Trends

Patricia Field’s elements of (jewelry) style

TrendsAug 15, 2016

Patricia Field’s elements of (jewelry) style

The Sex and the City costume designer dishes on what attracts her to the pieces she picks and why there’s no “ass kissing” in retail.


“I just love the face-to-face of it all,” Patricia Field said of retail. The costume designer, who has had a store in New York City since the 1960s, was interviewed by jewelry editor and author Marion Fasel for a JCK Talks session held Satu
Las Vegas--While there’s much buzz about brands today, it’s not something that particularly interests Patricia Field.

As the famed costume designer, who dressed the ladies of Sex and the City as well as Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, mentioned several times during her JCK Talks session held Saturday at the show, she doesn’t really care who the designer of a piece of clothing or jewelry is.

Her rule when combing through racks of clothes or patrolling the aisles at a jewelry trade show: She just picks out pieces that speak to her--that say “Hi, take me I’m yours!”--and goes from there.

It seems like quite a revelation from a woman who made high-end brands like Manolo Blahnik household names by slipping them on Carrie Bradshaw.

And here’s another from the stylist, who sported her signature red hair and wore a pair of mirrored sunglasses throughout Saturday’s session: She doesn’t believe in kissing up to customers who come into her New York City retail store, which she has operated since the 1960s.

While she acknowledges that retail is not easy, her philosophy about owning a store is that her customers will part with their hard-earned money if they really love something and it makes them happy. If they don’t, then they won’t. 

“There’s no ass-kissing or any of that, and that’s the truth of retail,” Field said.

Jewelry editor and author Marion Fasel interviewed Field for well over an hour on the JCK Las Vegas show floor Saturday afternoon for a session called “Expressing Style through Jewelry.” While she was an incredible draw for attendees, Field actually was a last-minute addition to the show program, replacing Scandal costume designer Lyn Paolo, who originally was scheduled for the session but was unable to make it.

Prior to the session, Field spent two hours on the show floor curating looks using jewelry from various vendors, from a simple T-shirt paired with pearls, to “club” wear, to a wedding day look.

The next big thing in the jewelry industry, according to Field, will be “daytime diamonds,” diamonds paired with jeans and easy tops in a

world that has evolved from ladies attending balls in “Elizabeth Taylor jewelry” to “sporty casual.” 

“Why not wear diamonds with jeans?” Field asked.

Why not, indeed.

Michelle Graffis the editor-in-chief at National Jeweler, directing the publication’s coverage both online and in print.

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