Book Review-Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf Goodman

 

victoria-roberts-i-want-my-ashes-scattered-over-bergdorf-s-new-yorker-cartoon

Cartoon by Victoria Roberts

Based on the cartoon above, the book Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf Goodman, is a history of the famous department store along with personal stories by many designers, celebrities, and Bergdorf employees.

I had heard of the book before I picked it up (actually, I really spent a little time seeking it out due to my New York move) but I didn’t know a ton about it.  I wish that there had been more about the history of the store and more about how Bergdorf is run today.  I think that would be especially interesting given how much the retail world has changed in the last decade. The stories in the last section of the book become a bit repetitive and could have benefited from some editing.

That said, I may be nitpicking.  By the end of the book I’ve come to idolize Bergdorf’s and, now, dream of the day when perhaps my lingerie line could hang on their storied racks.

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Ultimately, the book is a bit of a long form advertisement for Bergdorf Goodman-but in a way that is quite endearing.  If you subscribe to the idea that retail therapy should be covered by health insurance this charming book is for you.

Central Park

Central Park

My neighborhood in New York might not be the most exciting area (several people have openly shamed me for living here) but the proximity to Central Park is pretty amazing.  One of the benefits of working from home is that, provided I don’t have any meetings I’m able to take a break when I want to during the day, usually around lunch time, and just walk over to the park.

I’ve done that nearly every day for the last week and although one day I managed to get caught in an absolutely brutal down pour that ruined my favorite pair of blue ballet flats the park has generally been one of my favorite places to go.  Even when it’s crowded it still seems like a bit of an oasis from the city which is nice because although I’ve lived in Chicago for years New York does have a bit more or a hard edged feel.

~Maggie

PS-I didn’t see a sign-does anyone know what that obelisk is for?

Not sure what I was thinking scheduling a showing of my condo the day after my first fashion show and the same day that I’m planning a photo shoot.

I think over-scheduled is going to be the name of the game until I make the move to NY.

23 days until move.

From the Lingerie Blog…

From my lingerie blog-I’ll also add my own comments on this but here’s my big news for the week-

I have a big announcement to make-I’m taking an extended work trip to New York!

If this all seems pretty sudden, well, that’s because it is.

A little over a week ago I was talking to a friend about my production process here in Chicago and just feeling a little stuck.  I’ve been working with a great factory here but at this time they don’t really have the machines to help me make the best products possible at the quantities that I want to make them.  This has been an ongoing issue for a while, but I don’t usually like to complain about my job because I generally feel really lucky to be doing what I do and I’ve actually received a lot of support from the factory I work with in Chicago that I probably wouldn’t have gotten as a designer just starting out in New York.

While exploring my options I joked I basically had to move to New York or start drinking heavily to minimize the stress of producing with the wrong machinery here.

Producing in New York had been an option I flirted with before, but didn’t think I was ready for.  It sort of hit me that my “joke” was basically my reality and it was time to make a change.

Trying to make lingerie in Chicago is not working at this point.  I’m still hopeful that with the increase in Chicago’s fashion production that I can bring production back here eventually and I still don’t plan on moving to NY permanently (don’t worry Mom!)

But, for now, the plan is to head to New York for three months starting in July to get things set up then coming back to Chicago and continuing to run The Giving Bride from here.  I think this is the best way for me to keep my commitment to high quality lingerie, ethically produced in America.

I think that this is a really exciting opportunity for both me personally and my business and I hope you’ll keep following along as we enter this new chapter!

~Maggie

Punk-Chaos to Couture

Comme des Garçons (Japanese, founded 1969), spring/summer 2006 Photograph by Catwalking from the Met's website

Comme des Garçons (Japanese, founded 1969), spring/summer 2006
Photograph by Catwalking from the Met’s website

If you’re at all into fashion (or you looked at this blog yesterday) you’ve already seen a lot of coverage of the Met Gala.  And, although I would never complain about a good red carpet, I thought it was important to recognize the exhibit that the gala was celebrating.

According to the Met’s website - ”The Met’s spring 2013 Costume Institute exhibition, PUNK: Chaos to Couture, will examine punk’s impact on high fashion from the movement’s birth in the early 1970s through its continuing influence today. Featuring approximately one hundred designs for men and women, the exhibition will include original punk garments and recent, directional fashion to illustrate how haute couture and ready-to-wear borrow punk’s visual symbols.

Focusing on the relationship between the punk concept of “do-it-yourself” and the couture concept of “made-to-measure,” the seven galleries will be organized around the materials, techniques, and embellishments associated with the anti-establishment style. Themes will include New York and London, which will tell punk’s origin story as a tale of two cities, followed by Clothes for Heroes and four manifestations of the D.I.Y. aesthetic—HardwareBricolageGraffiti and Agitprop, and Destroy.

Presented as an immersive multimedia, multisensory experience, the clothes will be animated with period music videos and soundscaping audio techniques.”

Rodarte (American, founded 2005) Vogue, July 2008 Photograph by David Sims from the Met website

Rodarte (American, founded 2005)
Vogue, July 2008
Photograph by David Sims from the Met website

Sounds pretty cool!  Now how do we get this exhibit to come to Chicago?

~Maggie