I caught Amber and Laurie from Die With Your Boots On and The Ossuary gravitating to Shakuntala Kulkarni's armor in Powerful Figures. Ben and Alexis from Vampfangs and Velvet & Vein were shooting love darts at a shoe with a giant fish hook for a heel by Thom Solo. Nick and Jillian from Emporium32 and 1925 at the Hawthorne Hotel took photos of Yolanda Cellucci’s fur-collared and sparkle-bedecked cocktail dress for a potential nod on the runway. I suspect Mandy from Modern Millie may create a look with colorful textured knits inspired by Nick Cave’s Soundsuit. Linda Mullen of Grace & Diggs has already started sketching a headpiece based off of a collapsible crinoline creation. Evan from Pub & Cloth and Stephanie from Salem Bespoke Boutique are glad there is enough Iris Apfel for the both of them.

I am eagerly anticipating the results of this fashion field trip. While I will not be walking the runway, I can’t resist a challenge! I have a colorful and eclectic closet and I’m not afraid to use it. The first outfit I put together is obviously Iris: Big round glasses paired with a scarlet velvet suit based on her wrap coat and stockings of the same color. Her accent color was turquoise, but I chose yellow to go with the Iris-style eyeglasses. My patterned scarf plays off her patterned shoes.

I also wanted to try something from Yolanda’s wardrobe and selected a skirt suit by Oscar De La Renta. Yolanda is a maximalist, so instead of just one look, I assembled a week’s worth of black/white/magenta/yellow/and blue outfits based on the suit colors and did not hold back on elements that are beyond my everyday accessorizing, like faux fur, shiny satin and velvet gloves. I admit that I lost points for a serious lack of Yolanda-style sequins.