Advanced Style review: New York fashionistas go their own way in doco

REVIEW: The elderly New York fashion plates of Advanced Style charmingly pay no heed to what’s on trend.

Advanced Style (PG)

Director: Lina Plioplyte (documentary debut)

Starring: Joyce Carpati, Jacquie Murdock, Lynn Dell, Zelda Kaplan, Ari Cohen

Rating : ***

Having the wherewithal to wear it all

A delightful documentary about a vibrant fashion movement that has sprung up around a collection of trendsetting elderly women in New York City.

Elegance ... Advanced Style fashionista Lynne Dell Cohen, aged 81, is also a veteran NYC boutique owner.

At an average age of just shy of 80, these feisty fashionistas are blissfully oblivious to what the style gurus are hyping as the ‘in thing’ right now.

To the Advanced Style gang — whose exploits and ensembles are chronicled in a popular blog — the more ‘out there’ an outfit can be, the better.

Sheer chic ... the elderly fashion plates of Advanced Style, Lynn Dell Cohen, left, and Ilona Royce Smithkin.

It is no generalisation to observe that every one of the women we meet here has a remarkable history to share.

However, it is what the subjects are getting up to in the present day that really resonates throughout the film.

Each lady sees her wardrobe as an open-air exhibit on permanent display. The sidewalks are their catwalk.

Ilona Royce Smithkin, aged 94, makes her own outfits ... and her own eyelashes

Their unusual methods of sourcing, designing, accessorising and wearing garments often have to seen to be believed. Amazingly, having a camera tracking their every move does not inhibit any of their never-ending fashion shows.

There is an inspirational spirit of rebellion at work here that has nothing to do with the manufactured impulses triggered by the global fashion industry.

These sisters of a certain age are strictly doing it for themselves. Long may they go on doing so.

Originally published as Advanced Style review: New York fashionistas go their own way in doco