Halston

He provided AIDS to many.

I wouldn't say he is nearly forgotten. Most people still relate his name to iconic fashion hallmarks, like Jackie's pill box hat and the one-shouldered bathing/evening jersey collections.

Then even more people got to know his name after he sold it out to J.C. Penney, hardly the only designer who's done that.

But I do believe he did indeed lost complete control of his brand, as opposed to Calvin Klein or Oscar de la Renta, who kept their fashion houses.

And to this day, his name is synonymous with Studii 54, along with Liza, Warhol, and Bianca Jagger, all of whom had achieve celebrity doing something else but became symbols for the iconic night spot.

Was there more than one Studio 54? ("Studii")

Oh, I don't think he's forgotten...is he?? I think he's mentioned quite a lot, especially by designers who work today. So much of his stuff really is timeless.

On a side note, when I've searched for images of his stuff in the past, it looks like Lauren Bacall donated a bunch of her evening clothes to FIT. She had a lot of Halston stuff in her collection.

Anjelica Huston was one of his regular models. She wore Halston to the Oscars after she moved to L.A. This outfit is refernced a lot in those endless "Best Oscar Clothes" lists that appear every few years.

Nupita (or whatever) Whatshername's dress that got so much attention a few years ago is basically a reworked Halston.... (the one on right)

No one put ultrasuede to better use.

This wouldn't look the least bit dated today...I don't think.

That is Shelley Hack from Charlie's Angels in the first pic. Far left.

Plus he was one of the those few fashion designers, like Calvin Klein and Marc Jacobs, who at their peak as designers were actually very hot looking themselves, which drew attention to their levels of coolness and taste. I loved that many times they could be the best models for their male lines.

Very wearable - if you have the body forhis clothing - in that his formal pieces are not costumey at all. It’s not “let’s have a Fashion Moment!” or “let’s have an Oscars Moment!” stuff where the actresses are dressing up as fictional Hollywood Movie Stars. His women look very chic, elegant and the clothes don’t wear them.

[quote]So much of his stuff really is timeless.

It's amazing how much of his clothing would absolutely work today with no changes. According to people who know much more about it than I, many of his pieces had very little actual sewing put into them - it was all about how the fabric was cut. Interesting...

He made me short stubby legs look fabulous, darling! He really was a genius and always had quaaludes.

Alston also designed for men and had a signature cologne.

His stuff really was timeless and elegant, but it only fit the tall thin body type -- since it's so unstructured, most of it is unwearable if you have curves or weigh more than 100 lbs.

Diane von Furstenberg was far less creative, but her wrap dresses are much more wearer-friendly for most women.

R17 Interestingly, tho she was his biggest name client...I don't really think of [quote]LIZA![/italic] when I think of Halston. She doesn't wear clothes particularly well....and he just made her look-not-so-bad-as-usual.

He helped the aging Liz Taylor look a lot better, too.

[quote]R19 Diane von Furstenberg was far less creative, but her wrap dresses are much more wearer-friendly for most women.

This is true.

lol @ that pic... little frau smile. Just finished collating the copies for the new office supply cabinet policy.

'Halston, Gucci, Fiorucci - He looks like a still, that man is dressed to kill. Oh wow, He's the greatest dancer.' Golden days of disco

[quote]R22 lol @ that pic... little frau smile. Just finished collating the copies for the new office supply cabinet policy.

I didn't dare link to her blog....people will just be mean!

She's happy...I bet she makes a mean crudite dip.

Halston is not just NOT forgotten, it has been revived as 'Halston Heritage' and does quite well.

SJP was the President of Halston Heritage for a while

I think Rachel Zoe directed Halston Heritage at some point - she was hired by Pigstein.

This still sells

At once masculine and feminine, friendly and formal, and chic and sexy, Halston perfume for women embodies the mixed-crowd ethos of the Studio 54 denizens who wore it.

Jerry

You can imagine Joan or Norma Shearer in this beautiful Halston gown, from 1975

SWISH

Caftan. Earrings?

Cindy

Apricot shimmer

Bronze sequins

[quote]R31 You can imagine Joan or Norma Shearer in this beautiful Halston gown, from 1975

We did. At R5

I'm always searching for THIS to come up in the right size, at the right price. They should reissue it; maybe a licensing issue?

It's a shame he's no longer around making anything. These look like absolutely fabulous garments to mince and flounce in.

Some of the Halston Heritage pieces look good. Unfortunately, they're polyester.

My dog used to eat his food when he was with Purina

his colognes were damn good

still wear em

This model shoot at the end never gets old. Captures the era exactly.

Halston Heritage

Slept with him

Re: R33, I didn’t know a caftan could look that good.

[quote]His stuff really was timeless and elegant, but it only fit the tall thin body type -- since it's so unstructured, most of it is unwearable if you have curves or weigh more than 100 lbs.

Not really. Pat Ast was one of his muses (left in the pic below, with Candy Darling and...Rashida Jones?! How old is that bitch anyway?)

Karen Bjornson (from R12) was a Halston house model, and became one of his his favorites. She spends part of her time discussing her work for him HERE:

Karen Bjornson in Halston ad

Loved him.

I love the idea of Halston.

Nearly every evening, he would have a steak delivered to his apartment from "21" and then he would order an escort from "Dial a Dick" to cap off his evening.

Once arrested in Central Park while doing some late night cruising. The Halston biography by Steven Gaines is a fun read.

R45 you better spill RIGHT NOW!

[quote] His women look very chic, elegant and the clothes don’t wear them.

It wears you;you don't wear it!

Blair: Halston's just come out with a terrific new line.

Jo: I know. I've been out with him. You can't believe a word he says.

Simply Halston... and you’re right R53.

R55 Liza had one too many snorts this morning. It's the woman wears the dress, not the dress wears the woman.

r58, see 00:58.

Sorry--I meant 00:57.

Cutting jersey & ultra suede is tricky for any dressmaker.

Cutting them on the bias is arguably THE hardest thing.

Halston did better than anyone ever had (has?!).

I remember reading an article in W some years ago, about two partnered bears in Brooklyn.

They were making jersey and other sheer fabric gowns to a growing list of A-lister fashionistas right out of their apartment. They referenced “Roy” quite a bit in the story.

No one draped fabric like Halston.

I just started to work with clay.

I fucked in his townhouse after he had died (did the guy who was taking care of the property).

I was able to park my little Ford Escort inside the garage that connected with the kitchen. Then we went upstairs to the bedrooms and further upstairs to the living room area.

Very minimalist. The all white furniture was still there but there were marks on the walls where the artwork used to be. An all-around semi-creepy experience.

R63, do you only have sex in the former residences of the famous?

R63 here?

It looks fucking GORGE

Go beige or GO HOME

I thought his designs were hideous, more like costumes for the stage.

I adored Halston men's cologne.... Z-14 & 1-12.... My first serious bf @ university had a luxe blue-grey Ultrasuede Halston blazer. Beautiful lining, and great high notched lapels. He found it new in a charity shop for £2!

I've always loved the name Halston too.... Just rolls off the tongue, and sounds oh so very distingue'!

[quote] I was able to park my little Ford Escort inside the garage that connected with the kitchen.

Swanky!

Yes r65 and r67. It was in the east 60's off of 5th Ave. If I had the Escort, it had to be the period between1987 and 1992 (when I lived in Park Slope before Brooklyn was fashionable and actually had a car).

What I remember the most was a side staircase with no handrail or protection from falling into that lower living space. So minimalist!

[quote][R63], do you only have sex in the former residences of the famous?

😂. Both those instances I met the caretakers at Rounds, which was located nearby (the Marcos mansion was off of 5th as well).

The three things that impressed me the most about the empty Imelda home-

a huge multi-story high portrait of her that hit you as soon as you walked in.

a full working elevator

the disco on the top floor (we were able to take monogrammed disco plastic cups home as souvenirs).

The guys who were taking care of that mansion (yes, it was an Anglo-Latino-Philippine group scene, with me contributing to the Latino side) worked for Corazón Aquino.

Oh, and I know we met at Rounds, but I wasn't charging, even though the Imelda scene had a few rent boys in it. These Filipino caretakers knew they could take advantage of their position to sway rent boys to work for free. So they would turn their tricks and then come back at the end of the night to go hang out at Ferdinand and Imelda's.

Lots of coke involved.

Personally speaking, I could listen to R74 reminiscing for days.

OMG I Just realized that st some point in those days I may have had an Escort full of escorts...

According to Lorna Luft’s book, if you weren’t a celebrity, he would ignore you. He just barely tolerated her because she was Liza Minnelli’s sister. He was such a snobbish bitch.

Oh, my. I had two of those silver monogrammed plastic cups referenced by R73. Kept them for years and years. There was an equally epic portrait of Ferdinand next to the portrait of Imelda. And gold plated fixtures in the can. The little needlepoint pillows tossed around in the disco were a mad camp. The whole place was vulgar beyond belief.

In the '70's, as a gay college student, I moved into my first apartment with a friend. I hadn't a sou, but still got to J.C. Penney to score Halston sheets for my bed. It had to be done. And it was!

r43 the song was great too in that scene ...oh to go back. The best times of my life

Halston was his middle name. I grew up in the Indiana town where he graduated high school and the old timers there remembered him when he was Roy Frowick.

I remember when he designed ultrasuede uniforms for Braniff’s flight attendants. They were the envy of the industry.

I was living in SF when he died and I remember an article about his funeral in the Chronicle . There was a picture of a very devastated Liza at the service. She was the only one of his celebrated friends to attend. I will always give her props for that.

I was mad about his clothes and I thought he was so sophisticated and handsome. On my first NYC layover(at the old Park Sheraton) I looked him up in the phone book and he was listed! Roy H. Frowick and his address.

[quote]The little needlepoint pillows tossed around in the disco were a mad camp.

It's the little details that make DL THE premiere online destination for gay gossip seekers.

r82 I read that he barred anyone from his "Studio 54" days and other party cronies from coming to see him in the hospital when he was dying.

R81 That's no stewardess, that's MY KAREN BJORNSON, interviewed upthread!

Edith Head overhauled some airline's look at one point, too...but Halston's take is so much more stylish.

Edith's version is too fuddy-duddy for words....

Halson's airline crew is ready to have sex with you in the aisles RIGHT NOW!

Only Pucci brought haute couture to our flight hostesses!

R89 I love that middle outfit so much! I want to buy it for all my friends who go on and on about their food allergies, etc. and say, "Here, put on your helmet."

There was some stewardess who had been with that airline for 30 years or something and had all the Pucci pieces (there were a lot) in great collection. She either toured with them, or auctioned them, or both.

HERE'S article about the sale....it had both the Pucci and Halston collections in it. 90 pieces.

Halston!

Isn't that Pat Cleveland to the left in the pic of the Braniff flight attendant's?

R93 Yes!

I like that the stewardess who preserved all her Pucci and Halston uniforms for decades was named [italic]Mary Sue[/italic] (!)

Like a Jackie/Jane Jetson mash-up......

That hatmaker famously and shamelessly stole every decent design he ever used from the immortal Charles James. James was furious about it until his death.

Halston's designs were quite different from Charles James's designs.

Christine Pedi is a damned genius. That Liza video is hysterical!

[quote]R96 Halston shamelessly stole every decent design he ever used from the immortal Charles James. James was furious about it until his death.

Charles James' elaborate clothes were very restricting, with tons of boning.....Halston's were easy to wear and constructed from few pieces of fabric. They could not be more different.

Halston's frenemy Charlie is a LIAR!!

He was talented (he really did create an original American look that I think Armani picked up on) and he was extremely successful, until he was not. He had an addiction to hustlers and coke which pretty much ruined his life (career and personal.) He is a cautionary tale as far as I am concerned. And yes he was a fixture at Studio.

I knew the woman who ran his couture business on Madison Ave and I met him a few times. She was (and is) a gem of a woman, who after a while based her continued employ on not having to speak with or work with Halston because he was such a monster. She was (is) classy, down home, kind, aristocratic, sophisticated etc all in one person and Halston's high end clients who were not Liza and Elizabeth loved her- they did not particularly like him to put it mildly. Halston knew what he had in her, and that her "pedigree" was something he could never touch.

I think in spite of his great success and talent- that his life was a tragedy. He really did not have friends toward the end. Nice that Liza remained loyal. as some have said on this thread. I wouldn't know about that. But then she too fell to the same demons and although she did not die, she just sort of ruined her career. She differs from H in that she is a nice person.

I would love some old bottles the mens colognes if they haven't gone off. The current dime store versions are as bad as they should be but nothing really like the originals.

are NOT as bad

[quote]R100 ...he was such a monster....Halston's high end clients did not particularly like him, to put it mildly....Liza differs from H in that she is a nice person.

Thanks for sharing that.

I have no problem believing he was a bitchy, controlling queen. I'm just speaking of his clothes.

Exactly R97.

Don’t get me wrong, Charles James was one of the 20 or so greatest Couturiers of all time, but as R97 says, Halston & James have almost nothing in common.

The greats all understand/ understood draping though Halston was the best.

The costumes in Phantom Thread remind me of The Charles James esthetic.

No one would ever mistake this for Halston...

Cocaine was really Halston's downfall. It made him crazy - temper tantrums, moodiness, angry for no real reason - if you've ever had experience being around a cokehead you know exactly what that's like. The person just becomes unbearable. His coke addiction also affected his ability to work and made him make bad business decisions. It was very sad, for a man who was so gifted.

[quote]The costumes in Phantom Thread remind me of The Charles James esthetic.

Which would make sense, given he was the prime inspiration for the Reynolds Woodcock character.

I met Roy Halston at a party in Kensington when I was about 20 in the late 1980's, I had no idea that he was famous at the time and only remember him because he said that he'd sailed over on The QE2.

He seemed like a nice guy.

We're all impressed with you're Halston dress.

^^ Hate to be a Grammar Queen but it's [BOLD] Your [/BOLD] not [BOLD] You're [/BOLD] (unless you mean [BOLD]'You Are' [/BOLD] which would make no sense

This is as elaborate as I've seen Halston get. (At least, I believe it's his...)

A direct link is too long and won't post. Scroll down this page to the link "New York Magazine - Oct 16, 1978 - Page 88 - Google Books Result," 2nd column near bottom, paragraph beginning "On the wall of James's workroom was a list of designs that he alleged Halston had stolen from him: the figure-eight skirt, designed in 1939; plagiarized by Halston, said James, in 1969....' and following.

R113 Well, we would really have to see the pieces in question. And as they always say, There's really nothing new in fashion, it's all recycling.

Halston had BDF.

Let'sh do shome more linesh! *hic* Here, I'll cut 'em up!

There’s a great short story called “By Halston” that centers around the night of the release of his JC Penney line in 1983. Andy Warhol, Liza (of course), and Steve Rubell are all characters. And they end up at Studio 54 after the fashion show. Halston is portrayed as rather cunty (and is anti-Semetic at the end). He’s dancing with Liza near a very drunk Truman Capote in the last scene.

R113 Okay, well this seems to be something Charles James felt was tolen from him by Halston.

Apparently, he felt he invented the technique of sewing different fabrics together, to create the illusion of printed stripes (?) Maybe he believed he invented the cape, too?

[italic]Mary....![/italic]

Cheryl Tiegs in Halston

Brooke Shields in Halston (1980)

Farrah Fawcett in Halston

Beverly Johnson in Halston

Diana Ross in Halston

Marisa Berenson in Halston

Lauren Hutton in Halston

[quote] Rashida Jones?! How old is that bitch anyway?

Rashida was born in 76 and Halston died in 1990. Maybe she was tall at 14.

Pat Cleveland in Halston

This documentary is great, if you can find it streaming on amazon or netflix, or wherever.

Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston, and Stephen Burrows.....

Super thread, nice to see our Charlie again

Nosing around for Halston on youtube, this made me laugh:

[quote][bold]Pauline Trigère Sells Stoves whilst being Fabulous - 1967

I read that there was some big fashion event in the 70s where Nan Kempner fried an egg on a sterno stove on the stage while wearing Halston couture.

That kind of glamour just doesn't exist anymore.

Janice Dickinson on the far left

Sadly, the model in the pink shirt on the left in R134 killed herself at just age 19. Her name was Pola.

Halston blouse in [italic]American Hustle[/italic] (2013)

Referring to earlier in the thread, Daniel Day Lewis's Woodcock character in Phantom Thread was a composite of several designers of the period but primarily Charles James and Balenciaga. But considering that Balenciaga, despite remaining deeply closeted his entire life, was entirely gay, and that James, despite being very effeminate, was bi but definitely tending more towards straight, the straight Woodcock is probably closer to James.

James was an extremely complicated and difficult man and his relationship with Halston was long ongoing and extremely complex.

But he justly never forgave that grifter milliner.

[quote]R138 But he justly never forgave that grifter milliner.

Get the HELL OUT'A HERE! Ya hear me?? GET OUT!

[quote]R98 Christine Pedi is a damned genius. That Liza video is hysterical!

Have you seen this? So good...

It’s interesting how he could make pieces that were so glam but looked comfortable. Most of his stuff is like sexy pajamas.

{quote] Most of his stuff is like sexy pajamas.

Good observation! Perfect for a somewhat [italic]slutty[/italic] era!

Who SHAYSH we did drugsh...?

[quote]Not really. Pat Ast was one of his muses (left in the pic below, with Candy Darling and...Rashida Jones?! How old is that bitch anyway?)

I did not see this answered: The 3rd person in the pic at R47 appears to be Marissa Berensen.

It was a joke R144

I am fairly certain that every DLer over 50 recognized Berenson.

Halschton

R131 made me holler

Did Halston alieanate his friends? Were there only a few friends that were still around at the time of death?

R81 I remember Braniff going with Pucci prior to Halston!

Halston the perfume indeed still sells -- at T.J. Maxx for $9.99 for 3.4 oz. Men and women's. Inexplicably low end but it still smells good, especially Halston Amber.

So do I r149. I still long for the rain helmet.

At r143:

Those are the minimalist rail-less stairs I spoke about upthread!

Now designing from the afterworld for QVC

This gem is from their H by Halston line.

Thank the goddess he's not alive to see that....!

He was very fuckable.

R154 The fabric looks more like Diane von Furstenberg, if anything.

He had huge hands.

When was the Halston III line pulled out of Penney's?

An article in the NYTimes a few months after the launch made it sound like a hit. And I'd read elsewhere that the first line totally sold out.

The Penney’s line was initially a hit, but quickly took a nosedive.

Did Halston have a funeral? Where were his friends when he died?

Amazing that he'd be 86 in a couple of months if he were still alive.

Halston alienated a lot of people with his coke-fueled behavior, and many chose not to bother with him anymore. The last few years of his life were quite sad an reclusive. I believe his last public appearance was at Andy Warhol's funeral.

I remembered that Halston had designed the bridesmaid and wedding outfits for Sly Stone's wedding.

Who could play Halston in a biopic of his life? He'd have to be tall, of course.

R164 Matt Bomer

gorgeous clothes. expecially because they were from the 70s, the most awful decade for fashion. Bravo Halston!

Armie Hammer r164.

I worked as an intern for Halston when I was at F.I.T. Not a nice man, especially to unimportant women.

Still love Z14 and still wear it today. I think the formula is changed, but still love it. Memories of Xenon, Studio and Saint all in a small brown bottle.

From the Halston book:

On June 15, 1970, Halston showed a collection that mingled their work. It was as if everything wonderful about Halston’s first collections had been ruined. By general consensus the show was awful, a hodgepodge of styles. Women’s Wear Daily summed up James’s contribution with a brusque “In the soft seventies, who wants engineered clothes?” It was the only negative thing that the paper had said about a Halston collection in three years.

Predictably, James got along no better with Halston than he had with anyone else. Said James, “One day Halston walked into the showroom he had given me, which wasn’t all that nice, and said, ‘You’re too old to design. How much do you want to stop being in this business and just live forever?’ He offered me $250 a week for the rest of my life. I declined. I knew he just wanted to steal my work, claim it as his own, of course.”

“Halston became Halston after the Charles James show, because he realized he was as good as Charles James,” said the designer Clovis Ruffin. “He came to the full realization of his talent, and he didn’t need anybody after that. He did the most brilliant, fabulous clothes after that.”

Charles James never made peace with Halston or with the rest of the world. He was found dead of pneumonia and kidney failure in 1978. He was discovered by his assistant, Homer Layne, lying on the bed in his boxer shorts and dirty undershirt, surrounded by plates of decaying food, dress forms, bolts of fabric, and his fabulous sketches of fashions that never came to be.

He wasn't that attractive. He looks like a skinny Ben Platt at R155.

More dish from the Halston Book by Steven Gaines:

"While Victor Hugo filled the emotional abyss in Halston’s life, the physical was being taken care of by Robert Rogers, an unassuming black man of medium height and build in his late twenties who was one of Manhattan’s most successful male prostitutes. Rogers was known as “Cuelar” and made $150 an hour with a call-boy service known as the Black Kings. Cuelar said he saw Halston sixty or seventy times. “He asked me if I knew of anybody else who was like me, a nice black guy who’s well endowed. And I said I did. . . . Between 1980 and 1983, I sent him many, many guys.”

Halston’s ultimate fantasy, according to Cuelar, was to have sex with a heterosexual black man, a blue-collar worker, if possible, right off the street, and he was willing to pay dearly for it—up to $500. Cuelar claimed to have waited at the 125th Street subway station in Harlem and picked men out of the crowd.

“I would say that Halston was eccentric,” said Cuelar. “When you entered his place he would buzz you in, but he would be upstairs on the top floor and he would call from upstairs and say, ‘Have a seat, I’ll be right down.’ He would come down, always all in black and these silver clogs. He would descend the stairs very slowly and say, ‘Welcome. Would you like a drink?’ Then he would say, ‘Would you like to go upstairs?’ You were never in bed more than ten minutes.

Back in '79 Liza was so high she became convinced that SkyLab was going to fall on her head. She was frantic, escaping to Halston's Long Island compound. When the terrified Minelli arrived, Halston took her by the hand led her out to the porch, pointed to the back yard and said "Look. That's where SkyLab is going to fall." Then they sat down together and waited until it was announced that SkyLab had disintegrated over Australia.

Didn't the notorious Klinton Spillsbury say that he went to Studio 54 to promote Lone Ranger and woke up in bed with Halston?

A possibility to play Halston would be the guy who played him in "54 - Director's Cut." He and Phillippe get it on in a hot tub. He also fucks "Bianca Jagger. "

Mike Meyers is great as Steve Rubell. He says to Ryan Phillippe "Hey, if you're the one asking for a promotion shouldn't I be the one unzipping my pants?" And in the scene below he tries to seduce a busboy. "I wanna suck your cock."

Lily Tomlin should play Halston.

R168 This would be interesting to hear more about - -

That’s a Warhol Pic @ R143.

Too bad Andy didn't frame Liza's shoes into the pic.

R164, Allison Janney

I'm surprised this thread didn't go further.

When I was F.I.T. mid 80's all of the cute guys ended up with internships with designers through a man named Professor Roberts. He was a fun old queen. I ended up at Halston. Friends worked at Perry Ellis, Norma Kamali, Tattoo and Bonjour Jeans. Sadly I'm the only one of my group that is still alive. ( the guys that is )

Left the Halston job to work at Xenon which at that point was a dying dog.

Roy Halston was way past his sell by date when I knew him. My entree was model Esme Marshall who I knew from back home in Boston. Drugs, both coke and meth, plus that awful "Victor Hugo" pig did him in.

Sad. In his day he was the American answer to YSL.

Halston was unlike any other designer before or since. A true original.

My favorite story is about how he could take a piece of fabric and a pair of scissors and make a gob-smacking dress in 5 mins (and 5 lines). All about design.

Liza's couture/custom collection must be over-the-top incredible... and that apartment/house! Perhaps the coolest 70s pad in NYC history. Unbelievable.

I knew Esme from meeting her in Cambridge in the 70s.

R181 R182

Your friend, Esme [bold]: )

Esme was the receptionist at a fancy Boston salon call Diego at the Loft. That's where I met her. Went in town to get my haircut there in High School.

I was very grand.

I remember reading a piece back in the day on interior decor in which Halston haughtily insisted that books be displayed backwards, with spines invisible. What say you to that, tasteful friends?

R180. Wow! You were at the epicenter. It must have fabulous. More!

Victor Hugo was a total user, and encouraged Halston's drug use. Everybody wondered what Halston saw in him. Even Liza couldn't stand him, and she gets along with pretty much anyone.

Hey Halshton, let'sh go back to the bashement and do shome more linesh! It'll be terrific!

R184: Diego At The Loft! Hadn't thought of that business in years!

I was working at Filene's at the time (NOT as a sales bottom, in the executive offices, you bitches). and used to get my haircut on Newberry St (Not at Diego, though).

Ever go to Napolean's?

[QUOTE]Victor Hugo was a total user, and encouraged Halston's drug use. Everybody wondered what Halston saw in him

A BIG, FAT COCK

I always love your stories FormerBHManny!

God the vintage Halstone stuff was fab! He really was an original. Kind of masterfully handled the drapery and bias-cut techniques that Vionnet pioneered and Alaia is remembered for now - but combined it with the of the look of the moment and highbrow elegance of YSL - yet was quintessentially American - and his casual stuff had a sporty dash about it that owes a debt to home grown designers like Claire McArdell. Given how horrible so many seventies trends and looks were - he really stand out. Really knew how to make women look effortlessly elegant and beautiful.

Was so handsome and patrician himself when young too! But after a while he got that leathery look - and you knew he’d reek of cigarettes and too much cologne (even if it was his own creation!). Kinda sad tale in a way. But was it? I mean - he had a great life! Lotsa dough, the best of everything - amazing apartment! - famous friends, booze, drugs, hookers... so he was only middle aged when he died. Meh. Would he have rather lived to be 86 if he’d had to forego all that and clean up his act?

Grrr! iPhone! Halston - not halstone! New culpa!

Threads like this are why I still enjoy coming to DL. Such great stories!

My life has had 3 acts. My life as a baby gay in NYC, then back home to Boston, then off to L.A./ BH.

F.I.T. was really magical. My job with Halston was really, really unimportant. They would dress me up and send me to events and promotions. It was fun but it sometimes included the Smithhaven Mall and worse. Again, I still have Z14 on my dresser.

As for Napoleon's', I went a couple of times. Dragged really. Chaps was my happy hunting ground.

Mentioned upthread, Roy Halston was an amazing talent, a really flawed human being and what I now believe was bipolar. He wildly self medicated and was taken advantage of by a lot of bad people. My interactions with him were usually great but once in a while you just never knew.

Someone referenced a short story called “By Halston” upthread but didn’t mention the author. Is it part of a collection? Would love to read it.

I always find good books to read on DL. Someone mentioned "The Club" by Stephen Gaines. I had to send off for it. It's fabulous! I never knew Liza was such a whore!

R196, that story is a part of a collection of short stories called “At Danceteria and Other Stories” by Philip Dean Walker. My book club read it last year.

And the Halston story (which I believe appears first in the book) is fantastic. In fact, at times it feels like Gaines’ “The Club” mentioned by R197. Liza is portrayed as an endearingly coked-up puppet. Andy Warhol, Steve Rubell, and Truman Capote all make appearances. The story centers around the night of his J.C. Penney fashion show.

Liza said that Halston invented her.

Thanks for the info R198, I finished "The Club." Do you know who any of the characters were in real life beside the obvious ones like Liza, Halston, Bianca, Mick, and "Alvin" Klein? Like Kate Dunn (not sure of first name) who was portrayed as an older, blonde, Broadway star. In the book, she's married to an industrialist and keeping the bartender. They end up together at the end. I was wondering if it was supposed to be Lauren Bacall. I saw her back then in "Woman of the Year," which I think was around the same time as "The Act," maybe earlier, not sure.

Re: r135 -

There's more gossip about the Halston model Pola, who killed herself at age 21, HERE:

Victor Hugo reportedly had a 10" cock.

Ha, ha, Liza's said a lot of things. But Kander and Ebb and Bob Fosse might have their own opinions on the subject.

Does anyone know who came up with her iconic hairstyle? It couldn't have been Sassoon because I believe she had it cut in Berlin.

Believe it or not, but Liza's father Vincente influenced her regarding her classic "Cabaret" hairstyle that she's worn in one form or another ever since. When Liza was researching the period, Vincente suggested that she get inspiration from Louise Brooks.

R204, she had the boyish haircut as a teen but the bizarre, avuncular styling was the idea of Gwen Verdon. She thought Sally Bowles' hair should look like it was painted on and she also found the outfit Liza wore in the title number.

H A L S T O N

Where do I begin with my infatuation with him?

When I was 14 years old (1979) I went to the I. Magnin store in Chicago (North Michigan Avenue, right across the street from Water Tower Place, now closed) and I fell in love with a sportcoat.

In the men's department was an entire rack of black velvet sport coats by H A L S T O N. I believe they were $175.

I certainly was not in the market for such an extravagance, nor could I afford it, but I was mesmerized.

From that day forward I made a vow to own a beautiful black sport coat of any material: velvet, camel hair, cashmere. I have a few.

Of course, by the grace of eBay, a few years ago I finally found one. A vintage H A L S T O N black velvet sport coat. The inside store tag? I. Magnin.

Also, in 1982, my very first cologne purchase was the incredible H A L S T O N Z-14. Purchased where? I. Magnin, of course.

H A L S T O N

I saw the new documentary today. It was mildly interesting. Lots of stuff about him selling out to JC Penney and interviews of people he did with business with. Not much juicy stuff.

I carried his luggage. Three pieces, plus tote, in that beige Ultrasuede with matte silver hardware, lined with an H-woven twill type fabric. Very nice quality.

Battle At Versailles: The Competition that Shook the Fashion Industry | M2M youtube link / full length i believe / not sure if this has been posted

Wouldn't his fashion style be considered fancy, but comfortable resort wear these days?

Bumping like Halston on a phone call

Elegant as fuck!

If I were a woman today, I would collect and wear vintage Halston — and copies — as much as humanly possible. And diet accordingly.

Even the JCPenney Halston III stuff (when Halston was actually still designing it) on eBay is fabulous.