Zelda Kaplan renews our faith in the ability to be cool in New York City far after our 30th birthdays. She proclaims that “so many young people are so afraid of becoming old. I would like them to know that from someone who is ninety-four years young, it is fun to be old.” With such an effervescent presence in the world and a passport that has been stamped to death, Zelda is very much alive! She captivates humanity with her dramatic ensembles and zest for life.
Check out these designs that she created from fabrics brought back from her travels.
Zelda is a self-proclaimed “citizen of the world.” She spent half of her life relaxing and the other half crusading. For the last ninety or so years, she has been a ballroom dancer, a women’s golf pro, a doctor’s wife and a humanitarian. She considers herself a New Yorker at heart and exclaims that one must live for the city’s energy and look forward to coming home to be a part of the “New Yorker club.”
In a recent interview by StyleLikeU, Zelda gets real…in her closet. She talks about her days of living in mud huts in Africa while gently educating women against the damaging effects of clitoral surgery. She explains that it was her curiosity that took her there, not her courage. Zelda has an immense openness for others and in the interview she muses, “You see…I never, never, never tell anyone they shouldn’t do anything.” She is an absolute living doll and has such a pure sense of positivity. Check out the StyleLikeU trailer from the interview below.
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYOfcWmUOGo 425×344]
It’s so comforting hearing someone talk about embracing life and aging. As an “emerging adult,” I can’t help but to live in fear of the next twenty or thirty years. But really…why not celebrate maturity and self-actualization? Maybe I should just put on my oversized sunglasses and live curiously- Zelda style.
photo cred: www.villagevoice.com, www.guestofaguest.com, Joyce Tenneson – www.thefrasergallery.com
