Preface                                            xii
Acknowledgments                                    xv
  PART 1 FROM BONWIT TELLER TO BERGDORF GOODMAN    1  (120)
    Bonwit Teller
      My First Job                                 2  (2)
      My Introduction to Bonwit Teller             4  (2)
      Higher Education                             6  (2)
      The Three Pillars of Wisdom: Building a      8  (4)
      Career
    Changing of the Guard at Bergdorf Goodman
      A Picture's Thousand Words                   12 (4)
      Bergdorf Goodman's Non-Expansion             16 (5)
      The Beginning                                21 (4)
      The Fifth Avenue Stores                      25 (4)
      Reinventing Retailing                        29 (5)
      Pockets of Blandness                         34 (2)
      Objectives and Strategy                      36 (2)
      The Italian Designers                        38 (3)
      The Shops for European Collections           41 (4)
      Barneys and the End of Fashion Designer      45 (3)
      Exclusivity
      New York: The Changing Scene                 48 (1)
    Extraordinary Times
      Fun and Games in Paris                       49 (3)
      Dancing with Celebrities: Partying at        52 (5)
      Maxim's in Paris
      Parties, Parties, Parties                    57 (5)
      Parties and Beyond                           62 (5)
      Italian Fashion Stories                      67 (4)
      Fashionable Events                           71 (3)
      More Fashionable Events                      74 (8)
      Geoffrey Beene: It was Great to Know You     82 (3)
      Diana, The Princess                          85 (4)
    Experiences Learned along the Way
      Experiences with the Fashion Press           89 (2)
      Fashion Writers and Bergdorf Goodman         91 (4)
      Accomplishments and Recognition              95 (3)
      The Goddess in the Fountain                  98 (3)
      Geoffrey Beene and the Guerlain Shop         101(3)
      The Nose of the Beholder                     104(2)
      Andy Warhol's Gift                           106(3)
      Designer Frenzy                              109(5)
      Hermes of Paris                              114(7)
  PART 2 THE BUSINESS OF FASHION                   121(56)
    Fashion Designer Stories
      The "Eye" for Fashion                        122(2)
      Fashion Shows: Then and Now                  124(1)
      My Introduction to the Fashion Designers     125(4)
      of Days Gone By
      Caricature Snapshots of Designers I Have     129(16)
      Known
      Donna Karan                                  145(3)
    The Entrepreneurs
      Pioneers of American Apparel                 148(3)
      The Dauphins of Seventh Avenue               151(5)
      Fashion Designers as Brands                  156(3)
      The Lauders                                  159(5)
    Deals and Diplomacy
      The Gimbel Saks Buying Office and            164(4)
      Bergdorf Goodman
      Meeting Financial Leaders                    168(5)
      Harrods and Mohamed Al-Fayed                 173(4)
  PART 3 THE FALL OF SERVICE                       177(18)
    The Lost Art of Customer Service
      When Opportunity Knocks                      178(3)
      Lessons Learned from the Great Depression    181(3)
      Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden:       184(3)
      Another Lesson Learned
      Finding a Gold Mine in the Lost Art of       187(4)
      Customer Service
      Public Relations and Turning a Business      191(4)
      Around
  PART 4 RETAIL COMMON SENSE                       195(68)
    Connecting with the Customer
      Newspaper Advertising: Creating the Right    196(9)
      Image
      Customer Loyalty                             205(5)
      The Real Retailers: A Social History         210(4)
      The Benevolent Dictator                      214(7)
      Focus Groups and Other Myths                 221(3)
    Customer Service Means Business
      "Because That's Where the Money Is"          224(3)
      What Goes Around Comes Around                227(2)
      Luxury-Brand Customers                       229(3)
      Style, Luxury, Quality, and Value            232(4)
      Self-Awareness in Dressing for the           236(4)
      Occasion
      Telephone Manners or Not                     240(3)
      Black Tuesday, Green Friday                  243(1)
      Salesmanship: The Road to Profit             244(2)
      Trading Down Our Fifth Avenue                246(3)
      The Internet and Retailing                   249(3)
      "From Where I Sit"                           252(8)
      Lessons Learned Fast-Forward                 260(3)
  PART 5 LESSONS LEARNED FROM MY CAREER            263(25)
      Lessons for Future Success
        Looking Back, Looking Forward              264(2)
        Lessons Learned at Bergdorf Goodman        266(22)
Index                                              288