The Enduring Idea
For years Ric has said that "someone" should tell the story of Charivari on film. Many of the friends we associate with today are former employees of the family-owned retailer; and over the years, I’d often hear our friends agree with him as they recollected their memories and relayed stories at dinner parties, restaurant gatherings and at holiday receptions... so the idea of telling the story endured.
Many of them met in the early years of their fashion careers, when they experimented with new hairstyles and ever-changing looks. They sported clothing so new to America that sometimes they didn't quite know if they wore the garments correctly. And the price was just as extravagant.
New. Different. Cutting edge. Terms all used to describe what Charivari offered. Selma Weiser was at the helm of this force of fashion before many of the empires of Jacobs, Gaultier, Margiela and Van Noten took hold, not to mention those of Miyake, and Rei Kawakubo (Need I mention the fragrances, eyewear, home furnishings, cruise and kiddie clothing lines?).
Indeed, Selma presented a new paradigm for the way we dressed. A way we could look, if we dared. Then Barbara and Jon added new perspectives and ideas fueling its expansion to populate Manhattan's then, residential Upper West Side.
We Were There
Ric lived it. He lived the fashion, the events, the Twilight sales... the experience.
And although I never worked for the company, I lived it too. I took in the ambience of the stores and their heyday '80s sound, the precursor to chillout cool. And at times witnessed how people reveled in their purchases—most times at Ric's, 72nd Street store, at Workshop, and in their monochromatic tour de force on 57th Street and Madison.
Before long the boutique chain was considered competition to Barney's, Bergdorf's and Bloomingdales, the high-end industry behemoths; because if you felt the need to be unique and yes, fabulous, Charivari was the NYC destination. They gave you Yohji and Dolce & Gabbana before anyone else in the US; declaring on a billboard as you drove into Manhattan’s Midtown Tunnel, "You’re going into New York dressed like that?”
The Connections
Charivari also gave us relationships. Romances and friendships were born on the sales floors that have spanned decades. Former employees who met as coworkers then married each other, and customers who have remained in touch over the years became friends or business associates.
And here we are today...
Photo by Tzingtao Chow on Unsplash
The seeds the Weiser's so innocently planted and supported have sprouted through the exposure at Charivari, and grown into the top designers of today, blossoming into global brands and even into luxurious lifestyles.
The secret to the Weiser's success really wasn't so much their business acumen, but their sense of style and channeled passion for fashion. The memory of the Uproar lingers, but their fashion forward touch has never again been duplicated.
From Idea to Telling the Story
Why have someone else tell the story?
It's your idea, I'll help you, I said to Ric... We can do it!
Looking back, we both realize that we've been telling stories, in one way or another our entire lives.
Ric has long been helping others bring their stories to life on the silver screen, and I have been putting-pen-to-paper and capturing history and events on the pages of my magazine.
We are DRAFT Productions
It’s been a journey researching Charivari's thirty-year history, and now we are networking with everyone who wants to join us in telling this fascinating story and taking the enduring idea and transforming it into a documentary film.
