When it comes to fashion inspiration, it’s no secret that magazines and designers tend to focus on young, up-and-coming models and actresses as they are the “It” girls of the moment.
While I love perusing a chic actresses’ wardrobe as much as the next gal, I can’t help but think that fashion is seriously missing out on some of its most important, style-setting commentators.
After all, none of Hollywood’s current starlets were around decades back, when fashion was going through some of its most important moments.
The fact of the matter is, it's not nostalgic at all to say that the most influential eras for fashion were the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, and the most fashionable women are the ones who came of age at that time.
From ladies who embrace youthful, Instagram-ready styles like Baddie Winkle to true classicists that would make Diana Vreeland proud, the style icons we should really be paying attention to are mostly women in their sixties, seventies, and eighties.
What do you think of these "Advanced Style" models? Would you ever wear these trendy outfits? Let us know in the comments below!
Many of the most fashionable women around are women in their golden years.
They’re bold, fearless, and have lived long enough that they don’t give two shakes about what anyone else thinks of what they wear.
The world finally did start paying attention a few years back, when a young photographer named Ari Seth Cohen took to the streets to photograph the fashionable older women of New York in a blog called Advanced Style.
His project began by accident. He grew up with two fiercely fashionable grandmothers, who encouraged his artistic eye.
When he moved to the East Coast, he couldn’t help noticing fabulous older women who reminded him of his grandmothers on every corner.
He began documenting the fashionistas that he spotted and started the blog, which quickly became a runaway success.
Cohen was able to parlay the website into a book deal, and, eventually, into a documentary film, which is now available on Netflix.
The documentary made minor celebrities of a number of creative, artistic women, some of whom are well into their nineties.
The project even had the blessing of Iris Apfel, the 94-year-old grand doyenne of stylish older women, who is known for her luminous career as a celebrated textile designer, and her signature style, which tends towards oversized glasses and bold graphic prints.
But perhaps the most important result of Advanced Style isn’t the bestseller or the movie deal, but the spread of appreciation for these remarkable women and their fearless, fun sense of fashion.
These pictures are a platform, projecting a message of confidence and adventurous spirit that’s important for all women, from little girls to proud centenarians!
If you love seeing the incredible women that Ari Seth Cohen documents take the world by storm, SHARE with your fellow fearless, fashionable ladies!
