“Well helloo! Come on in!” The voice’s owner was a petite blond that stood no more than 4 and a half feet from the ground. She smiled broadly from ear to ear and welcomed us past the threshold of her apartment in the Upper East Side, New York. I had just met the youngest sister of the world- famous designer Tommy Hillfiger.
Ginny’s apartment had a few dress forms outfitted with a few shifts which I recognized from her collections as posted online on www.ginnyh.com. What struck me upon entering was the window on my left which showed a perfectly outlined image of the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson river and to my right, an ideal view of the city and the tiny ants that milled about below us, carrying on their early morning tasks. I stared out at the George Washington Bridge. For a moment I had to move my head back and fourth to make sure that the window wasn’t a poster. My, what a view.
“Would you guys like something to drink?” Ginny asked, “Some Perrier?”
“Yes, thanks!” I smiled broadly, taking in my surroundings even further. I observed a woman with a notepad and another running about making sure that the rack of clothing, with at least fifty pieces of clothing on it was in order. Skirts, dresses, blouses, navys, blacks and blues caught my eye. And lots of shift dresses. It was as if the line had made a projection into the future of my wardrobe.
Finally after the arrival of 2 more models and an editor or two, we were ready to start.
“So, okay, I have some notes here, hmm”, Ginny said. I readily looked on. I perused the rack with my eyes. I would be absolutely fine with wearing anything on the clothing rack.
Ginny glanced at the four of us models She turned to me and glanced at my frame “You look like a zero. Hmm.” Yes! I thought. Ahhh, Chinese food from the day before did not show. Yay!
She began to lay out the potential outfits for us to try on. The segment would be about how to dress simply. “Well, there are some things that you always have to have in your wardrobe. You need a black turtleneck, cream turtleneck, some black slacks, black leggings and...”
Had Ginny raided my closet? I looked over at my mother. We smiled at each other. Yes, this was excellent. I was definitely in the company of like-minded individuals.
She pulled a gray shift dress of the rack. “____, go try this on” Ah, my favorite! Shift dresses are my favorite. Taking a nod from my favorite actress Audrey Hepburn, I’ve been known to rock a timeless shift dress or two and added funky accessories to make it young and fresh.
“You can add accessories to make it fun and make it age appropriate”, Ginny said. So she proceeded to mix and match the jackets and blouses and skirts and cardigans.
The bedroom in the back, which by estimation would be a master bedroom, was used as a fitting room. In the walk in closet hung opaque patterns of all shapes. They were somewhat reminiscent of the shells that crustaceans leave behind when they shed.
I came back out from her dressing room to find the separates organized in multiple ways on the Persian carpet.
“Here, try this on”, I was told. A sherbet- orange cardigan awaited me.
Snap! Snap! One of Ginny’s friends helping us accessorize took my picture as I stood awkwardly in the foyer as I was wardrobed for the fashion show. I barely could wrap my brain around what was going on. How did I, me, end up in Ginny Hillfiger’s apartment trying on her clothes and conversing as if we went to high school together. I was overwhelmed yet strangely at home at the same time. This was my world, I was right at home with it.
I also tried on a lavender dress, but my company wasn’t wowed.
A few hour pass. Models tried on this skirt with that blouse. But what about this belt with it? Well what do you think. We had all but exhausted every possibility “So i think we’re done here?” Ginny says, satisfied with the outcome. It’s almost time to go.
“So what do you guys do with your lives?” She asked the models. One was a dental hygienist, the other a first year law student and the other worked for Real Simple Magazine. She turned to me. I’m not one for ostentatious behavior.
“‘_____’ what do you do?”
“I’m a second year college student” at a college in Virginia. I made the trip up? Yes, and I have class on Monday. My epic journey was duly noted.
In the foyer Ginny turned and faced me to say bye. “You’re so beautiful!” I smiled sheepishly and air kissed her cheek.
“See you soon! Bye guys!”
“Bye!” What just happened? No, really. What happened? One of the coolest things ever! Ah, yes. indeed. I waited for the elevator in her outside foyer. I smiled inside, then outside. I was blissfully transported in my mind to a world of endless possibilities. New York was a pretty magical place and I couldn’t wait to return.
Next entry: Style Sightings, Double take and...So much to catch up on!
Much love,
<3 SF
