Yesterday, my daughter and I went to this wonderful exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA of Iris Apfel's fabulous collection of vintage 1960's to present clothing, and vintage to current accessories. It is her way of putting together colors, textures, and styles that was so unique, outrageous and permissive that I loved.
Fashion editor Diane Vreeland is quoted: "It has been observed that American style, like democracy, celebrates the individual, the independent, and even on occasion, the idiosyncratic. There exists in the freewheeling American psyche an element of the frontiersman."
These are the very elements that draw me to creative movement and improvisation, dance movement therapy and expressive arts therapy as well as to the antique business, which I have been involved in for the past 40 years as well. I like character, color, and the uniqueness of self-expression which comes, not only from creating something from scratch, but also from putting together seemingly unrelated things and ideas, and making choices that are deeply satisfying. And while that may be very American, Iris Apfel's collection is built upon many of the cultures of the world.
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