Henri Bendel and the Worlds He Fashioned by Tim Allis

Tim Allis launches the first-ever book to explore and celebrate Henri Bendel—both the mysterious man and the legendary store—in a style worthy of its fashionable subjects. He will be in conversation with veteran fashion editors Amy Fine Collins and Marilyn Kirschner.

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Henri Bendel. A store of legend. A man of mystery. And the first-ever book to explore and celebrate both in a style worthy of its fashionable subjects.

A name known to many, a man known to few. Henri Willis Bendel was celebrated in his lifetime as a tastemaker and merchant but is now a nearly lost figure. His journey from a humble upbringing in late-nineteenth-century Louisiana to the pinnacle of high society was remarkable: Starting with a small hat shop in Greenwich Village in 1896, he eventually redrew the map of fashion retail, turning then-strictly residential Fifty-Seventh Street into “the Rue de la Paix of New York.” He introduced his discerning clients to such influential designers as Schiaparelli, Molyneaux, and Chanel. He outfitted Astors, Vanderbilts, and stars of stage and screen from the sunset of the Gilded Age past the dawn of the Jazz Age. But he also brought a democratization to fashion with accessible offerings and clearance sales. In syndicated newspaper columns he dispensed pithy and impassioned fashion advice to women across the nation who might never set foot in his store.

Henri Bendel and the Worlds He Fashioned traces his life from his upbringing in a large, tight-knit Jewish family headed by his immigrant stepfather and mother—herself an enterprising merchant—to his early dry goods business, then to the romance that led him to New York and the tragedy that would set in motion his rapid ascent. Bendel was treated as a kindred soul in the Paris salons of haute couture and throughout Europe, where he amassed rare antiques, then built dramatic showplaces back home in which to place them. All the while he stayed loyal to his kin down south and to his chosen family up East, which consisted of blood relatives and two beloved companions whose true place in Henri’s heart required discretion, owing to the constrictions of the time.

The book also recounts the history of Mr. Bendel’s storied store, from its bustles-and-corsets years through the days of furs and flappers, then the tailored chic of the 1930s and ’40s. In more modern times, the legendary president Geraldine Stutz made Bendel’s a cornucopia of cutting-edge designers and innovative merchandising, a lure for the most famous and fashionable women in America. In its long, final era, Leslie Wexner of the Limited expanded the store’s reach and solicited younger clients, emphasizing jewelry, accessories, and dazzle. Those various and sometimes-at-odds incarnations define Bendel’s extraordinary 123-year run under the iconic brown and white stripes first sketched by Henri, who himself said, “A designer, to be successful, must feel the trend of the times.”

Tim Allis was a senior editor at In Style for twelve years. Prior to that he was a staff writer at D magazine (Dallas) and People. He has contributed articles to Out, Men’s Health, Time Out New York, Saveur, CNN.com, and Playbill.com, among others.

Amy Fine Collins is a writer and former Special Correspondent to Vanity Fair where she wrote features about fashion, art, design, culture, Hollywood, and society for over 20 years. She is currently an Editor-at-Large of Graydon Carter’s Air Mail. She has been an arbiter and owner of the International Best-Dressed List since 2003.

Marilyn Kirschner is a longtime fashion editor with 50+ years of experience, a fashion icon, and an industry leader. Marilyn was Senior Market Editor of Harper’s Bazaar for 21 years and is currently editor-in-chief of Lookonline.com the longest-running online fashion publication.

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