Granmazonian

You know those glamorous old ladies that you see from time to time. The ones draped in their finery, cascades of pearls and precious jewels hung lavishly upon soft silks and vintage furs, their lips stained a heavy rouge, white face powder contrasting with blushed pink cheeks and eyes etched with kohl – all slightly over-done and dischevelled as if trying to reverse the unkindness that age has done to their once show-stopping beauty. These are the aged souls that the more you look, the sadder you feel – watching them helplessly clinging on to the golden heyday of their youth that has slipped graciously away.

Well, how about an old lady that seems to transcend time and stay ever-cheerful, despite her 86 years of age? A twinkling of youth dancing behind her big-rimmed spectacled eyes and dusted upon her rainbow-coloured wardrobe. A lady, that even with her deeply-furrowed brow, shock of white hair and stooped frame, is effortlessly en vogue.

Iris Apfel is such a lady. I stumbled across her by chance when I was reading Vagabondia (www.vagabondiana.blogspot.com), a wonderful blog by fashion writer, Ellen Burney. I’m so surprised I’ve never heard of her before. She’s fabulous! Like a twilight version of teenage blogging sensation Tavi – and with a similar hairstyle too.

But if you thought dressing fabulously was her be-all-and-end-all, then think again. "I'm not like that, I have so many other things to do, I’m not a fashionista, and that is not my life. I love beautiful clothes, and I appreciate them, but…I’ve been in business all my life, I built a business, I’m involved in a lot of charities and all kinds of stuff…and….you know, just being a clotheshorse is not my idea of heaven."

What a lady!