Pat in the City: My Life of Fashion, Style and Breaking All the Rules

By Patricia Field

From the iconic stylist and fashion provocateur whose designs transformed culture – bringing the glitz of Studio 54 and the sophistication of Sex and the City to the mainstream – comes a playful yet intimate memoir of a life spent challenging conventions.

Carrie Bradshaw’s pairing of a tutu with a tank top is one of the most iconic outfits ever seen on television – and a look that turned avant-garde New York designer and stylist Patricia Field into a household name. But before she was crowned the fairy godmother of haute couture, Field was the owner of the longtime East Village emporium Pat Field, a haven for drag queens, club kids, starving artists, NYU freshmen, and creative visionaries alike. Presiding over downtown with her distinctive vermillion hair and a constantly lit cigarette, Patricia was a rock ’n’ roll den mother to everyone from Amanda Lepore to Lady Bunny to Patti Smith, with her store providing the city’s eccentrics with a place to discover a sense of family, home, and a rhinestone bedazzled bustier or two.

In Pat in the City, Patricia describes her journey from scrappy Queens kid peddling men’s pants to the fashion world’s most notorious renegade. As the daughter of immigrant parents, Field learned the principles of glamour from her entrepreneurial mother, and applied her NYU lessons on democracy to inform a fashion ethos that would reach millions. From her Studio 54 disco-glam styling to her award-winning work in The Devil Wears Prada and Sex and the City to today’s buzzy costuming in Emily in Paris, Field’s inimitable styling has pushed the envelope and created trends that have become the culture standard. Now in her seventies, Patricia Field is ready to tell her story – not to take a final bow, but to spread her credo of challenging convention and filling the world with joy and dancing.

Format: Hardback
Release Date: 14 Feb 2023
Pages: 272
ISBN: 978-0-00-859870-9
Patricia Field was born in New York City in 1942 and has been acknowledged as one of the biggest fashion icons of our generation, with a career spanning more than five decades. She is most known for her work as costume designer on the legendary TV show Sex and The City (for which she won an Emmy), as well as The Devil Wears Prada (where she received an Academy Award nomination) plus other projects like Ugly Betty, Hope & Faith, Younger and Emily in Paris. After selling her much-celebrated boutique Patricia Field in 2016, Patricia continues to share her work and talent with her new venture, ARTFASHION.

”'There’s more to Field than the famous tutu and tank…in a tell-all biography, the vermillion-haired octogenarian recounts the story of her colourful life and career” - Evening Standard

”'In a world of homogeneity it’s a reminder of the importance of keeping things weird - and never walking past the bargain bin” - Mail on Sunday

‘A colourful and compelling tell-all about her life and career before and after the show that made her name. Field is wry, sharp and funny' Guardian -

”'If fashion is your thing and style is your thing then this is the book for you” - Fi Glover