More About Tziporah Salamon And The Fabric Of Her Life

DAHLINGS -

I am sorry this could not be posted earlier, but Ms. Salamon is a very busy woman and it had to be done by my least favorite form of communication, email.

One memory I had noted during our conversation was, that when she was a young girl, she would choose her outfit according to her Vera scarf for the day. Her long hair was worn in the low ponytail that was popular then (the early 1960s), parted in the middle, and she would choose the scarf of the moment. Then build her clothing around the scarf. That same rule holds true today, although the process is a bit different.

"I loved hats and found that they completed an outfit," she recalls, "So I started wearing them and then realized that I usually started with the hat and worked my way down, creating the outfit to go with the hat - and most of the hats are small, brimless - they just suit me better. I am always refining the look and it still continues - it's just that now I pretty much know what looks best on me and stick to it."



Tziporah has literally thousands of hats in her apartment, both on display and in pristine white hatboxes throughout her apartment, carefully conserved in acid-free white tissue paper. As as noted earlier, it took a long time for her style to develop.

"It was a lot of trial and error. I loved the Japanese designers immediately - Yohji Yamamoto, Comme de Garas, Issey Miyaki. I would have worn them exclusively, but could not afford them so I turned to vintage. Because the stuff was unique, relatively reasonable in price and much better made than contemporary clothes. I learned that I loved to dress like a Middle Eastern boy - one from Egypt or Palestine or Morocco - Jewish or Moslem it didn't matter as they basically dressed alike. Then, I fell in love with Chinese clothes. The embroidery just made me so happy to look at it. So I came to realize that I loved ethnic clothes more than European/Western garb. They were more exotic and spoke to my heart and soul. "

Ms. Salamon considered a career in fashion, but thought better of the idea, although she works as a stylist and teaches classes on how to dress. The idea for "The Fabric Of My Life" came through a class she teaches at Parsons twice a year, Dressing As An Art Form. Which she certainly does!

Eventually she developed the class into her current one woman show, which she has performed to enraptured audiences all over the city, in theaters, gardens, and now the Off Broadway Boutique. Once again, here is the information:

THE FABRIC OF MY LIFE
The performance will be one night only at one of the most glamorous shops in New York, the fabulous Off Broadway Boutique!

Mark your calendars, readers: Friday November 14th at 6:00 PM.

Admission is FREE, and not only that, wine and cheese will be served. The audience is invited for an evening of fashion, fun and shopping. It is located at 139 West 72nd Street. The web address is http://www.boutiqueoffbroadway.com/, so you can take a look at some of what they have to offer. RSVP to: boutiqueoffbroadway@verizon.net.

After this, Tziporah Salamon plans to continue to nurture her blossoming career as a stylist and teacher of chic. If you wish to learn more, please do visit her website at http://www.tziporahsalamon.com/. As she herself states, "What I love doing is teaching women how to dress: how to develop their own personal style and dress for their bodies and lifestyles, how to be creative with clothes. I want women to have more fun with clothes, to be more daring and not be afraid to stand out and look different."

And that is marvelous advice for women of ANY size, dahlings!

See you tomorrow, dahlings!

Ciao,

Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Tziporah Salamon Off Broadway November 14th!

Entering Tziporah Salamon’s apartment is akin to entering an opulent grotto, filled with tapestries, adornments, pictures…Asian, Turkish, 1920s: something to feast your eyes on everywhere you look. As Bucky and I lounge on a divan covered with a "suzani," a spread from Uzbekistan, and many cushions, gazing upon shelves of books, purses, and incredible hats, Tziporah enters her sitting room like a creature from another time and place.



She settles me in with a cup of green tea and a dish of figs and dates, and shows me pictures from her life. My eye had been caught by a student ID saying “Lynn Salamon.”

After the family moved from Israel to America when Tziporah was nine, “The other kids made fun of me because of my name,” she says. “The most popular girl’s names were Linda and Susan. Susan? No. I wanted something more sophisticated. So I chose Lynn. I told everyone, my name is Lynn now.” Tziporah uses the word “sophisticated” a great deal, and it suits her.



She handles her body like a dancer, wearing a black fringed tunic and matching fringed pants, barefoot with red toenails that match her red lipstick. Her brown hair is cut short, the better to go under the tight small hats she favors. Sitting on the floor, Tziporah shows me photographs as she narrates her life story, which will be explored in more detail in a later entry.

Speaking of which, that life story is going to be PERFORMED by Tziporah Salamon as “The Fabric Of My Life,” which is described as a “sartorial autobiography in which she uses stories, anecdotes and costume changes to tell the story of her life in clothes.”

THE FABRIC OF MY LIFE

The performance will be one night only at one of the most glamorous shops in New York, the fabulous Off Broadway Boutique! Mark your calendars, readers: Friday November 14th at 6:00 PM.

Admission is FREE, and not only that, wine and cheese will be served. The audience is invited for an evening of fashion, fun and shopping. It is located at 139 West 72nd Street. The web address is http://www.boutiqueoffbroadway.com/, so you can take a look at some of what they have to offer. RSVP to: boutiqueoffbroadway@verizon.net.

You can trust moi when I say that Off Broadway has some of the most marvelous things in New York, including designer and vintage clothes and jewelry. I will certainly be in attendance.



Tziporah has (like moi) been profiled in The New York Times, and was the “star” of the April Manhattan Vintage Show (cf. my earlier entry) where we first bonded over her matchless style. She is also a favorite subject of Bill Cunningham, the street fashion photographer of The Times. Her website is http://www.tziporahsalamon.com/.


With her father a tailor and her mother a seamstress, Tziporah was born into a family where clothing was the focal point of existence. Another entry will be coming soon about her life and style evolution, and most important, the clothes! Oh mon Dieu, the clothes! I’ve seen them in person, and I’m still vibrating with desire. The coat shown in the last picture is from the Ottoman Empire. Among her enormous hat collection are hats from Dior, innumerable 20s beaded cloches, and many small ethnic embroidered hats from throughout the century.

Treat yourself to her matchless style and make sure that you come to "The Fabric of My Life." It is a chance to see a woman like no other in a setting where you can drink for free and shop as well. Can life get any better?

Well, George Clooney could be there, but a girl can't be too greedy. More to come about Tziporah soon!

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog

Photos by Carole Cutner

The Manhattan Vintage Show vs. The Recession

Dahlings –

I am still an exhausted shell of a woman after the Manhattan Vintage Show. Who knew that work could be so much…well, work??

Hours on my feet being my fabulous self, turning on my thousand-watt smile to the eager buyers, keeping my breasts inside my dress (an ill-advised wardrobe choice on Friday made that a bit of an ongoing problem; rest assured that Saturday I wore a 1939 peplum print dress with an uncharacteristically high neckline!). In any event I did not wear my usual high heels but instead opted for ballet flats. Not so flattering but practical.

The Matinee New York booth swarmed with the common and not so common folk. An Italian designer bought a number of dresses from my personal collection. Many customers were astounded to find that plus-size vintage women’s’ clothing even existed! As the saying goes, I made a killing.

One theme throughout the show was that there was far less business than in past shows. One seller told me he had actually made 90% less than at the previous show! I am firmly convinced it is the recession; the first things to go are the luxurious necessities. That is so foolish; I’d much rather have Balenciaga than a working gas stove.

I have observed earlier in this blog-thing that at the Manhattan Vintage Show, although many of the dealers are large-sized women, they do not wear vintage clothing, nor do they sell it. This year there was another booth devoted to plus-size vintage. Gracious soul that I am, I am firmly of the mind that a rising tide lifts all boats.

My partner, Sheri Lane, knows many, many people in the film industry, and they were delighted to find a source for plus-size vintage. I also saw my dear friends Lynn Yaeger, who wore what to all intents and purposes was a grey jacket over an open upside-down umbrella; Hamish Bowles, resplendent in green suit and bow tie; and I bonded with Tziporah Salamon, the “star” of the Manhattan Show, who had two breathtaking exhibits of her personal wardrobe.



Ms. Salamon dressed in clothes that defy description; suffice to say the words “stylish” and “unique” fall far short. You can visit her website at http://www.tziporahsalamon.com/. Her male assistant also wore wonderful things; I never did find out his name, but I shall never forget his cinnabar purse.

Several marvelous fellow sellers were at the show, including the ever-delightful Miss Kitty of The Cats Pajamas Vintage and Barbara Kennedy and her handsome husband.

Now I must lie down. Even though it’s been several days, I am still wrung out, barely able to lift a croissant to my plump red lips.

Before I sign off, many thanks to Matinee New York, Lola, Stephanie Schroeder (the best publicist a woman could want), Patricia, Lynn, Vivienne of Born Too Late Vintage (http://www.borntoolatevintage.com/) who provided some lovely things, and to David Ornstein, organizer of the show. I don't usually thank people, but as Ms. Salamon would say, "It's a mitzvah."

Ciao,
Elisa & Bucky the Wonderdog