FASHION Magazine

Meet the Advanced Style ladies »

Over the past few years, photographer Ari Seth Cohen has introduced us to the world’s finest dressers through his blog Advanced Style. The blog, focusing on stylish 50+ women, has become a treasure trove for those who think outside the box, breathing some much-needed fresh air into the often ageist fashion industry. It’s safe to say the blog’s been a hit, resulting in a hardcover, a colouring book, modeling campaigns for its subjects and now a full-length documentary. On Tuesday night, Advanced Style had its world premiere in Toronto as part of the Hoc Docs film festival and technical difficulties aside; it was a sight to behold. Following Cohen and his cohort of vibrant subjects, director Lina Plioplyte delves deep into the philosophy behind over-the-top dressing at any age.

A few hours before its debut, we sat down with four of the film’s fabulous subjects—Lynn Dell Cohen (a.k.a. “The Countess of Glamour”), Tziporah Salamon, Deborah Rappaport and Joyce Carpati—and learned a great deal about confidence, thrifting and talking over each other.

Photography by David Pike

Photography by David Pike

Photography by David Pike

Photography by David Pike

Photography by David Pike

1/5

Advanced Style Tziporah Salamon

“I don’t do lady. That’s just not me. I appreciate lady but it just doesn’t work for me.”

—Tziporah Salamon

2/5

Advanced Style Lynn Dell Cohen

“I think it’s in our DNA, and then we all get influence from our grandmothers and our mothers who encourage us to go in the direction of who we are.”

—Lynn Dell Cohen

3/5

Advanced Style Joyce Carpati

“I love getting old, I want to be well but I think it’s a wonderful time of your life.”

—Joyce Carpati

4/5

Advanced Style Deborah Rappaport

“I’ve been a recycler forever, I used to teach it, I did my masters degree in it”

—Deborah Rappaport

5/5

Advanced Style Lina Plioplyte

these ladies have their distinctive styles and they don’t care what’s in fashion right now.”

—Lina Plioplyte, director