HAUTE PURSUIT

Fashion entrepreneur George shares her trajectory from retail buyer to multi-brand showroom operator to owner and creative director of the Alice & Trixie brand in this business-focused memoir.

The author begins her book by recalling how, while growing up in Cedarhurst on New York’s Long Island, she got her “first fashion fix” at age 10 when she scored “my very first pair of hot pants” in 1970. By 1980, George had moved to Manhattan and delved into this passion, working in various retail stores, starting with Bagatelle on Madison Avenue and soon progressing to a manager and buyer position in the downtown South Houston Clothing Company. By the close of the decade, after other stints that include a brief period in Montreal, George launched Times Two, her own Fashion District showroom in Manhattan, which discovered and represented multiple brands. By 1997, George launched her own brand Alice & Trixie, notable for its vibrant prints and luxe fabrics and favored by celebrities. Due to a variety of factors, including personal burnout, the rise of e-commerce, and a decision not to offshore production to China, George “closed up shop in October 2019 to revamp and reboot, or so I thought.” The Covid-19 pandemic changed her plans, and now George enjoys her life as industry mentor/educator based in New York City and the Hamptons. This lively account of an impressive career certainly achieves George’s stated objective to “highlight and preserve the rich history of New York City’s fashion district” and it will likely “inspire and guide” readers hoping to enter the fashion industry, as well. Over the course of this conversational narrative, George provides a nostalgic tour through multiple decades, including pop-music references and some big-hair photos. Most significantly, however, her detailing of various industry practices—such as “fobbing,” or combining high-recognition and lesser-known brands with private label brands—offers instructive insight to anyone considering stepping into a fast-moving and often tough business.

A captivating account of the glamour and challenges of fashion commerce.