Brave Heart
Legendary street-style maven Tziporah Salamon turns her philosophy of fashion into a bold statement. Jeanne Beker takes a look
Legendary style maven Tziporah Salamon shares her fashion philosophy
WHILE FASHION MAY NEVER SAVE THE WORLD, it does make it a more beautiful place. And in the hands of someone who understands the machinations of tasteful dressing and the impact of gorgeous style statements, fashion can be astoundingly powerful. Meet Tziporah Salamon, a 64-year-old Israeli-born New Yorker who’s come to see her artful approach to dressing as her contribution to the Judaic notion of Tikkun Olam, a Hebrew phrase meaning “healing” or “repairing” the world. A cult style icon on the streets of Manhattan, the impeccably dressed Salamon is often seen riding her bike in wonderfully glamorous get-ups and has culled a vibrant career for herself, which includes presenting seminars on the art of dressing, providing closet consults, personal styling and shopping services – and performing a poignant and illuminating one-woman show entitled The Fabric of My Life. Salamon, who costars in Ari Seth Cohen’s remarkable recent documentary, Advanced Style, which celebrates older women, is also a professional model with credits that include a 2012 Lanvin campaign shot by Stephen Meisel.
A one-time PhD psychology student at the California Graduate School of Family and Marital Therapy, Salamon
tried to resist her obsession with fashion for years. But, at the age of 29, she succumbed and moved to New York to pursue her sartorial dreams, getting a job at the chic Charivari boutique and beginning a decades-long love affair with vintage shopping. Today, Salamon, who immigrated to America at the age of nine, boasts a lavish wardrobe stash chockfull of exquisite vintage garments – some museum quality – and a collection of more than 200 hats, those pièces de résistance that really “finish” an outfit. I cosied up to the extraordinary fashionista at Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum and, by the end of our conversation, was joyfully reminded about why I fell in love with fashion in the first place.
J: To what do you attribute your level of esthetic and sartorial savvy?
T: Exposure. My parents were Hungarian, and Budapest was considered the Paris of the East. Women really dressed! And when my family immigrated to Israel, my mother, my aunt – everybody! – was a seamstress. They had maybe three dresses, but they were impeccable and custom-made. They knew the fabrics and the right parts of the body to show. So even in Israel, which was dusty desert, with no roads yet, these women wore beautiful dresses, high heels and red lipstick all the time. The men dressed in suits and ties. You went to a tailor and you went to a dressmaker. So I grew up literally with cloth and magazines and patterns all around me. My parents were sewing all the time! Since I was a baby, my mother would be knitting the onesies, crocheting baby shoes and little hats. And I was the boy my father always wanted. He was a tailor and would make me little shirts and pants and toggle coats and, as I got older, my mom would make me big accordion pleat skirts. It was in my blood from Day 1. I would go to sleep and I’d wake up and there would be more clothes! So I delighted in dress-up. I thought everyone played dress-up all the time.
J: What about the notion of becoming a slave to fashion?
T: People say to me, “You are so fashionable!” And I say, “I’m really not. I’m stylish but I’m not fashionable.” I’d have the latest Prada, the latest YSL, the latest “it” bag or shoe if I was “fashionable.” And, of course, I would have at least 10 pieces of Céline. But none of that interests me. Of course, there are some Céline pieces I would love, but, at $3,000, I’ll think twice about it. Because I know there are amazing vintage garments I could score for $150.
J: If you had to articulate what great style is, how do you describe it?
T: It’s honouring who you are. It’s reflecting who you are and portraying who you are and your ancestry and your heritage. First of all, the No. 1 rule is what looks good on your body. For example, I can appreciate the 1960s Grace Kelly look or Jackie Kennedy look. But that would look horrible on me. I’m so much more ethnic. I’m a citizen of the world, and that’s what I love. So my style reflects that. For other women, it may be classically regal or sporty or sexy … A lot of women do sexy! I’m not comfortable with it. There’s enough sexy out there! And it’s work. But the work and the joy is to find your own style. What makes you tick? Who are you? Do you love embroidery? Do you love ethnic? Do Mexican peasant blouses do it for you? Is it tailored suits? Is it threepiece men’s suits? Go ahead and do it, if so … Be the best you can!
J: So evidently, the older you get, the better you get because the closer to your own truths you get.
T: Absolutely. And that’s really it. And the confidence to know that and to be who you are. After all these years – okay! This is who I am. I don’t have to follow the masses.
J: What nugget would you give women who look at you and aspire to the confidence and panache that you exude?
T: I’d tell them, “You can! I give you permission to fly. I give you permission to play. I give you permission to explore!” Start looking through magazines – they don’t even have to be fashion magazines. What do you like? Do you like yellow? Do you like blue? What takes your breath away? Start looking at who you are and express it. Start small and take it up a notch. And then another notch. Dressing is one of the most creative outlets given to all of us. It’s what gets me out of bed. It makes me look forward to the changing seasons. And part of the joy is that you get to impart that. People approach me all the time and say thank you for giving me joy. It highlights. It elevates. We all love beauty. So why not celebrate beauty? Celebrate life! As hard as it gets, on a daily basis, you can still do this. And it can give me joy … and you joy. So it’s a double mitzvah! A real win-win.