Stylish Read: "They All Came to Barneys"

Subtitled A Personal History of the World's Greatest Store, "They All Came to Barneys" by Gene Pressman is very much a personal history of Gene Pressman. And he was insufferable. By his own account he was a spoiled rich boy who had always gotten everything he wanted. Also by his own account, he was a merchandising genius who made Barneys into what he calls the world's greatest store. Once you can live with that premise, "They All Came to Barneys" is an enjoyable read. 

But first a little backstory: Barney's (note the apostrophe) was a men's discount clothing store located on an unfashionable stretch of Manhattan—Seventh Avenue and 17th Street, ie not Greenwich Village and not Midtown. Founded in 1923 Barney's was a super success at what it sold—decent menswear (aka haberdashery) at low, low prices. I found it quite interesting how the original Barney Pressman did this. 

But THE Barneys, the one without the apostrophe that Barney's son Fred and later his two sons, Gene and Bob, turned into the Barneys of lore came later.

Supposedly said by Carrie on "Sex and the City"

 
No doubt for Gene Pressman, Barneys was the world's greatest store. It was his playground, his Xanadu, his Mt. Everest. Others may argue for Harrods or Bloomingdale's or Macy's, but Gene will have you believing it's Barneys. 

Young Gene with some silent friends

All this magical morphing took place from the late 1970s through the '80s. The Pressmans added womenswear (the most cutting edge by the newest designers), home and gift items (curated by Fred's wife, Phyllis). By the early '90s Barneys on 17th Street was so successful the Pressmans could do nothing less than expand, with 44 stores eventually all over the country as well as Tokyo. Still holding onto the original store, they added a giant outpost uptown, where the big boys (Saks, Bergdorf's and Bloomingdale's) play. The Madison Avenue Barneys was a temple to chic, but I'll have to take Gene's word. I never ever once set foot in it. I was too intimidated. Accused of being elitist, Gene's retort was that Barneys was not elitist, it was elite. Anyone was welcome to come look, buy nothing or just a lipstick (in order to have the shopping bag).

The Madison Avenue Barneys

Along the way we learn a lot about Gene Pressman, as this love story to Barneys is part confessional for him. He led a pretty wild life by any standard. For those not all that interested in retailing (personally I love it), this part is a fun romp through some of New York City's wildest Studio 54 days. Gene was there and seems to have come out with his memory intact.

Barneys in its glory days...

 
Where things get a little fuzzy is what happened to Barneys in the end. The Pressmans lost control of everything by the mid '90s, and Barneys kind of limped along to its sad end. The Madison Avenue store is no longer. The downtown store shuttered way before that. All the other Barneys have closed. If you see a "pop up" Barneys somewhere it's only because a company bought the name.

...and at its end (2020)