Poster of Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s

Documentary

Director: Matthew Miele

Release Date: May 3, 2013

Where to Watch

I usually love documentaries related to the fashion world, but I lost interest in Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s as it progressed. Interest in fashion and interest in specific stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue, Lord & Taylor or Bloomingdale’s are two different things. Don’t hurt me, but these stores are interchangeable to me, and I’ve passed and entered each one a gazillion times when I lived in NYC. While I loved learning about the different personalities who make Bergdorf Goodman great such as the owners, the designers, the salespeople, Linda Fargo and Betty Halbreich, I thought the documentary needed to jump around less and the narrative should have been chronologically, not thematically organized. I wanted the documentary to start with the history, the family, the store’s layout and organization, the fashion designers and the people who work for the store. My eyes glazed over during the behind the scenes creative process of creating the shop window, which could be an indication that I have no soul or that my doppelgänger took over for a bit. I did laugh out loud when a talking head said that a woman who is confident of her femininity shops there to get help on how to be feminine from experts. Contradiction? Maybe. I didn’t completely buy the assertion that the store exists so you have something to aspire to: the ability to buy those shoes. Definitely for some people as the brouhaha surrounding people who save money to shop at Barneys proves, but going to stores like that had the opposite effect for me. Because I had aspirations for a better way of life, I decided that luxury goods were something to be avoided until the essentials-spiritual and material- were secured. I’m not pooh poohing luxury. Spend your money on whatever you want if it won’t hurt you, but I suppose that is why I don’t think twice about infrequently spending insane amounts on meals as opposed to objects–because I’m creating memories with friends and objects start to gather dust and remain forgotten in the corners of your house.

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