I used to collect frames. I've been collecting accessories since I was 11-years-old, creeping around flea markets and sales and everything. Whenever I saw unusual eyeglass frames, I bought them.

Iris Apfel

Categorized in : Years Fleas Eyeglasses

I never felt pretty. I don't feel pretty now. I'm not a pretty person. I don't like pretty. So I don't feel badly. And I think it worked out well, because I found that all the girls I know who got by on their looks, as time went on and they faded, they were nothing. And they were very disappointed. When you're somebody like myself, in order to get around and be attractive, you have to develop something, you have to learn something, you have to do something. So you become a bit more interesting.

girl order thinking

Fashion you can buy, but style you possess. The key to style is learning who you are, which takes years. There’s no how-to road map to style. It’s about self-expression and, above all, attitude.

fashion keys attitude

I say, dress to please yourself. Listen to your inner muse and take a chance. Wear something that says 'Here I am!' today.

confidence fashion here-i-am

When you don't dress like everybody else, you don't have to think... by Iris Apfel

When you don't dress like everybody else, you don't have to think like everybody else.

fashion inspiring thinking

You're not pretty, and you'll never be pretty. But, it doesn't matter. You have something much better. You have style.

not-pretty style matter

If you don’t learn constantly, you don’t grow and you will wither. Too many people wither on the vine. Sure, it gets a little harder as you get older, but new experiences and new challenges keep it fresh.

new-experiences challenges people

I don't have any rules, because I would only be breaking them, so... by Iris Apfel

I don't have any rules, because I would only be breaking them, so it's a waste of time

wasting-time waste

I don't pay attention to things like the talent for style. I don't meditate on things like that. I just do whatever I think I should do and go with it, and if people like it, then I'm very happy about it. And if not, I always figure it's their problem not mine.

style people thinking

More is more and less is a bore. by Iris Apfel

More is more and less is a bore.

bores fashion

You have to be interested. If you're not interested, you can't be... by Iris Apfel

You have to be interested. If you're not interested, you can't be interesting.

not-interested ifs interesting

I don’t care what people think…I learned a long time ago…I was 19 and had a very traumatic experience….and I learned that I have to go to bed with myself at night and that I have to please myself…and as long as I don’t go out of my way to offend anybody that I love, upset my mother or my husband…I’ll do my own thing. And if the public doesn’t like it, it’s their problem, not mine.

husband mother night

I’m a hopeless romantic. I buy things because I fall in love with them. I never buy anything just because it’s valuable. My husband used to say I look at a piece of fabric and listen to the threads. It tells me a story. It sings me a song. I have to get a physical reaction when I buy something. A coup de foudre – a bolt of lightning. It’s fun to get knocked out that way!

falling-in-love song fun

If you're lucky enough to get old, I think you should celebrate i... by Iris Apfel

If you're lucky enough to get old, I think you should celebrate it.

lucky positive thinking

If you can't be pretty, you have to learn to make yourself attractive. I found that all the pretty girls I went to high school with came to middle age as frumps, because they just got by with their pretty faces, so they never developed anything. They never learned how to be interesting. But if you are bereft of certain things, you have to make up for them in certain ways. Don't you think?

girl school thinking

I was never hurt by what anybody said about my clothes, because I dress to please myself. If somebody doesn’t like what I’m wearing, it’s their problem, not mine

clothes hurt dresses

If you hair is done properly and you're wearing good shoes, you c... by Iris Apfel

If you hair is done properly and you're wearing good shoes, you can get anyway with anything.

hair beauty life

You only have one trip. You might as well enjoy it. by Iris Apfel

You only have one trip. You might as well enjoy it.

wells enjoy might

I think jewelry can change an outfit more than anything else. Transformation, punch, individuality: One or all of the above are why you should wear jewelry.

jewelry individuality thinking

You have to look in the mirror and see yourself. If it feels good, then I know it's for me. I don't dress to be stared at, I dress for myself.

feel-good mirrors dresses

You don’t have to look like an old fuddy-duddy, but I believe it was Chanel who said, ‘Nothing makes a woman look so old as trying desperately hard to look young’. I think you can be attractive at any age. I think trying to look like a spring chicken when you’re not makes you look ridiculous.

spring believe thinking