I love this photo. Tziporah Salaman is a New York style icon, frequently photographed by Bill Cunningham and Ari Seth Cohen of
Advanced Style. Last year, she modeled for Lanvin.
I think there is a lot to learn from Salaman's
story: first, think carefully about what you add to your wardrobe; and second, don't give a damn about what other people think. Clarification on the first tidbit: it by no means is encouraging "practical," conservative dressing. Tziporah dresses like she is "making a painting" with the clothes and her body, and won't buy something unless it passes her criteria:
“Each item has to be as good as all the other items, and it has to pass my criteria of ‘Do I want to travel with this item for the rest of my life?’ If the answer is no, I don’t buy it.” Once, she spent seven years coming up with an outfit. And more on the second: growing up, she used to feel a little self-conscious when she was "ornamented' with unusual hats and pieces. Once she completely owned it (after her rabbi said she was like Hod in the Tree of Life), she never looked back. I think there's a lot to admire about this quotation
: “The Doyle Auctions are always great because they have great hats and I have no competition. Most of the women at the Doyle Auctions are Park Avenue ladies who love to play it safe. They’d rather get those Chanel earrings to show everyone. You might as well just put dollar signs on your ears. But then I have all the hats to myself.”
I'm going to try and be a little more like Tziporah, I think.
