Tag - The Art of Dressing

Dressing creatively is one of life’s greatest pleasures – Tziporah Salamon

So, you want to elevate your style to the next level?! Well, Tziporah Salamon and her highly exceptional eye for style and genius way of dressing, may just be your answer. Tziporah (pronounced ziporah) is one of New York City’s most stylish women over 60. She is widely known for being featured regularly on Advanced Style, being Bill Cunningham’s muse and having been chosen for Lanvin’s Fall 2012 campaign.

Tziporah’s life has always been surrounded by fashion, with her Father being a tailor and her Mother- a seamstress. Her parents are of Hungarian Jewish descent and both survived the Holocaust. Her Father managed to survive the labor camps by sewing the Nazis uniforms. Throughout her childhood in Israel, her parents would always make her clothing. Her Father made little boys clothes, while her Mother made little girls clothes. “I would literally wake up in the morning and there’d be a pile of clothes for me to play with. Sometimes I was a little boy…Sometimes I was a little girl and I was equally comfortable always with both,” she recalls.

Eventually, her family packed up and moved to New York. She went off to Berkeley to pursue a Ph.D in pyschology, but later realized that it wasn’t for her. She moved back to New York to be closer to a world that has always held a special place in her heart- fashion. Throughout the years, she’s had several jobs, ranging from a hat check girl to a saleswoman at Bergdorf’s (where she was told to not outshine the clientele) to a waitress and hostess. She currently teaches part-time and has her two famed classes- The Art of Dressing and her one woman show- The Fabric of My Life. She also does guest lectures, personal styling and closet consultations.

Throughout her lifetime, Tziporah has amassed quite a collection of mainly vintage and antiques finds, while also mixing in current pieces (her favorite designer is Comme des Garcons). She dresses daily, her outfits always taking on a persona of a painting. Sometimes it takes her a year or more to plan out one outfit. Her way of dressing is literally an art form.

I had the privilege to sit in on her Art of Dressing seminar in Los Angeles recently. I was so excited that our LA trip coincided with the time of her seminar. I felt like it was fate. Ever since hearing and reading about the Advanced Style ladies, I immediately was entranced by their style. It was creative and not “normal.” I started following Tziporah on Instagram and just fell in love with her use of vintage and mixing patterns, textures and color. She also always is never seen without a hat. So after hearing that she was in LA when I was, I had to attend. The seminar took place at a beautiful “Old Hollywood” style home in the hills of Los Feliz and spanned the course of a two-hour session of getting to know your body and learning how to dress creatively. During that time, myself, along with 19 or so other stylish women sat on the edge of our seats as Tziporah taught us tricks on how to elevate our way of dressing and to not be afraid to experiment. Fashion Illustrator- Justine Limpus Parish was also in the audience, sketching Tziporah in her different looks. Tziporah would start out with a classic base piece and just when we thought the outfit was complete, she would layer on more…and that made the the outfit look even more fantastic! She played with pieces that ranged from a 1910s lace jacket to chunky bakelite, lucite and amber bangles; lovely 1930s Pongi silk Japanese pajama sets and vintage denim. No outfit was complete without a statement hat, a funky pair of glasses and clever shoes (I died over the Prada Japanese style platforms). It was just so intriguing to be in the presence of this artist, as she was working her magic with only a small closet of clothing and a table of accessories. Her pleasant and captivating personality shone as she explained the “method to her madness” with detail or an amusing story. The evening ended with networking, photos and dress-up. I of course, left feeling INSPIRED!

Some takeaways from Tziporah:

I cannot wear what other people wear..because I’ve always had clothes specially made for me. I love vintage for that reason…With vintage, somehow you get more for your bucks. And it lasts longer and its great. (She credits her favorite vintage shop in LA – Golyester.)

When it comes to dressing, you have to think about proportion, silhouette, color, texture..all of that goes into consideration.

Always buy good shoes… You can’t scrimp on shoes.

You have to figure out what suits you.

Don’t wear obvious labels or logos. (Putting emphasis on the “double C’s”)

Always buy quality of quantity!

When women hire me, I don’t want them dependent on me, I teach them so that I can leave them and they can be masters of their wardrobe.

If you’d like more information on Tziporah, to contact or book her services and find out more on her seminar- go HERE. You can also check out the articles on her on Advanced Style.