Iris Apfel: 'The Fatter And Uglier People Are, The Fewer Clothes They Wear'

The beauty of being 90 is that you stop caring -- what people think about you, who you might offend, how crazy your clothes look.

Which is why Iris Apfel, the lovable nonagenarian doyenne with the oversized spectacles and the priceless bon mots, is totally worth listening to. The "geriatric starlet" spoke to the Telegraph and had some choice words about the current state of fashion:

"Now when I walk down Fifth Avenue in the summertime I just want to throw up. It seems that the fatter and uglier people are, the fewer clothes they wear. The shorts and flip-flops and tight jeans on butts that go from here to Poughkeepsie."

The feisty fashionista added:

"I always say they should put people in jail for wearing clothes like that. Especially stretch jeans over size 10 -- they should be outlawed. Ten years ago people were starting to look like slobs in New York, now it's an epidemic."

We'd say that Apfel is being unusually harsh, but she has been around to see a bad trend or two. And these days there are some particularly bad ones, she says, on the red carpet:

"At the Golden Globes and Oscars they all look alike - it seems like they're all wearing the same nightgown and this year nobody had any jewellery at all. Only Helen Mirren was wearing a beautiful necklace, but even she got it wrong because the necklace just ruined the dress. I think the designer must have wanted to kill himself when he saw her."

We wonder if Iris will be this critical in her upcoming documentary, to be shot by Albert Maysles (or when promoting her new jewelry line for YOOX.com).

Our fingers are certainly crossed.

Read more of Apfel's unvarnished opinions at Telegraph.co.uk.

Comments

[Danny More]

02:18 AM on 10/27/2011

And really I don't give a Dam!

[Bor Zoi]

10:39 AM on 10/26/2011

You tell 'em, Crone!

[FiredUpRTG]

12:41 AM on 10/26/2011

Hey pot, let me introduce you to kettle…

[PrunellaC]

12:11 AM on 10/26/2011

Hmm. On other threads, people are lamenting that attractive people with no accomplishments to speak of are shoved down our throats, but here many agree with Iris the Toad that unattractive people have no right to be seen in public.

Which is it, people?

[PrunellaC]

11:50 PM on 10/25/2011

Appears as though Iris needs to be put in jail for ocular crimes against humanity.

[flyteeskee]

09:25 PM on 10/25/2011

Lil Red: Iris, what big glasses you have
Iris: The better to see your ugly big scantly clad jiggly rolls

[momamazed]

06:15 PM on 10/25/2011

How stunningly tragic that someone has managed to take up space on this planet for 90 years and come up with this tripe. There are people suffering on this planet and she wants to put people in jail for what they're wearing.

The fashion industry has to be one of the most hateful, destructive, anti-woman forces on this planet, and every resource at this woman's disposal is one that has been horribly wasted.

Equally tragic is that anyone would write about it or take pleasure in knowing anything about her.

[IvyRedhead Hoffart]

04:30 PM on 10/25/2011

She has a point but she didn't have to be mean about it!! And 'older' people say 'younger' people are rude!!

[Laxsmi de Potrero]

02:50 PM on 10/25/2011

wow, and just think, before today, i did not know who this cranky raisin of an old woman was, now i don't care. thanks huffnfluff.

[WarriorLemming]

05:31 AM on 10/26/2011

haha, true that! ;D

f/f

[Rita Foster]

02:14 PM on 10/25/2011

I hate to say it, but I do agree with her. I can not stomach airline travel anymore because now everyone looks like they are riding a Greyhound bus! It used to fun now it's just a flying bus!

[MNJim]

08:21 PM on 10/25/2011

Gawd, it's heinous isn't it? And when did track suits and Zubas become acceptable travel attire? I was on a flight in February to Hawaii and a guy took his shirt off, wandering around the plane until an attendant spoke to him.

I watched the new show called "Pan Am" on Sunday nights a couple of times. It seems like travel must have been so civilized back then.

[remyd]

04:11 PM on 10/26/2011

yeah and men wore suits and hats on bread lines. times have changed, and in my opinion, for the better. why not be comfortable on a plane? track suits are perfect for the hassles of travel.

[remyd]

04:14 PM on 10/26/2011

...and what's wrong with people who ride a greyhound bus dear? quite the snob, aren't you?

[Kay Nicks]

01:29 PM on 10/25/2011

Taken with a grain of salt. No one in their right mind would be rockin those glasses......

[signgrrl]

01:01 PM on 10/25/2011

the people on What Not to Wear are much more helpful and informative, and MUCH less abusive.

[cleojones]

12:34 PM on 10/25/2011

I almost fell out of my seat from laughing so hard.. Wow.. they should be jailed for crimes of fashion... LOL.. Thank you for the morning laugh!!

[JJovana]

12:20 PM on 10/25/2011

Body-shaming and direspect for others based on their physical appearance - always classy.

[raanghaus]

12:16 PM on 10/25/2011

gravity is very cruel...

[WarriorLemming]

05:34 AM on 10/26/2011

Tis so true--and when they call attention to themselves is especially cruel. ;D

f/f