The world of fashion and textiles may not interest you in the slightest. And yet, what Iris Apfel learned about her long and interesting life can change the way you see the world. Because with one hundred and six years behind him, Apfel left in 2024, leaving behind great lessons on how to live every second that life gives us to the fullest.

During his life he became a reference in the world of fashion, due to his eclectic style and his great ability to look beyond. She was nicknamed the First Lady of Fabrics, for serving nine terms in the White House, they created a Barbie inspired by her, and At the age of ninety she launched herself into the world of fashion and beauty. She dubbed herself “the oldest living woman to ever appear in a fashion magazine,” and it’s true. This incredible woman, from whom we can all learn, left us ten great lessons that she shared at the time with CNBC. Today we rescue them for you, and so that they do not fall into oblivion.

Don’t be obsessed with age

The first advice Apfel offered to the media was this. She herself stated that “Aging is not for cowards.” It is not necessary to remember that we are talking about a woman who decided to start a business, once again, at the age of ninety. Not allowing her age to limit her, in any aspect, not only guaranteed her success. It also allowed him to live a full life full of passion.

“You start to fall apart, but you have to gather courage and pull yourself together,” said the lady of the fabrics. No one likes getting old, but there is a way to avoid it. So you must accept them and “put the experience into practice to give something back to others.”

Choose a partner who celebrates your successes

“Happiness is not what you have, but who you surround yourself with,” says Mario Alonso
Puig, author of The path of awakeningand Apfel would agree. For her, her great companion was her husbandCarl Apfel, who died in 2015 at the age of 100. With him she set up her fabric empire, and he was always her great support. «We did almost everything together. He pushed me to be the center of attention and then he delighted in my success. He was much happier with the praise I received than I was,» said the businesswoman and influencer.

And having the support of someone who believes in you, who gives you space to shine and accompanies you on every adventure, may be essential to achieving happiness. It doesn’t have to be your partner. It can be friends or family. But the important thing is that you surround yourself with people who drive you, and don’t stop you.

When something excites you, go for it.

In his life, Apfel was never afraid to change direction or pursue what he liked. Some time later, with great success behind him, he stated that he never expected anything. “I just feel things inside me and do them.” told the media, “If something sounds exciting and interesting, I do it, and then I worry about it.”

This way of understanding life allowed him to live many years and fully. And “doing things requires a lot of energy and strength. It’s very tiring to make things happen.learn to master a skill, let go of fears.” But doing so is always worth it.

In this regard, Apfel ended his statements by saying that “Most people prefer to just go with the flow; It’s much easier. But it’s not very interesting.”

To stay young, you have to think young

Although age should not be a limitation, because “it is just a number,” Apfel did not deny that with old age come ailments. I used to say that after a certain age, if you have two of anything, Most likely, one of them will hurt when you get up. in the morning.

However, he stated thatyou have to get up and leave the pain behind. If you want to stay young, you have to think like a young person.”

For Apfel, this meant retaining the capacity for wonder, always being open to new people and adventures. She declared that she would never be a grumpy old woman. “I hold the self-proclaimed record of being the oldest living teenager in the world.”

Worry about your own opinion above that of others

There is no doubt that Iris Apfel’s life was, to say the least, unusual. Hence she claimed that she never tried to fit in. She didn’t go out of her way to be rebellious or do socially unacceptable things, but she learned from a young age that she had to be herself in order to be happy.

“If you have to be everything to everyone, you end up being nothing to no one,” said the lady of the fabrics. With this brave attitude she faced the world, true to herself, free of labels, full and centenarian.

Don’t isolate yourself

As a counterpoint to the previous idea, Apfel advised balance. Be true to yourself It doesn’t mean isolating yourself or resenting the world for feeling different.. It means valuing your opinion above all else, but being part, getting involved, connecting.

“I know that I am not an island, but rather part of the whole,” said the poet John Donne. And that is the idea that Apfel defended. “Fit in first, and then get out. “There is a difference between being perceived as original and being accepted, even loved for it, and being perceived as different and being resented for it.”

Money doesn’t buy success

It is difficult to accept this idea in a world where money can move mountains, but Apfel assured that “if you are happy, you have found love, you are surrounded by good people, you do what you like and you help others, that is success. Selling your soul for a dollar is not worth the real price you pay.”

Style is not about money

As an icon of the fashion world, clothes and style were, without a doubt, an important part of her life. But she stated that «style is not about wearing expensive clothes. “You can have all the money in the world and not have any style.”

On the contrary, he stated that “It is better to be happy than to be well dressed«And for Apfel, trying to fit into an aesthetic style was a waste of time. «When you try too hard to have style, you look uncomfortable, as if you were wearing a costume, as if the clothes entered the room before you.» On the contrary, the fabric lady recommended embracing your own style, what makes you feel comfortable and happy.

Start every adventure with one small step

“You only fail if you don’t try«said Apfel. She never thought that she couldn’t do something because she was a woman, even though she was born in a very different time than the one we live in today. She dreamed of starting a weaving business, and she managed to do it.

But how? Apfel claimed that “if he had thought too much about opening Old World Weavers, he probably wouldn’t have pursued his dreams.” Therefore, his advice was simple: “You simply have to act, even if it is a small step.«In his more than one hundred years, he applied this philosophy of life and it never led him astray.

Don’t pretend you’re younger than you are

In her list of advice, Apfel ends with this one that many women of a certain age need to hear: “there is nothing wrong with wrinkles. When you’re older, trying to look years younger is foolish, and you’re not fooling anyone.” Instead of wasting time trying to go back in time, the queen of eclectic fashion advised taking advantage of it to enjoy the present, and give back a little of everything you have learned during your years of life. Embrace your present, to have a great future.