Episode 19: Costume Designer, Stylist, Patricia Field

PATRICIA FIELD,  is a native New Yorker and one of fashion's greatest visionaries whose multi-faceted career has spanned more than five decades. 

Her distinctive approach to dressing is evident through her work as a costume designer. Field single handedly changed the way women dress through the HBO series Sex and the City  and it's feature films. For her work on SATC Field won an Emmy Award and received five nominations for Best Costume Design. 

Field also received an Academy Award nomination for the film, The Devil Wears Prada  as well as continued recognition for her work on television series such as Ugly Betty, Hope & Faith, and most recently for the hit Netflix series, Emily in Paris.

Field is also a seasoned retailer, establishing her eponymous boutique in New York City in 1966, which remained a fashion landmark for 50 years.

In 2016 Field sold her iconic retail property and launched a new concept, ARTFASHION.  Born out of her long personal ties to New York art community legends like Keith Haring and Basquiat, ARTFASHION now sees Field as curator, working with an impressive group of today’s talented visual artists who, under Field’s guidance, have applied their unique aesthetics to hand painted one-of-a-kind clothing.

In February 2023, Patricia published her memoir, Pat in the City: My Life of Fashion, Style, and Breaking All the Rules, where she chronicles everything from love, passion, culture, and the phenomenon that occurs when all three intersect with art.
Pat Field on instagram

Chapters

• 3:32 Growing Up in NY
• 9:09 Opens First Store
• 15:33 Boutique Staff and Merchandising
• 24:25 Book Launch
• 27:49 Costume Design
• 31:04 Meryl Streep
• 34:26 Legacy
• 36:00 Cafe Tabac

Transcript

SACT with PATRICIA FIELD

[00:00:00] INTRO: Welcome to Sundays at Cafe Back, the podcast. This podcast series is an extension of our film's mission to firm and extol the courage, strength, and joy in our LGBTQ plus community. Through the preservation and sharing of our personal stories and the collective histories we live through and change, I'm your host. Wanda Acosta.

[00:00:30] WANDA ACOSTA: Today, I'm so excited to welcome to the studio, the fabulous and talented costume designer, fashion stylist, New York Fashion Icon, and the legend Patricia Field. She was the owner of the renowned boutique Patricia Field in New York City for 50 years. She was the costume designer for the film. The Devil Wears Prada, the series Sex and the and it's subsequent films. And most recently, she created the wardrobe for the series Emily in Paris, among many, many accolades. This month, Patricia published her memoir titled Pat in the City, published by Harper Collins Day Street, and we can't wait to talk about it. Welcome, pat. 

[00:01:11] PATRICIA FIELD: Hi. I'm very happy to be here with you. We go back a long way and now we're together doing something. We both have in common. 

[00:01:21] WANDA: Yes. The love of our New York City histories and our queer community and everything exactly. That we've done and, and we shared all of it. Yes. Pat, I'm so excited to see you and to share today in your. Life story. My goodness. How exciting that you have this new memoir that's coming out. 

[00:01:44] PATRICIA: I know it's very exciting, but I never really planned it. Dreamed it. It just kind of, the whole thing evolved. My life evolved , and that's some life you've had. Let me tell you, you're not kidding. I hope I still have a little left in me to [00:02:00] have.

[00:02:00] WANDA: I think you do. speaking about life. Geez, you. started in New York City. Were you born and raised in New York City? 

[00:02:08] PATRICIA: I was born in Manhattan at New York Hospital. We moved out to Queens. I was a New Yorker cuz that's what I was used to. My family had a business in the city. My school was right across the street on East 76th Street.

[00:02:25] WANDA: So So you were like an Upper East Side gal? 

[00:02:28] PATRICIA: Yeah. Well, yeah. I, I didn't think of it as Upper East Side in those days. It's totally fine. I love New York. I love it. I'm so happy that I was lucky enough to be born here. 

[00:02:41] WANDA: And you've been living in New York pretty much through your whole life? 

[00:02:45] PATRICIA: My whole entire life. With the exception of a trip here and there to my great apartment in Miami on the Ocean 

[00:02:56] WANDA: or your fun trips to Greece and Mykonos. 

[00:02:58] PATRICIA: Oh, yes, Greece, of course. [00:03:00] I was just in Greece recently. I spent about, I don't know, 10 days or so there with a very good friend of mine. Yeah, it's kind of a place that I always go back to. Of course, I have a social life out there. It's like, 

[00:03:11] WANDA: and you need a break too, from all of these like work schedules that you have. I can't keep up with. . 

[00:03:17] PATRICIA: I can't keep up with me either. You have to talk to Erica how it happens. , she's the one that holds me together. . 

[00:03:25] WANDA: Well, that's always a godsend to have a wonderful assistant to help you with all of those schedules.

[00:03:30] PATRICIA: I'd kill myself without her. 

[00:03:32] WANDA: So you were born uptown on the east side, New York City bred gal. Were you always into fashion? If I recall your parents, were they in textiles? 

[00:03:44] PATRICIA: They were in dry cleaning. Dry clean. I always had, I guess looking back, I mean I didn't realize it of course at the time, but looking back, I always had like a consciousness of [00:04:00] fashion and Hollywood.

[00:04:02] PATRICIA: I used to love to read those magazines. Back then, Ava Gardner, it was called Photo Play, I think Uhhuh Uhhuh , and I was hooked on photo play. My family moved out to Queens when I was. I don't know, maybe 10. Manhattan was in my blood. I went to NYU. 

[00:04:21] WANDA: Mm-hmm. . Did you ever hang out at the dry cleaner with your family?

[00:04:25] PATRICIA: I did. My mom used to give me little hints, tips telling me this fabric is silk. , you have to use something organic to take out a spot. Right, right, right, right. Things like that. Yeah. 

[00:04:38] WANDA: Do you think you were influenced at all by seeing clothes and touching fabric and seeing like the stuff going around ? Yeah.

[00:04:46] PATRICIA: I don't know exactly what that influence was. There must have been an influence. I mean, at that point her shop was in Manhattan and East Side. My mom loved to buy me cashmere [00:05:00] sweaters. I was like, ma, not another cashmere sweater, please. . I was like, 

[00:05:06] WANDA: you know, you wanted something more funky. 

[00:05:09] PATRICIA: Yeah, more, you know. But for her it was, how could I say? it verified that she could afford to buy me a cashmere sweater. Right, right, right. Because it was, it was a thing to be able to afford a cashmere or a leather or something. Yeah. It would go on Madison Avenue or Bloomingdale's. 

[00:05:30] WANDA: Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . Now, you mentioned in your book that one of your first jobs was working at Alexander's. 

[00:05:37] PATRICIA: Yes. 

[00:05:38] WANDA: And was that the Alexanders up on Lexington Avenue by Bloomingdale's or a different one? 

[00:05:43] PATRICIA: It was the original Alexanders in the South Bronx , and I used to drive my little car there and it was fine. I mean, I was never in my mind, you know, I was, I wasn't, [00:06:00] let's say, uh, high class things or uhhuh expensive, it never really impressed me. Right. I was really happy to be in Alexander's. I did a great job. , um, 

[00:06:12] WANDA: What department did you work in? 

[00:06:14] PATRICIA: I started in accessories, but then I was transferred to blouses. It was a blouse department in those days. And I, um, I really, I mentioned it in the book, I picked up the department cuz when I got into that department it was... it wasn't well displayed. Right, right, right. So I, I went, I 

[00:06:37] WANDA: So you enhanced the department? 

[00:06:38] PATRICIA: I bought some bust forms and I set them up on the table. It was in our department and I ironed them. They looked nice cuz they were in some kind of plastic bag. It was a mess. Right, right, right. And, um, . Yeah. 

[00:06:56] WANDA: And so you showcased the blouses on forms and took them [00:07:00] out of their packaging and then you sold them?

[00:07:03] PATRICIA: Yes. All of a sudden, and I mentioned it in my book one day, a few execs came from upstairs down to the main floor where the blast apartment was. They came to find out why the business was booming in the blouse department. All of a sudden, , and I said, well, take a. I got these mannequins. The blouses are pressed, they look beautiful, and they're appealing to people.

[00:07:29] PATRICIA: Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. , the way they were displayed before was very unappealing. It didn't take a genius to see that. Right, right, right. Mm-hmm. . 

[00:07:36] WANDA: Oh, so did you get promoted? 

[00:07:38] PATRICIA: I did . I got promoted as a system buyer to the blouse buyer. 

[00:07:43] WANDA: No way, way. Look at that. Oh, that's incredible. 

[00:07:45] PATRICIA: But the merchandise manager, I don't know. She had something against the blouse buyer, not me, but the blouse buyer and she was always like pushing me to like take over. But I liked him. He was a nice guy. I didn't wanna give him a [00:08:00] pushout. That wasn't the way I felt. Mm-hmm. . . But, uh, then I went on to another big chain store called, well, a few names, but it's Midwest.

[00:08:11] PATRICIA: Mm-hmm. , it's not New York. Mm-hmm. , it's called Petri Stores. It's kind of like a learner's. 

[00:08:16] WANDA: Oh, I remember seeing Petri stores. But you're right, that's not, 

[00:08:20] PATRICIA: and Maryanne shops. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . There are, there are, mm-hmm. special shops. Right. But, you know, they were all over the country, but they weren't really Not in new.

[00:08:30] PATRICIA: and that was good too. I had nice bosses. They were happy for me to be there and I was happy for that. 

[00:08:38] WANDA: Right, right. Yeah, that's great. I worked in Alexanders when I was in senior year of high school, but it was the Alexanders up l Lexington. Oh, on Lexington by Bloomingdale's, and I was in the shoe department and I think I spent all of the money that I made at Alexander's at Fiorucci's, which was around the corner. That's the street as, yeah, like street. [00:09:00] So it was like really like Totally. 

[00:09:02] PATRICIA: I know. Ellio Fucci. I mean, from years back. 

[00:09:05] WANDA: Yeah. That was a great store. 

[00:09:07] PATRICIA: Yeah, it was. It's too bad it's not there anymore. 

[00:09:09] WANDA: Yeah. Yeah. That was fun. So, You opened your first store, which was the pants store, right? 

[00:09:17] PATRICIA: Pants Pub. Yeah, it was a stupid name. . Thank God we changed it at some point in the West. 

[00:09:22] WANDA: But that was in the West Village? 

[00:09:23] PATRICIA: No, no, it was on NYU's campus. I knew that whole area cuz I went to NYU and I knew that I could find something, let's say with a decent rent.

[00:09:36] PATRICIA: But at see at the same time, I knew that the gals going from building to building. Mm-hmm. , they would pass that, it wasn't a shopping street, but they would pass that store. 

[00:09:46] WANDA: But was it, was it part of NYU at that time still? Yeah. That where you opened the pant pub. Oh, wow. 

[00:09:52] PATRICIA: Yeah. It was NYU at that time, the real estate department of nyu, the execs, they were [00:10:00] part of NYU staff. Mm. So it was very personal. Mm-hmm. . It was really nice. Then they got a new president. , you know, he kind of made it much more corporate. Mm-hmm. . But anyway, I took the store on eighth Street, which is also nyu. Mm-hmm. in, I think 71. Right, right. Something like that. 

[00:10:19] WANDA: And what was the impetus for pants pub, like what made you think that a store that only sold pants or predominantly sold pants was going to be successful?

[00:10:29] PATRICIA: You know what? It wasn't just pants. It was a new look. It was like, I'll give you the names of certain, Mr. Pants, for example, was a manufacturer, sir, for her 

[00:10:41] WANDA: I love, sir. For her? Mm-hmm. 

[00:10:43] PATRICIA: The, the whole aesthetic was like changing and I was into it. You know, that's what I opened my original store with because I knew the owners, the principles of these companies, places, [00:11:00] yes.

[00:11:00] PATRICIA: Uhhuh 

[00:11:01] WANDA: And the manufacturing Now didn't, now, didn't you, if I'm not mistaken, didn't you, weren't you one of the first people or the first person to introduce a pant that was like a legging? 

[00:11:14] PATRICIA: Oh, yes, yes, yes. I was inspired by Olivia Newton John in Grease. The last scene where all of a sudden she turns into this sexy gal.

[00:11:25] WANDA: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember. 

[00:11:26] PATRICIA: And uh, but I love the shape. I wasn't really sure what fabric it was, but it was, you know, tight. And so I said, I wanna make a pant with that silhouette. And I found a lingerie maker on 29th Street and I showed him what I wanted and so on, and he made them for me. and so I put my label in them and they were a hit, actually, back in those days. It was like, uh, Henry Bandel bought [00:12:00] them. They were in the windows. 

[00:12:02] WANDA: Oh, wow. That's great. 

[00:12:03] PATRICIA: It was kind of like a new thing. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . 

[00:12:06] WANDA: Well, you always had a new look in your stores and in your merchandising stuff that you would normally not find in any other stores. That's true. That really. Your boutique on eighth Street stand out and you were there for years.

[00:12:24] PATRICIA: Yes, I was. I went there in 71, I think, and I can't remember when I left, but if it didn't excite me, even the concept, not even necessarily the exact garment, like I used to go to sporting good shows with one of my colleagues, the kids that worked with me and you know, we discovered body glove. But for club wear, right?

[00:12:48] PATRICIA: or you know, that type of thing. It was right. 

[00:12:50] WANDA: So the unconventional stuff that you wouldn't normally think of to use its fashion. You had a good eye and [00:13:00] concept for. 

[00:13:01] PATRICIA: Of course, cuz I wanted some, something that I could apply to, you know, not everyday people, but you know, fashion people. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. , that was new.

[00:13:11] PATRICIA: Mm-hmm. for them to their eye. Yeah. I was like, we used to go to 

[00:13:15] WANDA: like the hockey shields. You could just put 'em on a or something. 

[00:13:18] PATRICIA: I know we used to go to, we would go to Las Vegas to a sporting good show, and it's real sporting goods, but in our mind we were looking for club wear. Uhhuh, Uhhuh, . I did a movie years later, but I remembered this company called Spider, S P Y D E R.

[00:13:41] PATRICIA: They had a jumpsuit out of a stretch fabric with a big spider web, which was their logo, and years later I did a Shelly Duval produced it and it was all these different characters from Mother Goose Land [00:14:00] and one of them was Itsy Bitsy Spider. And I said, I know the perfect thing for Itsy Bitsy Spider, that jumper.

[00:14:09] PATRICIA: It was a black jumpsuit with a DayGlo yellow spider web on it. And sure enough, he loved it. He could dance in it, move in it. And he used used it. Oh, that's great. Yeah. Oh yeah. 

[00:14:21] WANDA: So it all came back around ? 

[00:14:23] PATRICIA: Yeah, it came back around. . So you can imagine Mayra and myself going to a sporting good show. Yeah. It's all these men in sporting goods, right?

[00:14:34] PATRICIA: They're like, what are they doing here? And we're these two like, you know, crazy girls in their mind, . But that gave us a market that, right. The fashion people, they hadn't discovered. 

[00:14:44] WANDA: And you get ideas, right? You get ideas of different shapes, silhouettes, fabrics, materials to use. It makes perfect sense. Totally. Yeah. I mean, if you're a creative person like yourself, You know, you can come up with different looks. 

[00:14:56] PATRICIA: Yeah. Well, today, you know, a lot of the fashion [00:15:00] gets it's inspiration, I believe. Mm-hmm. , you know, from sporting type or very casual mm-hmm. kind of things. Mm-hmm. but ours were right off the walls.

[00:15:11] PATRICIA: Right. Oh, always. And I love that. 

[00:15:13] WANDA: And that was what's so great about, about your store and about, you know, everything that you've done. So when you chose to open up on Eighth Street, you were familiar with the neighborhood? 

[00:15:24] PATRICIA: I was also, NYU was my landlord. 

[00:15:26] WANDA: NYU was your landlord. You lived above the store as well?

[00:15:30] PATRICIA: Yeah, yeah. I took the loft on the top floor. Mm-hmm. . 

[00:15:33] WANDA: And your staff was also quite. Eclectic and colorful. They were very, just the same way as how you merchandise your store with your clothes. I felt like you also merchandised your store with your employees. How did you do that? How did that come about? What was, what were you looking for? If you were looking for anything or if, did it happen naturally that people come into the store and apply?

[00:16:00] PATRICIA: [00:16:00] I wanted creative, visual, kids working in my store. because I felt that if they put themselves together in an interesting way, they could put my clients together in an interesting way, and that was one of my main. parameters. If you came into my store, you know, looking like Joe Blow, I was like, you're not for me. Mm-hmm , I wanted the creative kid because you felt they had an eye already. They had an eye cuz you could aesthetics. Uhhuh . See that they had an eye as well as a few designers, young design. that I also had in my store. Isabel Toledo? Mm-hmm. . Oh, wonderful. Yes. You may not know Carmel Johnson, but she was really great. She lives in Paris now. When I went to do, uh, Emily, I saw her. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. , um, and her husband, Bruno Schmidt, [00:17:00] who? Yep. You know, they're back in the day. Kids. Yeah. , she's a mom now with kids and, right, right, right. Lives in Paris and wonderful. , 

[00:17:12] WANDA: you've seen a lot of people grow Yes. Into their own careers and, and move on as well from, you know, employees that you had. 

[00:17:21] PATRICIA: Right. But I was definitely inspired by the visually creative. Mm-hmm. , you could see it. 

[00:17:29] WANDA: Now, you also had a lot of employees that were, what people would call at the time, fringe, fringe community, whether they were queer or transgender or other and that also stood out in your boutique. And as you know, I'm not gonna be the first one to say, you were always called sort of the den mother of a lot of these club kids or perhaps, um, folks that. Wanted to live their [00:18:00] life differently or actually maybe couldn't go home because they were different, so they were looking for their own lives.

[00:18:06] PATRICIA: Well, I think, you know, you've listed, you've enumerated what was there, but really for me, if you caught my eye with your presentation, that played a very big role. And I kept talking to you. It didn't matter who you were, where you came from, you just had to bring, bring something that stood out to you. Yeah. That the way you put yourself together. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. . 

[00:18:36] WANDA: And was that a plus for the store? Like how did the patrons that came in to shop, like how did they engage with the staff and did it help? 

[00:18:43] PATRICIA: I think it was a plus because, I mean, once in a while I might have hired someone who maybe looked good when I saw him some. but he didn't really have the charm. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . But in general, you know, when you came [00:19:00] into my shop it was eye candy. Right? How could I say it was And um, you know, it was fun and I surrounded myself with creative people and I was happy in that environment. 

[00:19:12] WANDA: Right, right. And that also, Much more pleasant and cheerful to be surrounded by a bunch of creative, fun types. In course the store, if you gotta work, you might as well make it fun. I love the story in the book about Armen Ra Oh and , because I know Armen as well. And Armen for those that Don know Armon is a, um, a very unique, beautiful theramin player. 

[00:19:38] PATRICIA: I know. Uh, for anybody that doesn't know what a theramin is, I'm telling.. Its like, what he does. That instrument, it was, I don't think it was originally created to do what Armin does with that instrument. 

[00:19:54] WANDA: He's wonderful at, I know this and you can find him on YouTube, Armen, A R M E N, [00:20:00] R A incredible. But I love the story about him coming in, doing one thing and kind of messing up and you giving him another chance and saying, Hey, just take over the makeup section because you seem to be good at that , you know? And uh, 

[00:20:15] PATRICIA: yeah. And he kind of, I am not good at makeup. I said, yes you are. Look at the, your face. It's so made up beautifully. Do the makeup. 

[00:20:23] WANDA: Yeah. . . And he did have a beautiful face and great makeup. Yeah. So yeah, I guess you could tell what somebody might be able to apply themselves to based on how they were doing it for themselves and you gave them chances and I think that that was a beautiful thing.

[00:20:38] PATRICIA: Yeah. Well, I knew him before. He's a fellow Armenian, but his family I think, came from Iran and. , you know, so we had that in common. I'm half Armenian, so that already warmed me up. Right, right. To him. Right. And of course, his artistry. I mean, he's a great artist. He's out in Los Angeles [00:21:00] now. 

[00:21:00] WANDA: Oh, is he? That's why I haven't seen him for a while. Yeah. So when you opened the store in 71 and then you were there for quite some time, how would you say the West Village was then? And then how did that evolve? Did you see any change in terms of like in your. From when you first opened, and obviously the neighborhoods and gentrification and things changing, like how did that, if at all, affected your business or how you would merchandise the store? Because, you know, times change. 

[00:21:25] PATRICIA: Yes. But I tell you, when I was on eighth Street, it was very eclectic and a very interesting place to shop. You know, little by little as NYU took over. , it kind of lost its edge. Edge, yes. Edge. And I think I was there at the best time. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . Because even when I was in high school, two of my friends from Flushing High School, we used to go down to the Village, eighth Street, lower side, Henry Street Playhouse. 

[00:21:59] WANDA: Because what was it [00:22:00] like creative, artsy, hippie, gay? Like what was the West Village like when you. opened up. 

[00:22:06] PATRICIA: It was always on the artsy side. It was also very gay. It was also individual ownership. People had their own shops. There was no chain stores there. Oh, like mom and pop individual stores. Right, right, right. Yeah. Kids, young people. Mm-hmm. . It catered to a, a young crowd. eighth Street. 

[00:22:29] WANDA: Right, right. Which, you know, I miss that actually. I miss it too. But it was affordable too. Like people could have those kind of stores then. Absolutely. If I remember when eighth Street was. , it was after, you know, obviously a little bit after you opened, but there were a lot of clothing stores, a lot of shoe stores, a lot of very, you know, unique niche stores Right before it all shifted. Mm-hmm. 

[00:22:54] PATRICIA: well, yeah, it started to shift when it became overrun with shoe stores , [00:23:00] because then it was only shoe stories. 

[00:23:02] WANDA: It's so funny how that happened, right? Yeah. So I wanna switch it out a little bit and, and hear more about how then you got involved in costume design and film work, cuz that's been such a wonderful career. And what a, a wonderful way to sort of like segue out of what you were doing in the store. 

[00:23:26] PATRICIA: Well, I have to say, and I said it in my. , I owe it to Candy Pratt's Price, who was a friend of mine back in the day, and I get a phone call from, and, hi Pat, it's Candy. I'm in Pittsburgh. I'm working on this movie.

[00:23:43] PATRICIA: Karen Arthurs, the director. She asked me for a suggestion or for a recommendation of who could do the costumes. Candy was a visual. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. Environmental. artist. Mm-hmm. , I said, great. I'd never done, like what am I getting myself [00:24:00] into? I'd never done anything like a movie before, but Right. I was exciting.

[00:24:03] PATRICIA: Something new. Yeah. And uh, I went down to Pittsburgh and that was the beginning. I always thank Candy Pratts Price for That's wonderful. 

[00:24:13] WANDA: Wow. Do you still see Candy? Are you still friends? 

[00:24:16] PATRICIA: I do, I do. Well, that was a start and now she was at the book. Oh. She. I should send her a little. Thanks for coming. That reminded me.

[00:24:25] WANDA: Yeah, you just had your memoir book launch at the Rizzoli Bookstore. Exactly. In New York City 

[00:24:33] PATRICIA: and I was really happy to do it there because I don't know, for me it was a book, it was something new and I went to a, uh, a book signing of friends of mine, the blondes prior, and I was like there and I was. This is nice. I wanna have my book . I wanna have my book signing here. Yes. So I spoke with the main man, [00:25:00] Charles, and they said, sure. Would love to have. Yeah, it was good. 

[00:25:05] WANDA: And was it, packed. Were you excited? Were you 

[00:25:09] PATRICIA: Yeah, I was very excited. It was a lot of work, but it was good work. I didn't wanna have it in a club or anything. Right. You know what I mean? People know me like that. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . But I was like, no, this is my book. I want a respectable, fabulous. When I went there, I said, this is the place. Yeah. Yeah. That's great. I was really happy with all of it, and they were. Cooperative, wouldn't they? They were so welcoming. They really, I was very, very happy.

[00:25:40] WANDA: You can still always do something in a club or a lounge, but it's great that you did the main launch at Rizzoli. You're right, because it deserves that. Your story is so wonderful. 

[00:25:49] PATRICIA: I felt that it deserved it. 

[00:25:51] WANDA: Yeah, and you, I mean, you've done so much and so much for the city as well, so I think that's a perfect spot to have it.

[00:25:58] PATRICIA: Yeah, but the blondes [00:26:00] really inspired me for that. . I let them know , actually, I invited them, but they were having their fashion show the same night. 

[00:26:07] WANDA: Oh right. Cuz it was still Fashion Weekend. It's Fashion Week, yeah. Mm-hmm. . So the Never Ending Fashion Weeks. Oh, I know, but, but you, did you have a show this year sometimes shows?

[00:26:16] PATRICIA: No, we didn't. We did a show last season. Uhhuh . In a really nice spot on the west side, on the Hudson River. It was great. Mm, mm-hmm. , but we didn't do one this season. The book, the this, that, like right there was just a lot, lot going on in scheduling, you know? Right now I opened yesterday, I mean, for few years now. 

[00:26:35] WANDA: Your gallery? 

[00:26:36] PATRICIA: Yeah. And our, I said I wanna do an art fashion gallery because I have all these young designers in my Bowery. that I wanna create a space for, you know, their handmade hand. Done one of a kind pieces. One of a kind. Mm-hmm. Exactly. Mm-hmm. . And [00:27:00] so that's where I am now. 

[00:27:02] WANDA: And where is your art gallery?

[00:27:04] PATRICIA: It's on East Broadway. 200 East Broadway. 

[00:27:09] WANDA: And is that, uh, anyone can go? You don't need an appointment? 

[00:27:13] PATRICIA: No. You can just go and look at everything. Yeah. 

[00:27:15] WANDA: Oh, that's great. And you have online presence, I see. Exactly. You can also buy things online. 

[00:27:20] PATRICIA: Yes. That's attached to the gallery. 

[00:27:22] WANDA: Great. Great. Well, for all those folks out there that are looking to see what Pat's doing at the moment, you can. Either go to the store in New York and if you're not in New York at uh, 200 East Broadway, you can follow Pat on Patricia Field on Instagram and you can see some of the one of a kind creations and purchase online. Follow those links. 

[00:27:46] PATRICIA: Yes, ma'am. 

[00:27:49] WANDA: Now you most recently, and I know things have shifted, were doing costume design for Emily in Paris, which [00:28:00] not only was that a very successful series, but that also comes after you've done the most popular series, I think of them all.

[00:28:10] PATRICIA: Well, Sex in the city, city, it turned into something. 

[00:28:13] WANDA: It really did. And films and everything else. 

[00:28:16] PATRICIA: You know, I, I never really go into anything with that idea in mind. it's, you know, I go in and I do what I, what I'm inspired to do. And if it turns out well, I'm very happy. I just have my formula.

[00:28:32] WANDA: Right? You don't have any like pre ideas, but when you go, um, just to ask you technical questions, when you go to, let's say, one of those film meetings and they give you an overall sort. uh, idea of what the characters are like and what they're supposed to portray. And then from there you use your formula and pull clothes. 

[00:28:56] PATRICIA: Well, actually, in my experience, by the time a [00:29:00] film meeting comes about, I've already met the main characters. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . The thing is, it's like dressing an actor is definitely. of course, your own formula, but getting to know the actor and what they're comfortable in, what they're happy in, because they're on camera. I'm not on camera. Mm-hmm. , and it's very, very important to personalize. your relationship. I mean, Sarah, Jessica, Kim Catrall, it's personal. 

[00:29:39] WANDA: So you take into consideration how comfortable they are in certain clothes and how they're able to move in them and, and be those characters.

[00:29:48] PATRICIA: Yes, for sure. How, you know, they can move in them and feel free, but also feel gorgeous. Right, right. And be happy. Emily, in Paris, which I did. [00:30:00] two, uh, seasons of, you know, Lily is so lovely and so professional, and she was on her way to Paris. She said, I'm gonna stop in New York and come to your gallery. I said, great. I'll run around and buy some pieces for you. sight unseen. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . And we'll start from there. Right. And that's how that happened. But I really respect her because she's such a pro for young Oh, that's great. Young lady. She's fantastic. 

[00:30:32] WANDA: That's great. Now, if somebody said to you like, Hey Pat, I know you got me like this hat that I, you want me to wear with this outfit, but I hate wearing hats. I'm not gonna wear a hat. Like, 

[00:30:42] PATRICIA: I never force anybody, as I say, , I am not on camera. If you're on camera, you have to feel the maximum. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. that you can feel mm-hmm. . Otherwise I'm not doing [00:31:00] my job. Right. Right, right. You know, that's really important.

[00:31:04] WANDA: I have to ask you, how was it working with Meryl, cuz of course, you know, we love Oh, Meryl, 

[00:31:09] PATRICIA: I love Meryl you know, Meryl was my favorite actress for years, and when David Frankel called me up about this, uh, movie that he's doing...

[00:31:21] WANDA: the Devil Wears Prada. 

[00:31:23] PATRICIA: The Devil is Prada. And he didn't say Devil W he said, Meryl Streep. I said, yes, . And you know, working with her, it was so cool. There's a story that goes around, but it's probably been. That I met with Meryl and her designer, her groomer, and she said she's going to do white hair, Uhhuh, . So I communicated with the producers what it's gonna happen, and they were like, no, cuz they're men and they think white hair is old lady. Right, right, right. Anyway, I [00:32:00] said to Meryl, Meryl, I've been trying without succeeding. Please go tell the producers you're wearing white hair . And she did. And she's wearing white hair 

[00:32:12] WANDA: and she wore white hair and she looked fabulous. 

[00:32:14] PATRICIA: Yeah. did not want an old lady. I was so happy because I always wanted to dress her. And David Frankel calls me and said, Meryl Streep. I said, oh my God. Meryl St.. I respect her so much. I'm so excited. 

[00:32:30] WANDA: I mean, another legend, right? And what a great role. 

[00:32:33] PATRICIA: Yes. And it was a chance to show her in a different way than we've seen her before. Yes. And I always had that in the back of my mind when I would see Meryl in different films and I was like, I'd love to dress her. Yeah. You know, and give her a P pow wow. A new look. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it happened. It was great. 

[00:32:54] WANDA: Oh, that was great. Yeah. I love the costumes in that movie. You did a great job, pat. Yeah. As you always [00:33:00] do. 

[00:33:00] PATRICIA: One of the designers that I most respect is Melina Canonero. Mm-hmm. Hmm. , you know? Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . and she was sitting right behind me at the Oscars. Oh, wow. Because we got nominated. Yes. And I was like, I don't care if I don't win it. I love Melina Canonero. She's fantastic. She's a great designer. She deserves it. She did, um, Maria Antoinette that year. She did Were most, yeah. Uhhuh . Uhhuh , yeah. But I knew her from before. Yeah. I mean, I knew her work from before.

[00:33:30] WANDA: Right. Oh, she's great. Yes. Yeah. and you did actually win, was it an Emmy that you guys won for Sex in the City? You and, and Rebecca at the time? 

[00:33:40] PATRICIA: Yeah, we won Emmy. He's a, I have a few Emmys in my apartment. Actually. I gave one away to somebody who. I don't even speak to anymore cuz he was rude to me, . But he has one of my Emmys because I had like, I'm like, what am I gonna do with all these statues in my apartment? I just have a little apartment . [00:34:00] But yes, I actually, in my mind, the Emmy as a sculpture is a beautiful sculpture. Yeah. It's draped. fabric on a body form. It's beautiful. 

[00:34:17] WANDA: Oh perfect. So that's actually kind of like a perfect uh, yeah. Perfect. Statuette for you with fabric and fashion. 

[00:34:24] PATRICIA: Yeah. Yep. 

[00:34:26] WANDA: Now, if you had to talk about what you think you have left as legacy, not that your work is done, cuz Miss Thing, I know your work is not done, but if you had to talk about what your legacy is, what, what do you think that is? 

[00:34:46] PATRICIA: You know, that's a very difficult question for me to answer because I, I learn from the outside world that I'm talented. You know, when I [00:35:00] do my work, I don't think about any of that. I'm just enjoying it, doing it. I don't really think about legacy, but recently, you know, that whole legacy thing has come up in different places. Uhhuh, , Uhhuh, , and it makes me think about it. But I try not to because, you know, I do my thing and I don't wanna change my formula. I don't wanna be self-conscious that I'm, you know, somebody, I don't wanna say famous, but you know, in that sense, right. Right, and it's not what motivates me, right? What motivates me is being, is making beauty and making things gorgeous. Well, I 

[00:35:45] WANDA: think that if somebody from the outside had to say maybe what everyone's idea might be different, what your legacy. would be for me as a someone that's known you for over 30 years. 

[00:35:58] PATRICIA: Okay. You're outside, [00:36:00] you're good. 

[00:36:00] WANDA: Uh, I think that I would say that you've helped me look at the world in a different way, really, that you've helped, you know, like an artist, like, so if you go to a museum and you look at a painting that moves you or look at a painting, . You're like, gosh, you know, this is kind of weird, but there's something interesting about it. You know, you leave that museum with a different perspective. Yes. And I think that you've done that by what you have. Put out not only by what you've created in your stores, what you've shown in your stores, and selected in your stores by the people that you've employed, by the wardrobe that you, yourself... how you yourself, present yourself. I mean, I'll never forget you coming into Cafe Tabac on Sundays. We couldn't wait to see what you would wear because you always. Something fantastic on really that would inspire. Would inspire whether it's the, the color coordinations, the [00:37:00] different patterns together, whatever, you know, it made one look outside of their parameters to other things. And I think that that's quite special. 

[00:37:11] WANDA: Thank you very much. Thank you for taking me back to Cafe Tabac days. Yes, that's, yeah.

[00:37:19] WANDA: Oh, those were some fun days. Yes. They. and I loved watching you walk up those stairs. 

[00:37:27] PATRICIA: It was fun. Was that the beginning of your career? 

[00:37:31] WANDA: That was the beginning of my event producing career. Yes. 1993 mm was fun days. Mm-hmm. 

[00:37:40] PATRICIA: And that place was cute. 

[00:37:41] WANDA: That was cute. . And here we are. And that's how we met, probably. Yes. at Tabac. 

[00:37:47] PATRICIA: True. 

[00:37:47] WANDA: If not, you know, kind of in and around that time with all of those friends that we made there as well. 

[00:37:56] PATRICIA: Yeah, it was a gay time. [00:38:00] Did you ever go to that uh, one on Second Avenue called Sahara?

[00:38:04] WANDA: No, that was uptown. That was Leslie's Leslie Cohen's place. Yeah. No, I wasn't quite out yet. Ah, . It was two young. 

[00:38:13] PATRICIA: I used to go up there, but there wasn't. , that was, it wasn't too far away from the time of Cafe Tabac, because I remember that who I used to go with and I was still with that person. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. when Cafe Tabac rolled around. 

[00:38:27] WANDA: Okay. So maybe that was, yeah, maybe 10 years prior or so. 

[00:38:32] PATRICIA: Yeah. And I spent some time with Leslie. down in Miami. Mm-hmm. and then, 

[00:38:38] WANDA: yeah, unfortunate she's no longer with us, but Leslie was also very instrumental in the queer and lesbian scene in New York City. She was with, uh, club Sahara and her partners. Yes. 

[00:38:52] PATRICIA: And you know, that statue of her and, um, , the West Village and uh, what is that? And then Stonewall, right across the stone stone [00:39:00] of Stonewall Park Stone, there's a beautiful statue. That's the one I'm talking about. 

[00:39:03] WANDA: A beautiful statue of Leslie and her, uh, wife, Beth Beth, right. Suskin that the artist sculptor George Siegel created. They are forever. I know. Immortalized on the bench there. 

[00:39:16] PATRICIA: It's so fantastic. Mm-hmm. , because there's a bar that I like to go to. Well, it was before Covid. I wouldn't go. Until Covid is completely gone. Cuz it's down in the basement. Right? Which one? , I'm trying to remember the name of it. The Monster. The Monster.

[00:39:32] WANDA: Oh, the monster downstairs. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. That's fun. Yeah. Bunny and Flotilla spinning. 

[00:39:39] PATRICIA: And then I always get, you know, to see Beth and Leslie. Right? Oh, I know. Sitting on the bench. 

[00:39:44] WANDA: I always try to leave a little flower or something. They're so sweet. Yeah. 

[00:39:48] PATRICIA: But that's what I mean about New York. Mm-hmm. When I say it's a big city, . It's a city that has life and you're part of that life and your associates and [00:40:00] friends are part of that life. Mm-hmm. . There's life going on. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. like you and I are sitting here. That's life. Yes, absolutely. We know each other. From a time you developed into your podcast, I started to do film tv. it's, I love this city. I'm, I feel very lucky that I was born here. 

[00:40:21] WANDA: Yes. I mean, cause when you talk about life, like, you know, I love music, I love nightlife. I've always liked gathering with people in spaces, and 

[00:40:31] PATRICIA: I know that, I see that. I see that in you. 

[00:40:32] WANDA: I mean, I know that you've loved nightlife. As well, and it just feels really alive to me when I, you know, I don't frequent them as much anymore. Not because, well, things have changed too. Like the clubs are not the same. New York's not the same, but if there's a, a, a good night with some great music and we can gather with some friends, you know, I'd love to go, I can't stay out till five in the morning anymore, but, But you know, it's, it's,

[00:40:57] PATRICIA: I'm with you. I like it.

[00:40:58] WANDA: It's, it's fun and I love [00:41:00] watching and being the voyeur and dancing and feeling that bass in my body, you know, 

[00:41:04] PATRICIA: I miss it too. You know, I'm Miss Studio 54 , and, you know, I, yeah. That ti those times of nightlife was alive. Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . And, you know, it was very, I guess, disco. 

[00:41:19] WANDA: but everything's changed. And the digital era has also created, you know, a different kind of engagement with people. 

[00:41:25] PATRICIA: Exactly. It's here we are sitting doing a podcast. 

[00:41:28] WANDA: Yes. . . So Pat, I love having you in the studio. It's so great to see you. And I wanted to ask you, are you, do you have anything else coming up? I think that someone mentioned you're gonna be on the Drew Barrymore show.

[00:41:42] PATRICIA: Yeah. I'm glad you asked. . I'm excited to do her show because I never met her, but I just hear really great things about her. Yeah. That she's down to earth. So I checked the show and I saw that quality in her [00:42:00] and you know, that's what I like Down to earth people. I'm down to earth. Yeah. I'm not into snobbery or anything.

[00:42:06] WANDA: I think it's on March 1st, that they're gonna air the episode. 

[00:42:09] PATRICIA: They're gonna air it on March 1st. 

[00:42:10] WANDA: Great. Oh, so we'll have to make sure we tune in. For the Drew Barrymore show with Pat Field and Drew Barrymore. And Drew, yeah. Drew's a sweetheart. I met her many years ago.

[00:42:22] PATRICIA: I only hear great things about her.

[00:42:24] WANDA: Yeah. Yeah. She's great. 

[00:42:26] PATRICIA: You know, I, I think it's really important if you're an intelligent and feeling human being, you don't take yourself seriously to the point where you think you're something special. . Mm-hmm. . Mm-hmm. . And that are the words that I'm gonna part with. Stay real. Don't make yourself a faker.

[00:42:52] WANDA: Amen. Amen. , love you. Pat. Thank you so much for being here. 

[00:42:56] PATRICIA: It was a pleasure. I mean, we've known each other so long. I'm [00:43:00] glad we finally got together this way. 

[00:43:01] WANDA: Yes, and congratulations on your memoir and Thank you. You know, any new projects that come up and can't wait to stop by the gallery? 

[00:43:10] PATRICIA: Oh, yes. You said new projects.

[00:43:12] WANDA: Yeah. Tell us, tell us. 

[00:43:13] PATRICIA: I have a documentary happening. 

[00:43:16] WANDA: Oh, wait a minute!

[00:43:18] PATRICIA: My producer and director, they want it in the Tribeca Film Festival. 

[00:43:22] WANDA: So they're doing a documentary on your life? 

[00:43:25] PATRICIA: No, it's a documentary. You know, it's within a certain time period. Uhhuh Contemporary now. Okay. and, um, it's done. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. . I'm happy if they get it into that festival. Oh, that's great. Tribeca film. Okay. But it's good. That's why. And I think why not? You know, maybe they'll accept me. 

[00:43:46] WANDA: And is it a full feature documentary or a short documentary? 

[00:43:50] PATRICIA: Yeah, it's a full feature documentary. We went to see a, an initial, like, like the screening. Rough, rough cut. The screening of a, yeah. Rough cut. Uh, . [00:44:00] It looks pretty good. Well, it's hard to watch yourself. Yeah, exactly. It's like, eh, eh. Right, right. But the director asked me, oh, what do you do for exercise? I said, well, I in a pool, I like to swim. And he put me in a pool, , and he starts the documentary, me swimming in a pool in Manhattan.

[00:44:21] PATRICIA: Indoor. Oh wow. Place. Nice pool. 

[00:44:25] WANDA: When did you guys start filming that? Has it been a while? When they started filming? 

[00:44:29] PATRICIA: I think so. At least a year or more. Oh. Yeah. 

[00:44:32] WANDA: That's great. Yeah. Well, we can't wait to catch that. I hope that it does feature at the Tribeca Film Festival. Cause that would be a great place to showcase it.

[00:44:40] PATRICIA: Yeah, it would be a good showcase. Yeah. Well, we'll keep in, in touch. We'll say updated on that. I mean, let's fa why shouldn't they? Yeah. . Exactly. It's Pat Field. Yeah, it's Pat Field after all. 

[00:44:52] WANDA: Thank you, pat. Thank you. Thank you for listen. You can pick up Pat's [00:45:00] memoir called Pat in the city@harpercollins.com, Amazon or your favorite bookstore, and you can follow Pat on Instagram at Patricia Field.

[00:45:11] WANDA: For more, subscribe to Sundays at Cafe Back the podcast. You can also learn more about us and our film@cafetabacfilm.com and at Cafe Tabac Film on social media. Please share your thoughts with us, and if you have a coming out story that you'd like to share, reach out to us. This episode was recorded at the newsstand studio at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

[00:45:33] WANDA: Special thanks to Joseph Hazan and Karen Song for their support. Thanks for listening.