Meeting Patricia Field

On Friday, I had the opportunity to take a brief trip to San Francisco to head over to Britex Fabrics for a Meet + Greet with Patricia Field. 2 weeks ago, I noticed that Patricia Field had added me on Twitter (say, wha?!) and so I did what anyone else would do and followed her back. 

Last Monday I decided to scroll through her tweets and noticed her sharing that she would be in the Bay Area for a Runway Production and Trunk Show in Benicia for House of Field and in support of her colleagues Richard Hallmarq and David Dalrymple . I discovered she would also be at Britex Fabrics for a Meet + Greet but it was scheduled for Friday morning.  I almost lost any hope in meeting her, but luckily I had permission from work to go!  (Hooray for a flexible/awesome job!)

I arrived at Britex Fabrics and instantly recognized her bright, red hair as I walked past the fabrics on the table. The event started with an introduction and an overview of how the event would play out. The goal was to walk and talk with Pat, but the crowd that arrived eventually made that impossible. She was very laid-back in how she spoke and composed herself. She described herself as more of a business person and not an artist and looked completely at home with all the people she interacted with. There was a chance to hear how she got started in her career, her proudest moment (opening her own store) and offered advice to young designers and fashion students in the room.  The overall theme of the talk with Pat was to do what you love and it was refreshing to see that she was in fact doing what she loved with her life. 

Besides being able to meet Patricia Field, this event featured a chance to talk with Project Runway Alumni Richard Hallmarq and Emily Payne. I felt out of the loop when they were introduced because I have not watched Project Runway in a very long time so I did not recognize either of them. I think it was great meeting them before looking into their clothing lines and clips of them on Project Runway because they were both passionate and interesting individuals. They also talked about their experiences with fashion design and becoming a business person. Both offered sound advice to students at the event. 

Once the Q&A was over, there was the opportunity to ask for autographs. I brought a Sex and the City book,  but instead of asking for that to be signed I asked Patricia Field to sign my belt designed by her. I first noticed this belt on Sex and the City The Movie and discovered, thanks to the book I bought, that it was nicknamed  “Roger”. I found the belt on +Poshmark and it made sense for this piece to be the thing I asked her to sign. After watching the movie, I was inspired to watch the entire Sex and the City series for more clothes and style inspiration. During the Q&A, Patricia said she never intended to cause a style revolution by mixing high and low end items in Sex and the City , but it was highly-received because it was a lot more realistic for someone to pull off that kind of look. This strategy of mixing high and low end items really helped develop my own personal style and it was amazing to meet the woman behind all of that.

Thank you for signing my belt and sharing your words of wisdom Ms. Field. I can’t wait to see the projects you have coming up next year and to see the fruits of the consulting you’ve done on your next TV show. I hope to run into you again someday, possibly wearing this belt and some amazing heels.

Until next time,