress code for women.  With her fame and prestige coupled with an absolute refusal to wear a skirt or a dress out of character and off the set, women’s trousers were allowed off the farm and out of the factories and slowly won the stogy approval of society.

The early slacks worn by women were really men’s wear.  During WWII, with the men off in uniform, the women left behind not only had to fill in the jobs left in the factories, but raided their husband’s closets as well.  Men’s trousers, at that time, were high waisted and so that’s what women wore.  As this practice of wearing trousers became more widespread and as the men’s clothes wore out, replacements were needed, so that by the summer of 1944 it was reported that sales of women’s trousers were five times more than in the previous year.

While the 1950’s are known for their Capri’s and casual wear worn by the original baby boomers in their youth, it was not until the 1960’s, however, that slacks were introduced on the runway. Frances’ Andre Courreges, also originator of the mini skirt, brought long trousers into his line leading to the era of pantsuits and eventually designer jeans. Even then, though, women’s slacks were…high waisted.  Following the other standards of fashion of that time, the female waist was accented, the hourglass shape was preferred, and child bearing hips were a good thing to have. It was not until the influence of the hippies, defying even more convention that brought the waistband down to hip levels.

Since then, the waist bands have gone up and down along with the length of hemlines. The last great high rise was in the 1980’s when strong anti-1970’s feeling coupled with an influence of costume like retro wear brought back a more formal look of a baggier trouser and a cinched waist.  Capri pant from the 50’s returned along with stirrup pants and vintage look pumps.

Fashion Rebounds, but don’t be afraid:

It has been said that every twenty or so years a look rebounds, so seeing a rebirth of seasonal 2008 fashions influenced from the 80’s looks which, in turn, were inspired by 1950’s retro makes perfect sense.

Of course, there is now a legion of either new fashionistas who have absolutely zero history wearing anything but low rise jeans, or many who remember in horror the earlier looks of the 80’s and the dreaded “mom jeans” look.  If done well, though, the high waisted slacks of today need not resemble a frozen fashion statement dug up from the far recesses of a forgotten closet.

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please return for Part II of Trend Alert: High Waisted Pants  where dressing tips and accesories are discussed

Long gone are the days of the women’s classic work clothes consisting of the “power suit” and the floppy tie that women had to wear to the office.  As women have made their mark on the workplace, fashion has made its mark as well.  While dressing for work is different than getting ready to express your personal style at a party or dinner with friends,  there are still some great must have clothing for the office this spring that can bring you high visibility at work.

Add some color: A tailored pants suit is still a great way to strut your stuff and be taken seriously at the same time. As always, a well made piece will last a life time and is a great fashion investment.  Make sure both the jacket and pants fit well and are tailored to accentuate your body type.   While the classic navy, black and gray suits won’t ever go out, a brightly colored suit can punch up your look without discrediting your office moves.

Office structure with the men’s style vest: This season, the structure of suits are flowing more of a traditional men’s look, which helps in a piece’s longevity.  The classic tailoring of a men’s type cut pairs nicely with more feminine accesories and creates a nice juxtaposition to a sharp toed pump or a peep toed mule.  If it’s not the time to make investment in a new suit, then pick up a man’s style vest or two.   Vests are back with a vengeance and can perfectly accent last year’s blouse for fashion staying power. Think a modern Annie Hall; search your closet and look for new separates to pair up.

Staying Grounded in Neutral colors:

The neutral tones have continued staying power as well.   Safari cut jackets in tones of khaki are one of this seasons must have. A safari type jacket is the perfect way to top an office dress and goes very nicely with some of the more tribal prints that are hot this year.  Deeper toned tailored slacks pair up well with this seasons bights, as well, and provide a very necessary foundation for the hues of spring.

Layer up with a great new cardigan sweater: As the weather gets warmer outside, the temperature gets colder inside.  Office air conditioning often makes spring and summer street wear feel like a holiday in Alaska.  Layering office clothing is a perfect way to mitigate the sever fluxation in temperatures. This year the classic cardigan is all over, providing some very nice warmth to early sleeveless looks.  The added benefit of a versatile sweater? Clothing that screams summer can now be worn through the spring and into the fall without making you break into a sweat.

Accessories are bigger and brighter than ever; Jewelry is on the rise and the sizes are still growing.  Though the mantra now is “the bigger and chunkier the better”, it should not be overdone.  One armful of complimentary chunky bracelets or a fabulous necklace, not both, is the key. Pair a statement making piece with a more subdued blouse or dress background to avoid visual confusion.

Belts, shoes, bags, and scarves cannot be forgotten either.   Belts can still be nice thick; perfect for accenting a slim waste, or a tighter, slimmer bit of brighter color snaking through the tops of slacks. For spring look for bags reminiscent of cute 1960’s camera bags with long straps in bright colors.  Shoes continue to be all about the sculptured heels and almost anything goes.   From spike heels with odd designs, to oddly shaped wedges, the more unique the shoe, the better.   A spring scarf is all about fabric, color and weight.  Obviously warmth is not the main purpose when this spring’s hottest scarves are made of whisper thin chiffon.  A scarf if a great way to mix in a floral, soften a tailored jacket and add a bit of color next to your face.

Keeping a varied mix between the classic office look and your own personal style promotes a winning combination that is bound for favorable reviews.  

For many of the 100,000 plus fans attending this now four day musical festival in California’s Coachella Valley, it was all the  over 100 musical acts that graced the stages this past weekend.  Music, though, never lives in a vacuum, so the major fashion magazines took their cameras into the crowds to check out the street style. 

Keeping in mind those temperatures can reach over 100 degrees, and many were attending and camping out for the four days, there still seemed to be some various fashion trends coming out of the masses.

Legs were bare with seas of shorts shorts.  While denim seemed to be favored by celebrities, shorts all around held their own.  Stripped shorts, brightly colored shorts, and shorts with big boots all caught the camera eyes of the magazines.   It seemed the very fashionable went one step father and rebelled against the low-waisted denim on seasons past, as special mentions were made of those sporting  high wasted coverage.

Along with the short shorts, were many short little dresses.  Sleeveless tanks, t-shirt dresses, floral numbers and vintage inspired chic all made the camera smile. Often a loose dress was paired with a belt and, due to the music festival aspect, many a fanny-pack as well. Baby doll  were given special mention as the majority of legs did remain bare, but long dresses also go some attention as well.

Hats were all around. Again, probably having to do more with the endless beating sun, though this pair in Cowboy straw covers had to know they were saying something.  Still, many hats of many different styles made it to the publish pictures.  Along with hats, various headbands were seen. Thick ones, thin ones, head bands covered with flowers.

The undergarment of choice, again, think heat, was the bathing suit. If the bathing suit was only partially covered up, then that was Ok as well,  For some it was just an oversized t-shirt, some had cut up their t-shirts into huge sleeveless tops,  And for many others, the bikini top was the shirt.

Barefoot, flip flopped and sandaled all stood in line, but the season hot gladiator trend held court and also seem to garnish a fine percentage of pictures as well.  The low cut “bootlette” of this spring was seen as was almost any manner of boot baring lots of leg. Boots  were paired with just about anything.

As this was a music festival, and all music festivals have the roots in the Woodstock of the 60’s, the classic hippie wear could not be forgotten. Therefore, from the simple Indian influenced hippie type dress to a classic all over Woodstock acceptable assembly, one might think that they travelled back in time