The New York Times bestseller
"[An] obscenely enjoyable romp." --***The New York Times Book Review
The untold story of a New York City legend's education in creativity and
style
For Bill Cunningham, New York City was the land of freedom, glamour,
and, above all, style. Growing up in a lace-curtain Irish suburb of
Boston, secretly trying on his sister's dresses and spending his
evenings after school in the city's chicest boutiques, Bill dreamed of a
life dedicated to fashion. But his desires were a source of shame for
his family, and after dropping out of Harvard, he had to fight them
tooth-and-nail to pursue his love.
When he arrived in New York, he reveled in people-watching. He spent his
nights at opera openings and gate-crashing extravagant balls, where he
would take note of the styles, new and old, watching how the gowns
moved, how the jewels hung, how the hair laid on each head. This was his
education, and the birth of the democratic and exuberant taste that he
came to be famous for as a photographer for The New York Times. After
two style mavens took Bill under their wing, his creativity thrived and
he made a name for himself as a designer. Taking on the alias William
J.--because designing under his family's name would have been a disgrace
to his parents--Bill became one of the era's most outlandish and
celebrated hat designers, catering to movie stars, heiresses, and
artists alike. Bill's mission was to bring happiness to the world by
making women an inspiration to themselves and everyone who saw them.
These were halcyon days when fashion was all he ate and drank. When he
was broke and hungry he'd stroll past the store windows on Fifth Avenue
and feed himself on beautiful things.
Fashion Climbing is the story of a young man striving to be the person
he was born to be: a true original. But although he was one of the
city's most recognized and treasured figures, Bill was also one of its
most guarded. Written with his infectious joy and one-of-a-kind voice,
this memoir was polished, neatly typewritten, and safely stored away in
his lifetime. He held off on sharing it--and himself--until his passing.
Between these covers, is an education in style, an effervescent tale of
a bohemian world as it once was, and a final gift to the readers of one
of New York's great characters.
