Mercedes Gonzalez - Chronicles of a Fashion Buyer: The Mostly True Adventures of an International Fashion Buyer

ChroniClesof aFashion BuyerThe Mostly True Adventures of anInternational Fashion Buyer Mercedes Gonzalez Chronicles of a Fashion Buyer Mercedes Gonzalez The Mostly True Adventures of anInternational Fashion Buyer 4880 Lower Valley Road Atglen, PA 19310 copyright 2018 by Mercedes Gonzalez library of congress control number: 2018937044 all rights reserved. no part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any meansgraphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying or information storage and retrieval systemswithout written permission from the publisher. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book or any part thereof via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. sFP schiffer Fashion Press, logo are registered trademarks of schiffer Publishing, ltd. developmental edit by Jesse J.

Marth Production edit by Helena neufeld copyedit by Kim Hufford designed by danielle d. Farmer cover design by adrianna Kinal Pink lace fabric textile texture to background ragnarocks. courtesy of www.bigstockphoto.com. Type set in century schoolbook std IsBn: 978-0-7643-5623-0 Printed in china Published by schiffer Fashion Press an Imprint of schiffer Publishing, ltd. 4880 lower Valley road atglen, Pa 19310 Phone: (610) 593-1777; Fax: (610) 593-2002 e-mail: Info@schifferbooks.com Web: www.schifferbooks.com For our complete selection of fine books on this and related subjects, please visit our website at www.schifferbooks.com. schiffer Publishings titles are available at special discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions or premiums. special editions, including personalized covers, corporate imprints, and excerpts, can be created in large quantities for special needs. special editions, including personalized covers, corporate imprints, and excerpts, can be created in large quantities for special needs.

For more information, contact the publisher. We are always looking for people to write books on new and related subjects. If you have an idea for a book, please contact us at proposals@schifferbooks.com. Other Schiffer Books on Related Subjects:Made for Walking: A Modest History of the Fashion Boot by andy Peake, IsBn: 978-0-7643-5499-1 Pleating: Fundamentals for Fashion Design by Leon Kalajian, George Kalajian; Foreword by Jack sauma, IsBn: 978-0-7643-5296-6 Dedicated to the mostinteresting man in theworld, my dear and lovinghusband. The fun is justbeginning. conTenTs InTroducTIon ....................................................................................... 9 THe earlY Years .................................................................................13 BuT MY naMe Is on THe door ..........................................................41 cHeaPer on canal sTreeT ...............................................................55 You are doInG IT WronG, sId ..........................................................59 BerGdorF Blonde ..............................................................................70 THe exPress lane ...............................................................................75 THe eMPeror and HIs neW BooTs .................................................85 nIcKels and dIMes .............................................................................98 rIcH or FaMous .................................................................................102 doVeTaIl ..............................................................................................110 IT TaKes us To MaKe THe VIllaGe ...............................................127 raInBoWs and unIcorns ................................................................147 Hell Boss ............................................................................................158 THe GodFaTHer and THe orPHans ..............................................162 IM WITH THe Band .............................................................................176 Too MucH InForMaTIon ..................................................................193 THe sKInnY oF IT all .......................................................................194 WHen elePHanTs FIGHT ..................................................................212 zoolander Is a docuMenTarY .....................................................222 alWaYs a reTaIler ...........................................................................233 ePIloGue ..............................................................................................244

The stories I tell and the examples I use grew too large to fit in a simple how-to book. some of these stories come from very real personal experiences, some of them are inspired by others, and some are not true at all. The purpose they serve is to teach a credible lesson about real life in the global fashion industry. The long and short of My story I grew up on the upper West side of new York city, and it irks me to no end when people glamorize the 1970s as edgy and raw. Trust me when I tell you that there is nothing glamorous about heroin junkies and cat-sized rats in the park. It wasnt until I was a teenager and my parents bought a house (the typical american dream) in new Jersey that I realized all that time we had been poor.

My parents were the masters of spin, and they never spoke about money in front of my brother and sisters. We had everything we needed, and I had a happy home with little family drama, unlike many others in my neighborhood. However, I still refer to those high school years as the dark years. I was miserable. On a good day, the drive into New York was only fifteen minutes, but none of my classmates went over there. I was the city kid who wore diana Vreeland Kabuki-style makeup to school.

In response to their weak efforts to bully me, Id scoff, What? no, I didnt put my makeup on in the dark. You just dont get it. All those years of fighting the hoodrat girls on my block to get to school gave me a confidence and a look that said dont fuck with me. all I wanted was to go back to New York. Crackheads (the heroin junkies were now crackheads) and daily muggings were better than the small-minded people I went to school with. until then, I could spy on uncle Manolo for my mom. uncle Manolo was a garmento. uncle Manolo was a garmento.

He was my mothers brother, and he never married. He was a big, fat guy and the polar opposite of my parents. I adored and worshipped him. He gambled, womanized, drank too much, spoke like a truck driver, and made the sopranos look like kindergarten teachers. My mom, on the other hand,