Accidental Icon, the Blogger Who Has It All: Age, Brains and Style

At an age when many people are thinking about retirement, Lyn Slater has launched a whole new career—as a style blogger. At 62, she's in her second year of blogging, while maintaining a successful full-time career as a professor of law and child welfare at Fordham University. Yes, we want to be her when we grow up.

Slater's blog, Accidental Icon, is less than a year old, but she's already been featured on Advanced Style, has collaborated with Uniqlo, and has hinted on her Instagram (which, by the way, has 17.2k followers) that she's got something coming up soon with Refinery29.

In the spare time that she somehow carves out, she's been taking classes at Fashion Institute of Technology in subjects including jewelry design, social media, styling and branding. She also loves spending with her daughter and granddaughter, and taking advantage of NYC's many art galleries and museums.

Modeling, on the other hand, hasn't always come naturally.

“Believe it or not I am actually a bit shy and really don’t love having my picture taken, though I have to say I am getting used to it,” she says. Read on for our interview with the Accidental Icon.

How long have you been blogging?
“I have been blogging since September 2014, so a little over a year.”

2. How did you hear about IFB and why did you decide to join?
“I found IFB when I was researching fashion blogs, prior to deciding to start one. I decided to join because I did not know much about blogging and IFB has such an extensive, easily searchable library of articles, about every topic that a fashion blogger would ever need to consider.”

3. How does the city you live in influence your style?
“Well I live in a global cultural capital, New York City, and that influences my style in multiple ways. I have access to designers, established and emerging, boutiques, consignment and vintage stores and two of the best fashion schools in the country. I have a very urban, artistic and intellectual style, minimalist, lots of black and white and am influenced by the many creatives who migrate here and develop art and culture.”

4. Where do you shop?
“I shop at consignment stores that specialize in Japanese designers, vintage shows and flea markets, Dover Street Market and a boutique in SOHO called IF that has been around since the 80’s.”

5. Can you tell us a little about where you're from originally and how you first became interested in fashion?
“I am from the suburbs about 20 minutes north of the city, a small town on the Hudson. Even as a child I was obsessed with fashion. I was always involved in putting together outfits and thought about how I dressed my dolls and myself. I loved looking at the clothes in movies, magazines and on the television from as early as I can remember. My grandmother was an exceptionally stylish woman with whom I enjoyed a close relationship and she influenced me as well.”

6. How would you describe your style?
“Minimalist, avant garde, nonchalant, monochrome.”

7. Do you blog full time? If not, how do you manage to work it into your schedule?
“I do not blog full-time, I am still working full-time as an academic. This has been challenging but the way I have handled it is to post three times a week. On Monday I post an outfit that triggers an essay, Wednesday I give the details on the outfit and another short essay and on Friday I post links to fashion related articles, videos and photos that are more under the radar so to speak and so aren’t being repeated across so many platforms. What also helps is that my photographer is also my partner and so we try to make taking photos a fun experience. He and I will usually have a nice lunch or dinner while we are shooting. It also makes editing easier too.”

8. What has been most surprising to you about having a personal style blog?
“What has been very surprising to me is how well the blog has been received and by an audience that is diverse across age. I have to say that Instagram has really helped me and I have made numerous important connections on that platform that have helped the blog. The best surprise of all has been how the blog has allowed me to meet many talented and amazing people of all ages: designers, photographers, stylists, bloggers and artists. The opportunities for engagement and collaboration are endless.”

9. Are you monetizing your blog? What do you find works best for you?
“At this point I have not yet started to monetize the blog, although I have earned money from jobs that have come from the blog such as the recent project I did with UNIQLO. If I could generate more income through collaborations such as that I think I would prefer it to affiliate linking or other passive income opportunities.”

10. Who takes your photographs?
“The fabulous Calvin Lom, my partner.”

Photos via Accidental Icon

Follow Lyn on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.