Corey Lynn Calter Loves Advanced Style

Last Spring I met designer Corey Lynn Calter and team, for lunch in the West Village, and an idea was born. They were inspired by the style and spirit of ladies, like Ilona Royce Smithkin(above), and thought it would be great fun to have them self style the CLC collection for a small shoot. We called up 91 year old artist and performer, Ilona Royce Smithkin, and she thought this sounded like a grand idea.

[Video by Lina Plioplyte]

After Mary,one of Advanced Style's chicest ladies, agreed as well, we started planning two exciting days of shooting.Mary was a real sport, shooting in over 100 degree weather, but keeping her cool the whole time. Ilona and Mary had a wonderful time making the clothes their own. They added their signature accessories,mixed and matched pieces to their liking,and used their years of fashion experience to style magnificent outfits.Check out the video of Ilona, above, explaining why Corey's designs can be worn by women of all ages.

Dita Von Teese Meets Ilona Royce Smithkin

[Photo from Getty Images]

Yesterday Ilona and I had a wonderful time celebrating the launch of Dita Von Teese's new signature cocktail " The Cointreau MargaDita". By the end of the night Ilona announced with a grand smile on her face, "You know what I think Tequila is better than Vodka." Dita and Ilona share a love of style,art, and performance. Most importantly they both inspire people to be individuals and to stay true to themselves. For more Ilona Inspiration check out her videos HERE and enjoy a peak into her cabaret performance below!

Ilona Royce Smithkin and her Mermaids

Today I went to visit my friend, 91 year old Ilona Royce Smithkin, to take a look at her mermaid drawings. Ilona has been drawing mermaids for about two years and she would like to make a book of them someday. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. If you are interested in purchasing one email me at Advancedstyleinfo@gmail.com and I'll contact Ilona for you.

Advanced Style Videos

Thanks to everyone who helped make our Advanced Style/NOWNESS video a huge success. My goal is to inspire people to look at aging in a new light. I hope these videos help people get over their fears of getting older, and embrace the wisdom and strength that comes with age. Lina Plioplyte and I plan to make a grand documentary about age and style.Here are is some more great footage from Lina and me. I hope you enjoy and feel free to email me with your feedback to Advancedstyleinfo@gmail.com or find me on Twitter AriSethCohen .

Advanced Style: Tziporah Salamon from teenage peanut video productions on Vimeo.

Advanced Style presents: Maryann from teenage peanut video productions on Vimeo.

Advanced Style: Debra goes thrifting! from teenage peanut video productions on Vimeo.

Advanced Style Presents: Malcah Zeldis from teenage peanut video productions on Vimeo.

Advanced Style Presents: Ilona Royce Smithkin from teenage peanut video productions on Vimeo.

Here is some of my Flip Camera footage of some of our favorite Advanced Style Fashionistas.

The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas

Jenny

Iris Apfel

Alice Carey

Debra Rapoport and Ari Seth Cohen

Looking Great At 80

Victoria MacKenzie-Childs

Mary

Jackie Tajah Murdock

Ilona Royce Smithkin: Before the Eyelashes

One of our very favorite ladies, Ilona Royce Smithkin, has had a very busy couple of weeks. After I wrote an article about her for The Huffington Post, NBC New York decided to interview for their nightly program LX New York. The night before, we had dinner at The Waverly Inn, and met Mayor Bloomberg. This 90 year old woman is busier than ever and there is never a dull moment when we hang out together.

Ilona was a hit even before she had her iconic eyelashes. The other day I received a wonderful email from a woman who remembered meeting Ilona as a child. Read her note and enjoy some vintage photos of this amazing 90 year old below:

There is my mother and I in front of the portrait she painted

Hi Ari,

When I was growing up in Wantagh Long Island and NYC, NY and my parents Rae (Rachel) and Ernie Miller had an art gallery in our home.They gave Ilona Smithkin a one woman show plus showed her work and sold many of her paintings to friends and neighbors.Our house was filled with her paintings. She did a fabulous portrait of my mother that she cherished till she died. Ilona came out to the shows at our house often.I have such fond memories of her. We all sat for portraits in her studio in NYC. I would LOVE to share some old photos with her and let her know how much I remember her.I am including a few old photos here, thanks for your stories on her.

Here she is in our hallway by a wall of her paintings, curled up with our dog Button

There is one of Ilona's larger nudes in our basement part of the gallery...almost caused a scandal in our little suburbs...ha.

One of her nudes with my folks and I years later

Ilona with my mom comforting me for whatever reason. I think my long skirt itched!

For more on this amazing woman watch the clip below:

Mayor Bloomberg at The Waverly Inn

Last night I had a very special dinner with Maayan, Ilona and the wonderful owner of the Waverly Inn. Ilona has lived in the West Village for over 56 years and she often gets noticed for her wonderful style and amazing eyelashes.She was delighted to dine at one of her neighborhood's most popular haunts. While dining I noticed that Mayor Bloomberg and Rupert Murdoch were just a few tables away. I got up and introduced myself and told them that they had to meet one of the Village's most spectacular women. The gentleman were very gracious and they told me to grab a camera and bring Ilona over. I took a quick photo of this dazzling pair and we returned to our table for a night to remember.

Times Square

Here is your weekly dose of your favorite 90 year old Ilona Smithkin. These shots were taken near Times Square after we attended a screening of the Bill Cunningham Documentary.CLICK HERE to check out the great documentary Ilona Upstairs by Melissa Hammel. I have the flu today but promise some upcoming great new material.