There will never be another Iris. Unique in all of time, the 102 year-old self-proclaimed “geriatric starlet” died last month. She will be remembered for her exuberance, her wit, her confidence, and her Quintessential Style.

During the last ten years, I’ve written about enchanting Iris many times. First, Iris caught my attention in 2015, when I wrote a blog about stacking bracelets. Back then, a young 94 year-old Iris’ bold, colorful accessorizing amazed and delighted us. I was hooked.

In 2016, Iris created a clothing line for Macy’s, and two of my friends and I traveled to San Antonio (In Search of Iris) to find her there, because our local Macy’s was too small to carry her brand.

Two years later, I dressed up as my favorite style icon for Halloween and dedicated my blog to her.

Iris began her career, with her late husband of 67 years (Carl Apfel), as a textile entrepreneur. Later, as an interior designer, she worked on projects in the White House for nine U.S. presidents and for the famed likes of Greta Garbo and Estée Lauder.

An article by NPR reported: “Apfel’s star only brightened as she aged. At 90, she was teaching at the University of Texas at Austin. At age 94, she was the subject of a well-reviewed documentary by Albert Maysles (Iris.) “

At 97, she became a professional fashion model, represented by a top agency. She modeled for Vogue Italia, Kate Spade, and M.A.C. And–at the time of her passing– Iris the oldest person ever to have a Barbie doll made in her image.

But, what I will miss most about Iris is her buoyant enthusiasm for life and her insatiable energy. I guess our lesson from Iris is “Never stop.”

My favorite story about Iris:

As a young girl, she loved picking through the racks, and she frequently shopped at the name-brand discount store, Loehmann’s. One day, owner Frieda Loehmann stopped her. “Young lady, I’ve been watching you,” Mrs. Loehmann told Apfel. “You’re not pretty, and you’ll never be pretty. But, it doesn’t matter. You have something much better. You have style.”

(I both want to cry and cheer when I hear this story.)

Quotes by Iris:

On shopping and getting dressed:

“Oh, that’s bread and wine to me. I’d rather go to a flea market than just about anything. It’s the process I like—the same with getting dressed. If I’ve got someplace to be, I’ll spend more time getting dressed than I spent at the actual event. Sometimes. Even in my own closet, I love to dig and search and find. And if I’m shopping…You know, if it’s a piece of fabric, I listen to the threads. It’s not intellectual at all. The price is nothing. It’s the emotional content: I have to feel it in my gut. I don’t know how to explain it other than that.”

On Color:

“Without color, you might as well be dead.”

On Style:

“The world is not black and white; there are lots of shades of grey.” “You don’t find out who you are unless you work at it.” “Fashion you can buy, but style you possess. The key to style is learning who you are, which takes years.”

“There’s no how-to road map to style. It’s about self-expression and, above all, ATTITUDE.”

Thanks for your attitude, Iris. You won’t be forgotten…ever.