Published in 2023
7 hours and 10 minutes
Patricia Field has been pushing the boundaries of style for more than five decades. Her distinctive approach to dressing has been widely popularized through her work in costume design, most notably for Sex and the City.
For her work on the long-running HBO series, Field won an Emmy Award. She also received an Academy Award nomination for The Devil Wears Prada, as well as enduring recognition for her contributions on series such as Ugly Betty, Hope & Faith, Younger, and, most recently, Emily in Paris.
A native New Yorker, Field opened her eponymous boutique in 1966. Since selling the fashion landmark in 2016, Field has reinvented herself again, this time as the curator of ARTFashion, a gallery comprised entirely of original, made-to-order, handcrafted pieces by a select group of talented visual artists.
What is this book about?
From the iconic stylist and fashion provocateur whose designs transformed culture—bringing the glitz of Studio 54 and the sophistication of Sex and the City to the mainstream—comes a playful yet intimate memoir of a life spent challenging conventions.
Carrie Bradshaw’s pairing of a tutu with a tank top is one of the most iconic outfits ever seen on television—and a look that turned avant-garde New York designer and stylist Patricia Field into a household name. But before she was crowned the fairy godmother of haute couture, Field was the owner of the longtime East Village emporium Pat Field, a haven for drag queens, club kids, starving artists, NYU freshmen, and creative visionaries alike. Presiding over downtown with her distinctive vermillion hair and a constantly lit cigarette, Patricia was a rock ’n’ roll den mother to everyone from Amanda Lepore to Lady Bunny to Patti Smith, with her store providing the city’s eccentrics with a place to discover a sense of family, home, and a rhinestone bedazzled bustier or two.
In Pat in the City, Patricia describes her journey from scrappy Queens kid peddling men’s pants to the fashion world’s most notorious renegade. As the daughter of immigrant parents, Field learned the principles of glamour from her entrepreneurial mother, and applied her NYU lessons on democracy to inform a fashion ethos that would reach millions. From her Studio 54 disco-glam styling to her award-winning work in The Devil Wears Prada and Sex and the City to today’s buzzy costuming in Emily in Paris, Field’s inimitable styling has pushed the envelope and created trends that have become the culture standard. Now in her seventies, Patricia Field is ready to tell her story—not to take a final bow, but to spread her credo of challenging convention and filling the world with joy and dancing.
