She’s 93 years old, draped in four pounds of turquoise beads, and haggling over a $20 plastic coat in a Harlem basement. If you’ve seen the 2014 documentary on Iris Apfel, simply titled Iris, you know exactly the scene I’m talking about. It’s not just a "fashion movie." Honestly, calling it a fashion movie is kinda like calling The Godfather a movie about catering. It misses the whole point.
Most people go into this film expecting a parade of high-end couture. What they get instead is a masterclass in curiosity from a woman who basically invented the "more is more" aesthetic while everyone else was trying to look like a minimalist.
The Director Who Caught Fire (Literally)
Albert Maysles, the legendary filmmaker behind Grey Gardens, directed this. He was 87 at the time. There’s this wild story from the set where Maysles was so focused on filming Iris at a party at the Four Seasons that his jacket actually caught on fire from a tea light. He didn't even notice. He just kept shooting. That’s the energy of this film—two titans of their craft in their sunset years, refusing to slow down.
Maysles didn't want a "vanity piece." He wanted to see how a "rare bird" actually lives. We see Iris in her Park Avenue apartment, which is so crowded with toys, stuffed animals (including a Kermit the Frog on a giant bird), and 18th-century fabrics that it looks like a high-end flea market. It’s chaotic. It’s beautiful. It’s the opposite of the sterile, "quiet luxury" vibes people obsess over today.
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Why the Documentary on Iris Apfel Isn't Really About Clothes
You’ve probably heard her most famous line: "It’s better to be happy than well-dressed." She says it while sitting in a wheelchair, looking a bit tired but still wearing those iconic owlish glasses.
The film digs into her real history, which is way more impressive than just being a "style icon."
- She and her husband, Carl, ran Old World Weavers.
- They did restoration work for the White House under nine different presidents.
- Everyone from Truman to Clinton relied on her eye for textiles.
But the documentary focuses on the why. Iris wasn't born pretty, and she’s the first to tell you that. She recounts a story where Frieda Loehmann (of the Loehmann’s department store fame) told her, "You’re not pretty, and you’ll never be pretty. But it doesn’t matter. You have something better. You have style." That’s the core of her philosophy. Style is an inherent DNA thing. You can buy fashion, but you can't buy style.
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The Relationship That Steals the Show
If you watch the documentary on Iris Apfel and don't cry a little bit at the scenes with her husband, Carl, you might be a robot. Carl turns 100 during the filming. He is her biggest fan. There’s a scene where they’re at a warehouse looking through old stock, and he’s just beaming at her.
They never had kids. Iris is very blunt about it: "You can't have everything." She wanted to travel and work, and she didn't want a nanny raising her children. It’s a refreshingly honest take for a woman of her generation. Their marriage was their primary partnership, and the film captures the quiet, sometimes painful reality of aging together. Carl passed away shortly after the film was finished, making those scenes feel even more heavy.
Buying Luxury vs. Haggling in Harlem
One of the funniest parts of the doc is watching Iris shop. She doesn't just go to Bergdorf Goodman. She goes to thrift stores. She goes to street markets. She bargains like her life depends on it.
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She tells Maysles that bargaining is a sign of respect. If you don't haggle, the vendor feels cheated because they think they could have gotten more. It’s a glimpse into her business mind—shrewd, practical, and deeply human. She treats a $5 plastic necklace with the same reverence as a piece of museum-quality jewelry.
What Most People Miss About the "Met" Moment
A huge chunk of her modern fame came from the 2005 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit, Rara Avis. The documentary shows how this late-in-life fame actually happened by accident. The Met had a cancellation and needed a show fast. They called Iris.
Suddenly, she was a celebrity at 84. But as the film shows, she didn't change a thing. She still wore her Mickey Mouse shirts and her huge bangles. She just had more people watching her do it.
Actionable Insights from the Rare Bird
If you're looking for the "so what" of this documentary, it's not about what accessories to buy. It's about how to live.
- Stop searching for "pretty." Aim for interesting. Interesting lasts longer and gets you better conversations.
- Invest in accessories. Iris’s mother taught her that if you have a few good "architectural" outfits and a lot of jewelry, you can create a million looks.
- Stay curious. The second you stop being curious, you’re old. Iris was a "geriatric starlet" because she never stopped looking for the next weird fabric or the next interesting person.
- Know your limits. She admits that "I have two of everything and one hurts." She doesn't pretend aging is easy. She just chooses to do it in bright colors.
The documentary on Iris Apfel is currently available to rent or buy on Apple TV and Google Play. It’s only about 80 minutes long, but it’ll change how you look at your closet—and maybe how you look at your life. Go watch it, then go buy something weird at a thrift store. It's what she would've wanted.