Uncross Your Legs - by Stan Herman (Hardcover)

About the Book

In Uncross Your Legs: A Life in Fashion, learn the story behind the man whose vision, over 60 years, has dramatically helped forge and transform American style.

Book Synopsis

On any given day, more people will be "wearing" Stan Herman than any other American fashion designer. As he continues to work and thrive in his 95th year, Herman is the most acclaimed uniform designer of our time. But that is just part of a life well-lived, and well-loved. In Uncross Your Legs: A Life in Fashion, Herman reflects on a remarkable life and career, from his childhood in Brooklyn, NY and Passaic, NJ, to WWII Army service in Europe, and back to NYC as a young freelance designer in the fashion hothouse of the Garment District. Next up, 16 years as head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, where he was instrumental in bringing New York Fashion Week to Bryant Park - all the while continuing his thriving uniform and leisurewear design business. It's also a deeply moving and insightful memoir, following personal triumphs and tragedies, including his nearly 40 year relationship with novelist Gene Horowitz, who suffered a heart attack and passed away in 1992. Together they lived their lives in the shadow of the AIDS crisis that decimated their personal and professional worlds. They also shared a beloved poodle named "Mozart," who helped fill the void when Herman found himself suddenly alone. With equal aplomb, Herman writes with good humor and compassion, recalling the cruel and casual racism he witnessed in the military, his focus on animal rights in the fashion industry - as well as encountering the indignities of one's aging anatomy. Learn the story behind the man whose vision, over 60 years, has dramatically helped forge and transform American style.

Review Quotes

"...this [is the] story of a lifetime working just outside the fashion spotlight, dressing Mrs. Main Street, giving years of unpaid hours to causes [Stan Herman] believed in, and trying to preserve that fascinating corner of New York City history that is the Seventh Avenue garment district. A quintessential garmento and proud of it."-- "The East Hampton Star"

"... A compilation of collages, sketches, photographs and sometimes dishy details about the American fashion industry, the Pointed Leaf-published tome is an encyclopedia of sorts, albeit from one man's point of view."--Rosemary Feitelberg "Women's Wear Daily"

"Aside from uniforms, Herman sells his own loungewear and dresses on QVC, driving his Land Rover to the channel's headquarters, in Pennsylvania, for the tapings. He still plays tennis (well, doubles) but gave up high fashion decades ago. In his forthcoming illustrated memoir, "Uncross Your Legs," he describes how, after an auspicious start in the nineteen-sixties, designing for Mr. Mort, he was "airborne" by the early seventies."-- "The New Yorker"

"Ninety-five years young, Stan Herman is lithe, dapper, cheerful, articulate and charming."--Alix Cohen "Woman Around Town"

"At 95, this designer has never been out of fashion."-- "The New York Times"

About the Author

Stan Herman is a clothing designer, activist, and one of the leading figures in the world of fashion. As head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America for over 16 years, he not only ushered in a period of unprecedented growth for the CFDA but also helped to make New York City the epicenter of the fashion world that it is today. He has designed some of the most recognizable corporate uniforms for Fed-Ex, JetBlue, and countless other companies. This is his first book.