In the fall of 2010, I attended a party at the Barneys on Madison Avenue in New York City. Simon Doonan was signing flip-flops on the main floor and the Olsen twins were about to cause a riot upstairs. Tavi Gevinson posed for pictures, while Anna Wintour hid in a corner with her Blackberry. The normally sedate department store was reduced to a well-groomed circus. Not exactly the store its eponymous patriarch Barney Pressman envisioned in 1923.

In his critical history, Joshua Levine recounts the story of three generations of Pressman men and Barneys, beginning with the store’s original incarnation, a bargain basement with a huge surplus of merchandise and deals to spare. The tagline was “Calling All Men!” And did they ever—Barneys was a jumble of a place, always stocked with every size, no matter how obscure. It’s clear that Levine delights in this original incarnation, as well as Pressman’s determination and hard-luck beginning.

In addition to the facts, Levine relays anecdotes from supporters and detractors of the store. Some are charming, some sad, some shocking: like when Barney Pressman sponsored the radio broadcast coverage of the trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering Charles Lindbergh’s two year old son. Levine explains: “Think of a small local haberdasher you had never heard of using the murder trial of Timothy McVeigh to hawk cheap suits, and you get an idea of the exhilarating tastelessness of the whole thing.” He pairs these secondhand stories with the cold hard numbers that took Barneys from an extremely profitable and powerful family business into its eventual bankruptcy. Even with all the figures, Levine keeps a fast pace and had me turning the pages nonstop to find out how it all ends.

After serving in World War II, Barney’s son Fred took control of the store. He worked steadily to acquire higher end merchandise and broaden their customer base. Now you could get Christian Dior and affordable suits in the same place. However, it was the third generation who brought about the family’s undoing. Gene Pressman and his appetite for excess (wild nights at Studio 54, lavish clothing for himself and his wife, homes photographed for prestigious interior design magazines), paired with his brother Bob’s “creative accounting” led the entire company to ruin. The Pressmans filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 1996, relinquishing all but two per cent of their stock (which they sold to the Jones Apparel Group in 2007). And Levine convincingly argues that this is best for the store and for its patrons.

Since the publication of this book, Barneys has gone through a wide range of CEOs and primary shareholders. I happen to be extremely interested in the cutthroat nature of designer fashion retail, so this book was perfect for me. Levine is subtle but insistent in his belief that the Pressmans failed because they stopped catering to “all men” and fell into the trap of serving a very particular customer, foregoing profits for their own brand of elitism. Photo-ops with celebrities are all well and good, but affordable merchandise that people actually want to buy? That’s priceless.

The Rise and Fall of the House of Barneys: A Family Tale of Chutzpah, Glory, and Greed By Joshua Levine (William Morrow/Harper Collins, 1999)

review by Haley Mlotek
photography by Samantha Walton

Image: Shirtwaist factory workers preparing for a strike, from the National Women’s History Museum

On March 25, 1911, 146 garment workers working in New York City - most of them young, immigrant women - lost their lives in a deadly fire. The rights of the workers were already undervalued in favour of increased production, and the overcrowded factory, unsanitary conditions and locked exits created a literal and violent death trap. The incident created an uproar concerning the dismal conditions under which these women were forced to work, and raised issues concerning labour and union rights still relevant today.

Cornell University: The Triangle Factory Fire
For those of you wishing to learn the basic facts concerning the fire, this website is an archive containing firsthand testimonials, newspaper articles, resources for further reading, and a detailed timeline of events, from the garment industry strikes of 1909 to the legal aftermath and protests.

The New York Times Tag: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The Times has been building an excellent database of images, videos, and modern perspectives on lessons learned in the fire’s aftermath - and how far we have to go (see also Nancy Goldstein’s writing at the American Prospect).

American Experience: Triangle Fire
PBS has an hour long documentary that you can view in its entirety on their website. For those of you with access to HBO, they will be airing a documentary of their own several times within the next few weeks.

The Price of Fashion (1910)
While you are on the PBS website, be sure to check out this gallery of images taken in the years surrounding the fire, chronicling the working conditions that went into constructing the clothing seen in fashion magazines.

-Anna Fitzpatrick

With all the different things I love about fashion, over-groomed starlets wearing expensive dresses is not usually at the top of the list. I’ve usually already seen their clothes at preceding fashion weeks, and so there is generally very little exciting about seeing them again on unnaturally shiny celebrities. I am more interested in the Met Costume Institute exhibition than I am interested in who wore what at the gala that opened it (well ok, with the exception of Chloe Sevigny).

However, as things tend to happen following an event of this sort, the entertainment blogs and mags like to divvy up the looks into the thoroughly scientific categories of what is “hot” and what is “not.” The best dressed lists seem to consist of those who were the most traditionally pretty: buzz words like “flattering” and “feminine” get thrown around. Which, naturally, leaves everything else to the worst dressed list. Perhaps it is my inner contrarian that needs to defend the honour of the riskier pieces, perhaps I just like to cause a fuss with my clothes (like that time in the tenth grade I went to school wearing leg warmers over flared jeans in order to prove a point to my mom - a point which I cannot remember, but it was important, let me tell you). Yeah, yeah, we all know Marion Cotillard and the legions of ladies in sparkling floor length gowns looked nice, but they’ve gotten enough praise already.

I decided I would put Kristen Stewart (wearing Chanel Haute Couture) first because 1) it was probably the most universally panned by bloggers and 2) got your attention, didn’t it? MTV says: “Her outfit last night looked like a prom dress gone wrong. Essentially, the cut and shape were totally unflattering.” Maybe it’s just because the girls who covered teen magazines when I used to buy them a long time ago (read: 2004) tended to be impossibly sunny and dressed in technicolour poufs (you wanna talk prom dresses gone wrong?) Either way, I can appreciate the existence of a teen queen who prefers to wear a sheer skirt on the red carpet and who doesn’t know how to fake a smile if her life depended on it. I swear I’m not just saying that in an attempt to get page hits from Twilight fans.

What I love about M.I.A. (here in Alexander Wang) is that she rocks the hell out of whatever she wears and yet continues to be a target for critics (I probably don’t need to tell you to google “Henry Holland + Grammys”). She continues to provoke and keep things interesting in a way previously seen with certain swan dresses of red carpets past. Is she wearing a gold knit dress over a leather catsuit? Yes. Am I going to question it? God, no.

My favourite ensemble of the night (but anything Rodarte I tend to automatically fawn over), Kirsten Dunst’s dress was well recieved, although her footwear, not so much. Personally, I think the white tights and laced shoes create an unexpected addition to the dress’s victorian details and layers of lace. In other words, she looks like an elegant grandmother who could hold her own in a fight. That’s a compliment, by the way.

To be honest, Tina Fey’s look didn’t make me gasp in awe, but I felt her choice was in tune with the gala’s theme of the American Woman. Her decision wear pants in lieu of a dress that night was very modern, just like the type of woman Fey herself is. Plus, out of all the looks that night, this one was probably the most convenient when time came to use the washroom. Which, you know, is always a plus.

Disagree with me? I’m sure at least one of you out there must, at least on KStew. Tell me your own picks in the comments.

- Anna Fitz

interview by Anna Fitz
On her blog, Geometric Sleep, Laia takes an intelligent approach to fashion. Rather than focusing on outfit pictures (although she does occasionally take some), you can find her deconstructing runway shows or pursuing various creative projects like her zine, the Holy Child.

Where did the name for your blog come from?
I lived in a crappy mice-ridden apartment in Philadelphia my junior year of college. To make matters worse, I slept on a futon that was essentially on the floor so I was always paranoid that a mouse was going to get in bed with me. So one night it got to be too much and I ended up crashing on my roommate’s bed. I guess I was so worried that I wouldn’t hit her on the face, or accidentally spoon her or whatever, that I had these crazy dreams where I had to accommodate myself on the bed like a Tetris piece. INSANITY! When I woke up in the morning, the first thing I thought was, “man, I just had such geometric sleep!” I thought that was a really weird thing, so when I started the blog a few months later, that’s what I called it. I’m glad I didn’t overthink it and just went with it.

Who are your style icons?
I have women whose style I admire, but I don’t know that I would say they are icons (at least not yet). Visionaire editor Cecilia Dean always looks amazing, and even if she’s wearing a total runway “IT” piece, she always makes it her own. And, you know, the usuals like Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lou Doillon, the Olsens (although lately it’s been mostly Mary-Kate, haha) and Vogue contributing editor Lauren Santo Domingo. I guess it’s really just women who wear whatever they want and shy away from wearing a head-to-toe “look”.

In an age where independent fashion publishing is dominated by style blogs, why did you feel it was important to make a print zine? Did you ever make zines before when you were younger? Were they always fashion related?
I love magazines. It’s really that simple. I studied graphic design in college and became totally obsessed with making/designing magazines after I took a publication design class junior year. I was feeling like an uncreative bum since I finished school and needed something to feel productive again so the zine was the next logical step. Funnily enough, although when I was little I was always “planning” on making zines, I never actually made them. I was always cutting up magazines and making collaged journals, though, which seems like kind of a zine-y thing to do. They weren’t solely fashion related, but it was definitely a prominent component.

How did you get involved with Pop Magazine and what exactly are you doing with them?
Pop contacted me a few months ago because they wanted me to blog on their website, which seemed totally crazy at the time, but I’m super psyched about doing it. And then in a separate (but I guess related?) incident, I got to go to London and meet up with Tavi, Elizabeth (White Lightning) and Eden (Large Prime Numbers) and work on a poster zine for their new issue. It was an incredibly amazing and super fun experience. I still can’t believe it really happened.

You’ve been blogging for a few years now (since 2006); how do you think your style or tastes have developed since you started?
I’d like to think that I’ve become a bit more sophisticated. Not in the sense that I only wear expensive clothes and eat caviar, haha, but I think my tastes are more defined and I feel more comfortable experimenting with different things that I may not have 3 years ago. I don’t know that this is a result of blogging as much as it is growing up probably.

Laia’s Top Ten Fashion Designers (in no particular order):

1. Olivier Theyskens : I have been enthralled by his work since his beginnings, pretty much. No one can bring such a spirit of romanticism with a dark side like he can. He is just on another level of being entirely.

2. Marc Jacobs: He just has IT, you know? He gets inspired and changes completely every season and it always feels relevant but long-lasting. His work for his namesake collection is definitely one of my favourites; I think he has the most European-ish sensibilities out of all the American designers, but he still keeps his work firmly grounded on American traditions.

3. Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez: They just always manage to make super cool stuff and even though they are young designers their clothes have a vibe of instant classics. I always find stuff I’d love to wear now and stuff I’d like to wear when I am a lady of a certain age. Something for everyone.

4. Hussein Chalayan: The man is just a genius, let’s face it. I wasn’t so keen on his fall collection, but usually everything just blows me away. He definitely has a very unique point of view in the industry.

5. Miuccia Prada: Miuccia is everything. She’s a major influence in the development of my aesthetic and I’ve been enthralled with her since I was like, 10 or 11, when I really started to get into fashion.

6. Raf Simons: I always love what he does at Jil Sander. It’s modern minimalism at its best with a sense of secret luxury (which is something I’m kind of obsessed with). And his use of colour is always right on point.

7. Tom Ford: He’s not designing anymore but I definitely have to include him because, along with Miuccia, he was a major influence when I was growing up. His clothes were always so DECADENT, all luxury and sex and mystery. I still hope that he’ll start doing a women’s line again.

8. Christopher Kane: He’s the newest designer on the list, but he’s just GOT IT. I particularly look forward to his shows every season because he always comes out with something new, crazy, and awesome.

9. Laura & Kate Mulleavy: Rodarte makes stuff out of dreams and fantasies. I wish I could even think to create things that are so beautiful.

10. Alber Elbaz : I don’t think anyone else does such SUPREMELY womanly clothes like he does.