Queen of Charm

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[Photos by Smilla]

Smilla ran into Helga,”The Queen of Charm” again the other day. Although I haven’t been to Cologne to meet her, I have developed a great appreciation of her style and personality through Smilla’s words and photos. Smilla’s writes of the meeting,

“A few minutes later I ran into the Hat-lady; Helga, with the bracelets again, and today she had her diary with pictures with her and a dog. She makes wonderful photos from roses of herself in a mirror,she is unbelievable.We plan to meet in her apartment, and she will show me her paintings . I saw some one of them in the photos and they look quite interesting.The dog belongs to a shop around, and she feels sorry for him, so she asked if she should take him for a walk sometimes. Mulan is 9 months old and a wild one, but she handles this so easy. So yesterday we went for a little walk together, and again I witnessed how easy she gets along with other people; she is definitely an attraction, band she talks to people very naturally.”

I can’t wait to see Smilla’s shots of Helga’s apartment!

Round Glasses,Warm Smile

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[Photos by Smilla]
Smilla sent me these great photos earlier this morning. She explains,” Hi Ari, here you go, this woman is 77 years old, and you wouldn’t believe it if you talked to her.She had no doubts at all about being in the blog, (that’s very special for German seniors, at least in how open she was.)We stood together for a pretty long while, and after wards I was totally frozen… I met her at an optician. Her glasses by the way are Lagerfeld, and 20 years old.

I can relate to Smilla when she says that she was frozen after talking with this wonderful woman. The people we meet have so much to share and are so full of life. There are many times when after meeting someone and hearing them reflect on their lives and style, that I need a moment to reflect. I am oftentimes left breathless, heart beating, ready to take on the days’ challenges with a renewed perspective.

Inspiration

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Here are a few more pictures from a day I spent with Debra. She dressed me up for a photo as well. Debra lives her life inspired by the color and texture of the world around her. She has been making neck pieces made from found metal since the 1970s, one of which you can see in the photo of me above. She collects zippers and scraps of old sweaters, tea bags, and old pencils and wraps them and shapes them into beautiful delicate treasures! Not only does she embrace aging with a wonderful attitude, but also her creative spirit with a desire to collaborate and share her positive energy with others!

Advanced Style Icon: Fleur Cowles

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A while back my friend Tom showed me his collection of Flair magazines, a innovative style publication created by Fleur Cowles in the 1950s. I noticed via The Women’s Room that the creative force behind this iconic magazine passed away this past year at the age of 101. Ms. Cowles once said,“I have an idea a minute,I’m a born idea myself.” If you can get a hold of some old copies of Flair you will surely be delighted and inspired.