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Mayor Bloomberg at The Waverly Inn

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Last night I had a very special dinner with Maayan, Ilona and the wonderful owner of the Waverly Inn. Ilona has lived in the West Village for over 56 years and she often gets noticed for her wonderful style and amazing eyelashes.She was delighted to dine at one of her neighborhood’s most popular haunts. While dining I noticed that Mayor Bloomberg and Rupert Murdoch were just a few tables away. I got up and introduced myself and told them that they had to meet one of the Village’s most spectacular women. The gentleman were very gracious and they told me to grab a camera and bring Ilona over. I took a quick photo of this dazzling pair and we returned to our table for a night to remember.

You Can Learn a lot From Fabulous Older Ladies

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“A good pair of sunglasses is better than a face lift.” Mary (70)
“Rise Above It, it’s what one does. We’re not supposed to be happy happy happy and jumping for joy every second”

“Doesn’t time go really fast its moment by moment by moment, and you’ve got to grab it”
“I don’t know, maybe life is a fairytale”
“Grace, is what it is, you dance as you sail through life, and furthermore it heightens your living as of the moment”
“Like Piaf I have no regrets, Oh mercy you have to have the downers and the uppers to be a complete person.” Mimi Weddell

“Be a fighter, challenge yourself, when you decide to do something do it well, give all of yourself”
“If you try to imitate too much, then you look like nothing. Never compare yourself, YOU are YOU.”
”Feel beautiful inside and you will be beautiful outside.” Ilona Royce Smithkin (90)
“Don’t take your self too seriously.”
“Dress for the theatre of your life.” Lynn Dell 78.
“People need to get less stressed about fashion and get into the enjoyment of it”
“Take what is available and contour it towards what your needs are.”
Over the last two years I have learned so much about life and style from the wonderful people I have met and photographed for Advanced Style.They have taught me that it is important to embrace life’s up and downs, continue to learn and challenge myself,and take the opportunities that come my way. Above are some of my my favorite quotes from some of these fabulous women.

You Don’t Have To Be Perfect

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I took Ilona to an advanced screening of the Bill Cunningham documentary and on the way there she started to tell me about her eyelashes. She said,” I don’t always get them on straight, but there is beauty in imperfection.” I always have my Flip camera around to capture Ilona’s infinite wisdom and I made a small video of her explaining why you don’t have to be perfect, and how there is more beauty in imperfection. After our ride we got out of the taxi and Ilona gave me a quick dancing lesson in the rain in Times Square. For more videos of this fantastic 90 year old woman check out my new video page.