Iris Apfel at 84: your taste can keep opening doors

The milestone, with context

In September 2005, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened Rara Avis, an exhibition drawn from Iris Apfel’s clothing and accessories. She had just turned 84. The Peabody Essex Museum describes this as the moment her visibility expanded into the mainstream, after a long career in interiors and textiles with her husband and business partner, Carl. The couple had founded Old World Weavers, and she had worked on historic interiors, including White House projects.

Apfel’s later fame rested on an established practice of looking, collecting and combining. Her example makes room for an identity that keeps evolving, even after retirement from one business.

What you can take from it

Our takeaway: give yourself permission to express a preference. Choose a color you love, rearrange a familiar room or combine things you already own in a new way. Enjoyment and personal meaning can guide the experiment; buying more is optional.

Try a small next chapter of your own

1. Notice your recurring favorites

   Pick three colors, textures or objects that consistently catch your eye.

2. Try one combination at home

   Make an outfit, shelf arrangement or mood board from what you already have.

3. Keep what feels like you

   Photograph the result for yourself and note what you enjoyed. There is no need to follow a trend.

Make room for your version of success

These are selected lives, not a formula or a deadline. Resources, health, support, opportunity and luck matter. Your next chapter might be a steadier routine, a meaningful friendship, a creative practice or a contribution in your community.

Choose one action you can take this week. If you want company, explore South Florida activities and learning groups. For more stories, visit the inspiration collection.