I was so moved by all of the responses to last week’s post and feel inspired to continue our reinvention journey together. Of course, for me, every journey needs a wardrobe. One of the most inspiring and life-giving experiences I had over the last year was going to Iceland to shoot the Spring/Summer 2019 collection for Matthildur.
I had known the creator, Matthildur Halldorsdottir, through her earlier work as one of a trio from Iceland behind the brand, Elm Design. I had always felt a kinship with her as she came to fashion through her work in drama therapy and dance. Matthildhur relocated to Peru and used the opportunity to evolve herself and her connection to women, clothing, movement, sustainability, reinvention, and modernity. Using locally sourced textiles, small producers that allow a human relationship to form and grow between designer and maker, her clothes are graceful, comfortable and show her respect for women and the earth. In the process of working with Matthildhur, I feel honored to say she is now my friend.
In a very funny kind of way as I was producing content for this post, it became very clear that there were a number of pictures in this campaign of me smiling. And public pictures of me smiling are few and far between. I think that says something about the way the clothes made me feel as well as all the artists I was collaborating with to make this campaign possible. In light of our conversation last week, I think my next step should be unpacking all the reasons why this campaign made me feel so happy and alive and that might just tell me something about the kind of work I need to be seeking as I move into the next reinvention of the Accidental Icon. It might just also tell you something about what happens when you wear Mathhildhur’s clothes.
For the purpose of transparency, I have been paid for this post.
This photo is lovely, your smile infectious!
Your smile is transformative. I’ve seen Elm but was hesitant to order from them but will definitely give them a second look.
Thanks for the continued inspiration. The journey of self discovery is indeed its own purpose. I am continuously inspired to relish it as its end leads only to a new beginning.
It’s nice to see you smiling! It elevates everything.
I was smiling looking at her clothing, until I saw the price tag hahaha. Oh well, luckily I get happy staying in my modest clothing budget. I’ve been a serial reinvent myself person my entire life. Growing up I thought it meant I was a quitter. I wasn’t. I just knew when it was time to move on. I’m in awe of people that say they’ve worked the same job for 36 years! Even my surroundings change continuously. At 66 options or maybe the desire to sacrifice for change has diminished. I do things on a smaller scale to get that energizing rush that comes from change. I look forward to seeing where your path leads you. I’m at that floundering stage. I haven’t put my finger on what it is I should/need pursue.
Its not actually possible to sell clothing cheaper unless it’s mass-produced and/or made by exploitation. As Americans, we have become so accustomed to both that we don’t realize the fair value of things and assume higher prices are an object of ridicule or even derision. Its more ethical and compassionate to buy fewer, more fairly-priced items.
Agreed and I am hoping all the return to sewing and knitting can help us be more creative when it comes to recycling and reusing.
‘Slightly giddy’ would never have come to mind when I think of your modeling work UNTIL seeing the shot above. How lovely to recognize how the way the work, the clothes and the experience of it all can make us feel and when we need to change the energy we’re seeking.
Thank you for sharing this candid photo with us. I hope you do continue to bring that beautiful happiness to more of your imagery.
It is always a good idea to see what makes you truly happy, figure out why, and keep it going. Glad you are doing that. I have clothes that makes me feel simply delightful.
Thank you for being such an inspiration to me and others and sharing your journey with us! I found you just when I was feeling old and over; you’ve shown me this doesn’t have to be the case.
I’m just fascinated by this photo of you lying against the mossy green landscape. The contrast in textures is so perfectly balanced that I can’t look away but it’s also the pose…like you’re a delicate, intricate pinky-purple poppy cradled safely in a dreamworld of magical things to come…
We’ve had a long, harsh winter in my neck of the woods so this image makes me smile too.
Good morning,
Glad you are getting back in your stride. We all have our ups and downs. The photo in pink dress is fabulous. Totally brilliant and artful in its own right. The dress was wonderful. I will explore the designer.
Yesterday I took some vintage linen by Jeanne Englehart (under the Flax label) pieces to be altered. Also four pieces from a designer in St. Remy Provence need some adjustments. I love all these pieces from around 2000. This is what makes warm weather fun for me. While in the shop, the owner and another client and I got so excited over the clothing we were trying on. It was an impromptu party celebrating incredible fashion. This made a forever memory for all three of us.
This is what clothing can do… it is not just something to wear!
Thanks for blogging.
You are inspiring
I’d like to see some of ty he pictures with you wearing the clothing!
Reinvention? Yes!
Enjoy the journey.
You are my inspiration! Great clothes, great hair…effervescent, positive thinking, a go do’er, beautiful skin & eyebrows and a beautiful person inside and out! You are gorgeous. Thank you for sharing, and the designer’s name of your fab clothing. On with the Reinvention & Journey of the Accidental Icon! Thank you for being there for all of us!
Beautiful post and photos. Thank you for inspiring me today…
Hello dear Lyn and Inspirational fellow woman and earth shaker,
I highlighted a sentence while I was reading… scrolled down and was shocked to see a smile… wow! and then continued reading and found you were as surprised. You wrote, “…her clothes are graceful, comfortable and show her respect for women and the earth.” Yes, and being out of the grey city and breathing all that oxygen and earth, surrounded by the tones of emerald, sap, prussian, veridian greens … such lush colors… such delicious spaces and textures in which to wrap yourself. Wonderful. You bring to the written word a stage, both kinds. The stage of sheer childlike joy that has never left me and others who delight in the renewed day… and the world stage… to display on it your inner landscape. Your whimsy comes through.. the materials are lovely, flowing, playful, covering your glowing youthful skin. Beauty… Such delight. I wish I were there with you. Watching, flowing, listening…. breathing…
I love your adventures. I also love your new haircut, I believe that each reinvention should have a new do, you look gorgeous. Your last do was sophisticated but this look is cheeky and youthful on you.
I love you and your writing. Please continue. xo
So glad you are continuing with your posts, you are awesome 🙂
Clothes that make you smile are far better than any other. It awakens all that is good for my soul! Otherwise I don’t care what I wear!
I really look forward to your posts. You have such a great outlook on life. Thanks for sharing your life with us.
Interesting, thoughtful collection.
You are adorable ! Enough said.
I think it is wonderful that wearing these clothes made you feel such relaxed joy! Hopefully, we all have pieces in our wardrobes that make us feel that way. And yes–we should be thinking how to reinvent ourselves so that we find even more joy in our every day lives!
Sounds like you enjoyed the creative element of fashion! Perhaps you should create your own label for others…perhaps collaborate with several designers…even to design a foundation wardrobe for older women and the issues they face…and do it for various lifestyle locations…
I just found you! Thanks for being here. You are an inspiration even for an 81-year-old who is still “kickin’ it.” ~
Barbara Christian, Chagrin Falls, OH
I love your tenacity, and the journey of reinvention is beautiful. Thank you for your inspiration to seek out the beauty all around us and causing myself to did deeper into what truly inspires me in my own journey!!
I like you and your style!
Iceland, soul smile inducing clothes, and pizza! Phoenix is rising!
I love the way you continue to evolve in your life and share it. Good lesson for all of us. Thank you for that. I love to see you smile.
These may be two of my favourite images of you, ever, Lyn! Any content that is concerning “women, clothing, movement, sustainability, reinvention, and modernity” is relevant to me. We live in a time of urgency. Fashion has a role, not clearly understood, to play in answering that. We need your intelligent, sensitive, searching nature and the reach you have developed and I thank you for this conversation. I have been following along since early days.
I send love
So glad you’re the model for Matthildur!! I’ve started to carry the line in my store ISTINA last season and I love it. The Peruvian cotton feels wonderful on the skin.
Since we carry lines for “women of a certain age”–I think of our customers as “the cool grays”–I always enjoy reading about your latest journey through life and fashion.
I’m a big fan!
To: Lyn: I love your “fun and colorful” style, the fact that you dress with class, and the fact that you are NOT a celebrity (in the traditional sense of the word). I have two questions: Who takes all the photos (which are great) and is the color of your hair (which is beautiful) totally natural? From: Lynn
And we do not see your eyes in most of your pics. So kudos for letting us see into another genuine, authentic, and real part of you.
I would love to go to Iceland. I can’t wait to see some of the clothes you modeled and
some of the scenery. I love wearing some of the styles that we had in the 70’s and 80’s. Paisley, plaid, shirt dresses, lovely soft flowy fabrics with beautiful pastel flowers on them. Pink and fuchsia are my favorite colors as well as cornflower blue and vibrant dark green. Spring has such inspiring colors. Looking forward to see pictures of your upcoming modeling venture.
I simply adore you! You have become an “accidental inspiration”, I can’t even remember how I discovered your website? Which, is a perfect “accident”. This photo of you, actually took my breath away. Absolutely beautiful…always inspiring me to look, feel and create better, every day.
You look beautiful when you smile you should smile more often
That is very interesting, Lyn! Clothing *does* affect our mood, our productivity, etc. I look forward to reading about your discoveries behind your happy reaction in these clothes.
I just wanted to say what beautiful clothes. And top marks to Matthildur for using you in the collection.
At 52 nothing annoys me more than opening a fashion magazine and seeing nothing but 18 to 25 year olds being used to try to sell me everything(fashion,perfumes,anti aging cream etc)……so much so I don’t buy the magazines anyore.
I love your posts… .keep reinventing.
So glad you enjoyed Iceland!!! I live on Heimaey, Vestmannaeyjar islands ! Have been following you for about a year now . Just wanted you to know , you Have a fan here Have a great weekend
Yesterday I saw the movie, set in Iceland, Woman at War….it is a wonderful movie…this photo of you upon the landscape totally resonates…brava!
I love the relaxed style and especially your hair!
Thanks for such a trusting sharing of you delighting in a taste of something, the presence of someone and their comment . . . whatever, it’s fun seeing ‘happy’. I love the freeness of your pose, and the fun mauve tones of dress and shoes in that sensuous dress; the apparent trusting being on an angular slope . . . but without much of a care as you’re guarded by the stone lion type Feng Shui type dog up and to your left (I see forms in all sorts of things). This is a lovely connection. Blessings!
Beautiful
I think certain clothes are capable of touching and triggering something inside us. Perhaps it’s something deep and meaningful…perhaps it’s merely fun and frivolous and sits just beneath the surface. But wherever it lies, whatever it represents, it seems to come to life when we put on an item of clothing that reflects this part of us.
I have a pair of menswear-pattern-mix Alembika punto pants that I bought in New York last fall. I absolutely love them, and I get compliments whenever I wear them. It’s not just that they’re fabulously cool. I think what people are responding to is the joy and confidence I feel, which we all know spirals outward. Put on something that makes you feel great, and suddenly it’s visible and contagious.
Dear Icon, I started following you last year as I loved the story behind the name of your blog and the positive message about ageing with style. It’s been interesting to read your candid thoughts you share about fashion, emotions and evolution. I find it really comforting to know others are exploring and experiencing similar things in life. Love your work!
I have not been following that long but long enough to sense a kindred spirit. Thank you for being who you are and sharing it with us. At 72 (and very soon to be 73), I need to hear the voices.
Ive only recently been aware of you and your vivacious spirit…you inspire me to explore new venures. Cheers Debbie Macquarie
Wow! So you’re changing it up, I’m fascinated to see where this is going, you look very happy, that’s awesome!
I definitely noticed all the smiles in the photos from this series; I particularly loved the one of you eating something (included in this post). There is a gleam in your eye like a child that has been caught doing something naughty! The clothes are lovely and the settings are gorgeous and powerful.
Clothes have such an impact of your self esteem, your mood and your relationship with others. Happy clothes mean a happy, more joyful person which means a more joyful planet. Now my only dilemna is how to reconcile the joy I feel when wearing happy clothes with making sure they are made in a way that makes our planet happy too!
Nice to see you again! Thank you for some other informative website. Where else may I am getting that type of information written in such a perfect means?
Dearest Lyn ,
I love ❤ every thing about you. You rock my world ‼
. Sincerely,
. Frank Martin
A part of us has to die to transform; and a part of us dies if we don’t. Which part will prevail?
JETT PSARIS
wow you look so amazing thanks for sharing an inspiration mattildur.