Beauty, inspiration and debauchery, in that order

Fashion films and documentaries are like rare jewels. Sparkly and beautiful they appear infrequently and when they do I look forward to seeing them with unabashed excitement. And some I have watched many times, such as Bill Cunningham New York or Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel. I relish the behind-the-scenes glamour and the inspiration I get from these fabulous colorful and creative people.

At this bountiful moment there are three fashion films showing and I recommend seeing all of them for various reasons.

Dior and I

This movie documents the arrival of Raf Simons as the new artistic director of the Christian Dior fashion house and follows him as he creates his first Dior haute couture collection in the Spring of 2012. Simons has only eight weeks until the day his designs walk down the runway. And he has to prove himself. Since he is known for his minimal design, many wonder if Simons is the correct choice for Dior.

The vulnerability of Simons is sensitively shown by film director, Frédéric Tcheng. Tcheng also wrote and directed the excellent Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel and edited Valentino: The Last Emperor. 

It's curious, who is the "I" of "Dior and I"? It is the man himself, Christian Dior, and it is Simons. During the film, a voiceover reads from Dior's 1957 biography, "Christian Dior and I". Dior sees himself as two people, the private person and the famous designer. Simons begins reading the biography as he starts to design his first collection, but the similarities between his experiences and Dior's are so close, he has to put the book down and focus on the collection.  

With a critical and worried eye, Simons studies his designs as they come to life. 

And the talented people I admire so much, the "petite mains" in the workroom. They are the women and men who bring the sketches to life with great mastery.

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Iris

When getting dressed in the morning I make an effort at a bit of self-expression. I’ll add an oversized silk flower to my lapel, wear a mix of prints or a piece of heirloom jewelry. But all that seems feeble and pale now that I’ve seen the powerhouse of original style, Iris Apel, in this documentary. 

There are few people with her joy for self-expression, intense esthetic pleasure of dressing  and sheer life force energy.  All this is fed by her hunting and gathering clothing and accessories from all over the world. She shops everywhere on the fashion spectrum from the heights of couture to a discount shop on a side street in New York.

Iris Apfel in IRIS, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo credit: © Bruce Weber

If you go to the official site for the film, click on the trailer to get an idea of the fabulousness of Iris and this documentary. Iris has her 94^th birthday this August 29^th. And I just had a great idea.  Wouldn't it be fun to celebrate Iris and the expression of one's personal style by having a dress like Iris day on her birthday? Let's do it!

Here are a few of her pizzazz-packed quotes:

"It’s better to be happy than well-dressed."

"I like to do things as if I am playing jazz."

"Life is gray and dull; you might as well have a little fun when you dress."

"I’m not pretty and I’ll never be pretty, but it doesn’t matter. I have something much better. I have style."

"More is more and less is a bore."

And my favorite:

"When you don’t dress like everyone else, you don’t have to think like everyone else."

Saint Laurent

And now for something totally different. Not to be confused with the film Yves Saint Laurent that came out last year, this is not a feel-good movie. See it if you have a passion for the designer and to get a glimpse of glamorous and decadent Paris of the '70's. But be prepared for some depressing scenes of Yves getting too deeply involved with drugs and alcohol. There are some fabulous individual views in the atelier and on the runway, but the movie as a whole is long and feels emotionally empty. And beware, if you are a dog lover, there is a heartbreaking scene with his bulldog, Moujik. 

Saint Laurent is too much about the designer's excesses. Yves Saint Laurent featured his original creations, but the film feels stiff with minimal style. I suppose that's the downfall of fashion biopics. They often feel forced without the depth that I imagine the featured person would have. For that reason I prefer documentaries. If you are interested in Yves Saint Laurent, I recommend His Life and Times and 5 Avenue Marceau 75116 Paris. 

I am that certain age, I think

Joan Didion, modeling at eighty years old.

Age, age, age. Lately, it's been constantly on the back of my mind. I'm going to a new yoga studio where I'm nearly twice the age of the instructors and the attendees. I find myself feeling like an outsider in this tribe of young hot yoga nymphs (hot class temperature and hot cute factor). I wonder, what do they think when they see me? How old do they think I am? Why do I care? Why is it so hard to stop thinking these questions? Here I am in a yoga class de-centering myself with self-critical thoughts. 

How old am I? I've been trained by my auntie to never reveal my age. She looks a lot younger than her actual age and I'm sworn to secrecy to never reveal the number. I'm told I look younger too. If the question comes up, I just smile and move on. And now that I'm of a certain age, I find myself reflecting on what I once looked like and where I could be headed. And what is a certain age? It's the age when you hesitate to reveal how old you are. I think I'm there. 

The fashion magazines I so avidly read don't help. Only the super young and skinny appear modeling the latest, making it more difficult to relate to or discern what looks would work for me. As much as I love scanning, scouring and tearing into my monthly fashion magazines, it's a challenge as I study the models and the outfits deciding what I could wear. Models have always been many inches taller and thinner but now they are also many years younger. The mental gymnastics for me to imagine myself in a certain look can get exhausting. 

Where are the ideas and inspiration about what the cool women around my age and older are wearing?

Perhaps there's hope. Perhaps there is a glimmer. In the last few months, there's been a mass media trend of using older women as "the face" for a few fashion and beauty brands. It definitely works to get attention. I hope that it becomes more than a flavor-of-the-month. We don't have expiration dates stamped on our foreheads, maybe this is the beginning of the end of that notion. Maybe this is the beginning of a democratization of who we see in the fashion pages; all ages, sizes, shapes and colors. And always expressing great style and panache. Wouldn't that be fun? 

Most recently, 80-year-old Joan Didion is in ads for Celine's Spring campaign. While she definitely looks like an older person, she also looks cool, hip and sophisticated.

One of my top style icons, Charlotte Rampling, is now the face for NARS. She is sixty-nine years old and she has eyes with a million stories to tell.

Jessica Lange is modeling for Marc Jacobs Beauty and she'll be sixty-six in April. 

Tilda Swinton is her own fabulous unidentifiable creature, but even she has birthdays. Swinton is the face of Nars' spring campaign and she is fifty-four. 

Joni Mitchell is seventy-one and is modeling for Saint Laurent's 2015 ad campaign.  

And the indefatigable fantastic fashion peacock, ninety-three-year-old Iris Apfel, is modeling for Alexis Bittar. And she does it so well. I remember in 1996 when Isabella Rossellini was fired as the face of Lancome. At forty-four, she was considered too old. Today, she would be the youngest of the older models. All these women are thoughtful, intellectual and beautiful in multi-dimensional ways. They are not just selling the look. They each have qualities that inspire me to be and look as strong and bold as I dare, no matter what age. 

An Act of Daring: Wear Your Self Out

The inimitable Iris Apfel is an inspiration as someone who has made a lifelong practice of artfully daring to wear what has meaning and attraction for her and not worrying what others might think. 

Photo by Eric Boman from the fabulous book Rare Bird of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel. 

(More to come on It-Girl Iris in a future post.)

Is there some item of clothing, accessory, color or outfit that you feel intimidated to wear, but you're still drawn to it? You want to wear it, buy you're worried about what people will think. You second-guess yourself because it would draw extra attention to you. And there's a voice in your head that stops you from wearing it because of what family, friends or colleagues might say. Or you're worried about what even strangers on the street would think.

That's the voice of the style saboteur, the voice that tells you to blend in, don't stand out, stay safe!

The voice that says:
Who do you think you are, dressing yourself up like that? The Queen of Sheba?
You better look serious if you want people to take you seriously!
You're too old to wear that.
Are you crazy?

I'm reading Daring Greatly by Brené Brown right now and she equates daring with allowing yourself to be vulnerable. She says "Vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional. Our only choice is a question of engagement. Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose; the level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnection."

These are heavy and heady thoughts. I know Brené is talking about engaging on a deep emotional level and not just about what one wears. But why not start there? It's a reminder to yourself and others that you are stepping out a bit, taking a little chance. And you know, one good dare leads to the next...

But how did we get to this place where we resigned ourselves to dress so we fit in with the crowd? Where we have forgotten how good it feels to wear something that reflects our personal pizazz. I was talking to a friend about this and she said "I remember in eighth grade my favorite school outfit was a pair of purple bell bottom corduroy pants and a bright yellow top that had a white zipper down the front. I don't know what happened to that daring person. Now all I wear is black." I can so relate. So when did we stop wearing something that shows the world who we are and makes us feel good wearing it? And why?

Brené writes about how we like to see vulnerability in other people, but we don't want to show it ourselves. I love to see people on the street who look like they put thought and style into their outfit. Even if I think it's a little off, or I wouldn't wear it myself, it gives me pleasure to see someone express their personality and style. Hubby Matt and I went to the San Francisco Ballet the other week (a stunning and chilling interpretation of "The Rite of Spring") and there was a woman wearing a hat that looked like a large black and gray felt crushed bag. It's not my style, but she carried it off with great panache and a big smile and that made me smile. I appreciate that she dared to stand out from the crowd.

All the "It" girls and guys dare to be themselves and we are attracted and inspired by that and respond to it and respect them for it. People like Grace Coddington, Iris Apfel, Paul Smith and Thom Brown to name just a few. I bet you know someone that makes you smile when you think about their unique style and how by the way they express their one-of-a-kind self they enrich your life.

Here's a BV challenge: Wear something daring this week! I'd love to hear what it was and how it felt. And I'll do the same.