All most untouchable. I can not remember for the life of me when I first heard the name Bergdorf Goodman. Whether it was in school, from a peer or from somewhere else I really have no recollection. It’s as if I always knew it was there, thinking of it often in fantasy, hoping that one day it would be more than that.
When I studied fashion in New York me and my friends would wander the streets aimlessly. Window shopping, popping in and out of random store fronts to see the latest trends and collections. We frequented 57th and 5th walking past the windows of Bergdorf Goodman to timid to go through the revolving doors. Nervous it would be obvious we didn’t belong. As months went by we started traveling to all corners of the city in search for the best designer shops. We had no problem stumbling through Chanel on 57th, Wang on Grand or DVF on 14th so why were we too shy for Bergdorf.
Probably because Bergdorf Goodman is the epitome of luxury and fashion. It is where most designers dream to end up hanging. An exclusive club with the highest standards in the industry, for your pieces to be invited is to show you have made it.
Again my memory, not so good. I cannot remember the exact day we decided to push through those doors, but I do remember it was a day like any other. We had been uptown for some reason or another whether The Met, The Park, The Frick or just shopping I cannot be sure. I just remember walking down 5th passing one door and then hovering in front of the second. Looking to my friend as she looks back to me and then almost instinctively we just turn, pushing through and were instantly transported to a department store like no other.
Warm golden tones embrassing you as you first enter. Every surface from floor to ceiling is polished and perfect. Nothing is out of place and there are at least three people to greet and guide you as you walk through the accessory parlor to the escalators that transport us further into a dream like reality.
My 3rd home in New York was an apartment that sat at the entrance of the Queensburo Bridge between 1st and second. It was a 5th floor walk up studio, with a view of a brick wall and a set of bunk beds for me and my roomie to share. And it was perfect as it sat mere blocks from Bergdorf’s. It didn’t matter we had to wake up an hour earlier to get to school or that we now had to take the train everyday because on sundays we woke up early and ran through central park to the Met. My roommate chasing Mr. Softy and me dragging her away back towards 57th so we we could wander through the 5th floor. Touching and studying pieces we had only before seen in runway photos. Her favorite bit probably the shoe Salon. Mine undoubtably the 3rd floor middle asile sitting across from the square shops that housed designers such as Micheal Kohrs and Marc Jacobs. A long slender rectangle home to elegant fabrics, simple silhouettes and plush furs; hanging there in minimalist perfection was the Row. I can not tell you how many times now I have visited that exact spot in BG but I can assure you I know it well and I very much love it.
Now a days I don’t live close enough to visit very often but those memories and what Bergdorf Goodman represents to me is a constant form of inspiration and motivation. If you don’t know what I am talking about go and see for yourself, check out the contemporary collections on the fifth floor as well as my favorite spot on the 3rd. And if your not close enough to experience BG in person anytime soon watch Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s, currently streaming on Netflix. Or just take my word for it 🙂 !
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