Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field
Directed by: Michael Selditchs
Unrated
Runtine: 101 min
In Theaters and on demand September 20

by Anne Johnson, Staff Writer

Some people just have a knack for art in a way that they can’t explain. Something either “feels right” or it doesn’t. For Patricia Field, when clothes work, it’s just “happy.” They’re “happy clothes.”

In the new documentary Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field, viewers get a glimpse into the life of Patricia Field, the iconic fashion icon behind Sex and the City, Emily in Paris, The Devil Wears Prada, and dozens of other shows and movies. The film follows her career path across the decades, from being a humble store-owner to being one of the most sought-after costume designers in the business. Patricia originally started a clothing store on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the 60s. 

The store rose to a remarkable level of fame in the 80s and 90s as she employed and befriended some of New York’s biggest characters, from drag queens to Club Kids and anyone interested in style, clothing, hair, makeup, and art in general. The film also covers some of her most recognizable work on films and shows starting with lesser known pieces like a show called Grapevine and on to Sex and the City and stars like Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Vanessa Williams, and others.

I very much enjoyed this film. I can still remember binging all of Sex and the City and wanting to run out immediately and wear something incredibly cool, edgy, and original, even though I was living in South Jersey and fashion didn’t much extend beyond flip flops at the time. Learning about Patricia Field as a person was deeply interesting. It’s always so refreshing to see artists being deeply human, and that’s just what Patricia Field is. She has confidence in her abilities as a stylist, but one of the things that came up in several interviews is her interest in the actors playing the characters, and that while the character’s look is important, it should still fit the vibe of the person playing that character. 

In show business, I can’t imagine many costume designers have the patience for this approach, but for the ensembles that Field puts together, it makes sense how so many of them seem to work when instinct tells us they shouldn’t. Allowing actors to pick out pieces that speak to them results in “happy clothes,” and that’s just what she’s looking for.

Documentaries can be tough territory only in that I always come away wanting to know more. There must always be so much material and each requires its own deft hand to leave beloved tidbits on the cutting room floor. However I wish we could learn a little bit more about her origins with her first shop. The film briefly touches on her Greek roots and mentions one or two key pieces of history from when she was getting started, but it left me wanting to know more about how her style evolved into becoming such an icon later on and the beginnings of how she got there. 

That said, Happy Clothes is a celebration of style as art, with Patricia Field as its cool, confident center. If it’s true it only takes confidence to carry off an outlandish outfit, then this 80-year-old has it all in spades.