More than 10 years ago, PEM presented Rare Bird of Fashion, an exhibition devoted to Iris Apfel's bold style, and which some of you readers may have been lucky enough to have experienced in person.

The legacy of that show still resonates in the museum’s halls today because barely a day goes by where we do not hear Iris's name mentioned from the lips of one of our visitors. Iris — the international style icon, former interior decorator of the White House (serving nine administrations), collector, businesswoman and the subject of a 2016 documentary by Albert Maysles.

There is enormous respect and downright affection for Iris that is woven into the tapestry that is PEM, so when we heard that she was to celebrate her 100th birthday this month, (she rocketed into this world on August 29, 1921) we could not let it go by without noting the occasion in some way. In conjunction with a series of events, we organized a pop-up merchandising selection in the Museum Shop, and Iris made it easy. Because during the lockdown, when many of us were brushing up on our culinary skills or searching our floors for that missing jigsaw puzzle piece, Iris was at work. She has been busy partnering with companies to launch new lines of items and was very involved with each project to ensure that her signature style was represented. Many of these lines launched in August to coincide with her centennial, and Iris gave PEM’s shop the inside track to offer our visitors some of the fruits of her labors.

Zenni Optical has collaborated with Iris to create a signature line of eyeglasses, prescriptions, blue blockers and readers. Zenni is almost exclusively available online, so the PEM Shop will be one of only a few brick-and-mortar retailers to offer their glasses. Look for these products in the shop in October, along with the date for a scheduled trunk show.