As new generations of “Sex and the City” fans, who are now binge-watching the series on Netflix, can attest, the ’90s-started series stands the test of time from a fashion perspective.
The same might be said of stylist Patricia Field, whose original choices for Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis still hold up on the style front. But the New York-based Field has more of a been-there-done-that attitude, having long since moved on to other pursuits. Chief among them is her ArtFashion Gallery at 200 Broadway, an emporium showcasing six or so underexposed designers, custom jewelry, designer vintage and the Patricia Field Collections.
Regarding “Sex and the City’s” newfound fan base, Field, who served as costume designer for the show’s six seasons and the two offshoot feature films, said, “I’m glad they’re excited. I’m very happy about that. However, I did it. I don’t really feel inspired to repeat it. I like it. I love it, but I’m not really trying to taker advantage of it.”
However prescient the show seemed from its 1998 debut on HBO with Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw character planted in her apartment working with a Mac computer, her Field-selected clothing like leotards, vintage dresses, Manolo Blahniks, ballet skirts and designer labels also ring true now. “People seem to like the fashion. I just did what I did and know how to do,” Field said. “I wasn’t really conscious of, ‘Oh, I’m going to make some kind of fabulous fashion or whatever.’ It was just a natural process.”
Field said she stays in touch with Parker, Cattrall and the cast — “some more than others. We definitely stay in touch. We did a lot together.” Its lasting influence is something that she never really thinks about. “It was my show [for costume design]. I created [that part] so I didn’t have that attitude about it. It was my job,” said Field, who has handled costume design for several other shows including the breakout season of “Emily in Paris,” ABC’s “Ugly Betty,” and consulting on Cattrall’s wardrobe for “Glamorous” with the Los Angeles-based designer Nancy Gould. Others know Field’s finery from the 2006 feature film “The Devil Wears Prada.”
Fashion designers might follow that lead, said Field, who said that being conscientious about wanting to be famous “immediately puts a boring tone on fashion,” she said. “You have to feel what you’re doing. You have to enjoy what you’re doing, put it out there, and not be calculated.”
On Sunday she will be styling a dog fashion show — you read that right — at Flying Solo downtown. The location’s name is fitting, considering Field’s unmatchable instincts for fashion. During the “Patricia Field x ‘Charlie’ Rescue Dog Fashion Show Birthday Party,” the dogs will wear styles from the “Kiss the Pups NYC for Patricia Field ArtFashion” collection. The event is being held in honor of the 18th birthday of “Charlie,” a Pomeranian rescue dog that belongs to Pretty Connected’s Lara Eurdolian, who is pitching in with Sunday’s styling. The Tony and Grammy-nominated performer Orfeh is expected to sing “Happy Birthday” and “America’s Next Top Model” finalist Khrystyana Kazakova will hit the catwalk with the dogs and emcee the show. There will also be a book signing for “Charlie at the Pom Springs Hotel,” Eurdolian’s children’s book about her prized pet for which Field wrote the foreword.
Field misses the two miniature sister poodles that she once had, but they have not been replaced. “All of my friends have dogs so we make a little doggy party,” she said,
While styling a bunch of dogs for a runway show might sound like an irascible task, Field said you start with their haircuts, usually going with whatever styles they already have, and then get some clothes that you like for them. In this case, the animals will be suited up in one-of-a-kind pieces from Kiss The Dogs NYC’s James Suozzi, whose dog outfits are sold in Field’s gallery. Individual style depends on the owners and how they want to present. “It’s kind of easy-breezy. It’s not very formal,” she said. “If people are inspired [to adopt rescue dogs], I’d be very happy.”
Field is less inspired about the state of fashion. Walking around the streets of New York, what strikes her about the way people are dressing is “bor-ing, It’s very much a uniform. I don’t see any originality,” Field said. “It’s important to a person’s creativity.”
She chalks up fashion’s current state of boredom to a few things. “It’s comfort driven. And people are influenced, number one by affordable, and number two, wearable. Fashion is not overdone or exaggerated. It’s kind of simple,” Field said, adding that “exciting fashion” is needed to turn things around. “We love Thierry Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier, but it also has to be affordable.”
People take fashion too seriously from her standpoint. “It’s a creative experience. If you just follow what you see in a magazine or wherever…it’s your chance to be unique and create your own style. That’s what I love about fashion — it’s a chance to be original.”
Street style is enlivened in certain pockets of New York City including the East Village, uptown and the Lower East Side. Field’s gallery is located where the Lower East Side meets Chinatown. “The thing I like about where I am is that it’s very green and nice, where vintage shops have been sprouting up.” Down time is spent sitting on her balcony looking out at the East River, meeting up with friends and going to dinner at favorite haunts like Pylos. “I’ve lived in New York a long time and I’ve always found it very interesting. It still is, but it’s not necessarily a special elevation of interest. It’s good.”
Al in all, Field is very content with her life in New York. “I’m not looking everywhere for something to do to be honest,” she said.
