A personal essay on the departure of Patricia Field’s iconic East Village boutique.
I was heartbroken when I heard that Patricia Field would be closing her 50-year-old boutique at the end of February.
Although well-known in New York circles, Ms. Field was put into the national spotlight for her work as costume designer for the HBO hit series, Sex and the City. Like many fans of the show, I loved Ms. Field’s style before I even knew who she was. As a naive teen living in Texas and dreaming of of one day living in New York, I watched Sex and the City and worshiped the wardrobes of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha. Patricia Field pushed the boundaries of fashion, putting protagonist Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, in outfits such as a clingy newsprint Dior dress, big fur coats paired with tube tops, and of course, Manolo Blahniks.These outfits made me realize how dress could be a form of expression and that personal style in New York City was a way to develop a sense of individuality within a crowd.
Patricia Field opened her first boutique, a place called The Pants Pub in 1966 when she was 24. This shocked me because it is hard to imagine a 24-year-old today being able to afford New York rent, let alone open their own store. She learned about the quality of fabrics from her parents, who owned a dry cleaning store in Queens. Once she graduated from NYU, she took her inheritance from her father who had passed away when she was a child, and spent it on a small space in Greenwich Village. At all three of locations Ms Field had her store, the boutique gained a wide variety of clientele ranging from everyday fashionistas to celebrities like Patti Smith, RuPaul, and Missy Elliot
Patricia Field’s boutique on Bowery and E. 1st Street – it’s most recent locations – has been one of my favorite shops in the East Village for as long as I can remember. I have spent countless weekends sifting through velour tube tops and talking with the employees at the store, who I always thought were just as fabulous as the clothes. I would even sometimes spot Ms. Field with her sidekick poodles, Sultana and Bootie. Exchanging style tips with the employees always was a pleasure. I learned where they got their nails done and I heard about it when they liked or didn’t like something I tried on. My favorite part, of course, was eavesdropping on their conversations with Ms. Field or each other about certain celebrities that had come into the store, or their crazy escapades from the night before. Just the mere socialization and the environment of the boutique was an experience in itself — not something you’re ever going to find at an H&M or Forever 21.
Aside from the people who worked there, something I admired about the boutique was the variety of basic wear that was really not basic at all. Towards the back of the store was a section of various women’s shirts, tank tops, and skirts. All of which were pretty basic like camisoles or slips, but instead of being just black, white and tan, they always had a little something that made them extraordinary. Patricia Field always had a way of doing that. Making the ordinary extraordinary.
And while the newspapers are filled with stories of independent stores going out of business, Ms. Field said she chose to close her store. At 75, she no longer has the time nor energy to maintain both her store and her job as a style consultant of the TV Land series Younger. I’m glad Ms Field was able to chose her exit, but I am heartbroken that yet another independent place will be gone from the East Village. Au revoir, Patricia Field, we will miss you so.
Patricia Field’s boutique closed its doors this past Sunday February 28th.
