Food & Drink
Advanced Style: The Documentary
By Seattle Mag October 2, 2014
As I get older and my concern for what people think of what I wear softens and my sartorial daring ramps up, I often think of these lines from Jenny Joseph’s poem “When I am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple”:
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
How liberating—to get up in the morning and wear whatever you want with no regard for anyone else’s opinion—which is exactly the sentiment of the women on Ari Seth Cohen’s Advanced Style blog, in his book of the same name and now, a documentary.
Airing in Seattle on Friday, October 3, at SIFF, Advanced Style is a celebration of the incredible women—all over 50 and some almost 100—with spectacular, daring personal style who Cohen has been documenting for years on his blog. Viewers get to know these women, share in their enthusiasm for dressing and watch them blossom under the always tender, trustworthy and protective lens of Cohen, who has befriended them all over the years.
It’s an excellent fashion documentary—enjoyable, interesting, inspiring and I highly recommend it for anyone who cares about growing old in style. As an added bonus, Cohen once lived in Seattle and worked at the now-closed Blackbird menswear shop before moving to New York to find his destiny.