July 21, 2014
Sartorial style becomes a philosophy of life in this spirited memoir by Halbreich (Secrets of a Fashion Therapist), Bergdorf Goodman’s legendary personal shopper and the subject of the 2013 documentary Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s. From her affluent childhood in 1930s Chicago, through her moneyed but turbulent married life in New York, to her divorce and nervous breakdown at middle age, Halbreich recounts her life in clothes. High-end shopping had long been her major consolation when, in 1977, she found her calling: to help women—rich and poor, famous and obscure—find themselves by finding the right outfit at Bergdorf’s. When dressing clients, Halbreich explains, “I try to steer them away from the herd and make them understand the beauty of individuality.” She is a beacon of good taste and good sense, particularly when sharing her tart opinions on the vulgar fashion trends of the past quarter-century. The downside to her philosophizing is a tendency to lapse into cliché. (Perhaps we do not need a personal shopper to pronounce that when she was unhappy she did not know herself, whereas “now I am happy, because I do know myself.”) Still, Halbreich comes across as sage and gracious as she narrates a life full of incident, taking us inside the fashion industry and one of its great institutions. Agent: Carol Mann, Carol Mann Agency.
August 15, 2014
For 40 years, Halbreich (Secrets of a Fashion Therapist: What You Can Learn Behind the Dressing Room Door, 1997) has created fashion magic as a personal shopper with Bergdorf Goodman. Her revealing memoir chronicles her career and personal life.The author, 86, details her privileged upbringing in an affluent Chicago suburb during the 1930s. "From childhood to child bride to a childish mother, I had always been taken care of," she writes. An early marriage transplanted Halbreich to the more competitive East Coast, and New York, she writes, "was an introduction to an aggressive pursuit of fashion I had never before known." When the author's 20-year marriage crumbled, she spiraled into depression, ultimately requiring psychiatric hospitalization. However, she commenced a new life when a friend convinced her to seek employment at Bergdorf Goodman. The author's sense of style trumped her lack of sales talent, and the novice sales clerk's attire drew comment from fashion icon Carla Fendi. "I never had to look for work or even make a resume for that matter," writes Halbreich. "My appearance, the way I paired a print or tied a blouse, gave the illusion of confidence and mastery." After more than a year without making a single sale, Halbreich suggested to management that she change her role to that of personal shopper. The author meticulously analyzes her role in her wealthy clients' lives, a role that encompasses more than finding the perfect cashmere sweater. "I wanted to give my ladies fortitude in all things, and in that they felt better for just having asked," she writes. "Like lighting a candle in a church, coming to see me was a ritual of comfort." Halbreich describes her growing independence while an unlikely romance brought stability and happiness. An intimate sojourn through the dressing rooms of one of America's most luxurious department stores.
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August 1, 2014
Clotheshorses will need no introduction to media darling Halbreich. Now 86, she is still a fixture at Bergdorf Goodman, dispensing advice, one-liners, and outfits that work for women who can afford them. In her cheeky, straightforward voice (aided by coauthor Paley), she runs through a lifetime of loving a good piece of apparel, from trying on her mother's and grandmother's clothing and accessories to marrying and moving to New York, but with her own Chicago style, to finally finding a life as a personal shopper (a term she dislikes). Readers won't learn much about Halbreich's two children (she admits parenting was rather boring ), but they love her still, as do the multiple generations of couture-seeking clients she's spent almost 40 years shepherding through weddings, divorces, and funerals, making sure they look great and feel comfortable. As Halbreich's long career is limned, she mentions the many celebrities and bright lights she's helped through the years; readers, too, will be helped by Halbreich's personal admissions of desperation and loneliness and how she overcame them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)