Tereneh's Fashion Pick: Rare Bird of Fashion

Iris Apfel is a one in a million kind of dame. A real dame, in all the good sense of that word.

She shows us the importance of a self-defined style that exhibits the uniqueness within us all, through the art of clothing and dressing.

All too often fashion is seen as an frivolous, unnecessary waste of time. Its coverage in the media is limited to the Lifestyle section or during Fashion Week you can hear the TV commentators cry: "Who is going to wear THAT?!"

Yet fashion and adornment is and always will be a socio-cultural art performance we play everyday. What we wear and how we wear it shows how we conform to and rail against the society we live in. Fashion is an outward manifestations of how we see ourselves, how we desire others to see us and what we aspire to be.

Iris Apfel's Rare Bird of Fashion is a companion book to a traveling exhibit of her clothing collection. Her ability to embrace and showcase global and traditional clothing from around the world with the Haute Couture of Paris and American sportwear is masterful.


Before you read this book do this test: Put together an inspiring outrageously inappropriate outfit and say to yourself as gaze into the mirror: "Can I wear this?!" Now read this book and try the test again... Yes! I look forward to seeing your new ensemble at your next trip to Book Soup.