NEW YORK (AP) – Clothes and how to wear them have been a constant in Betty Halbreich’s life for most of her 86 years.
Good thing she landed a job at Bergdorf Goodman as a personal shopper nearly four decades ago.
The opportunity couldn’t have been better timed. She was fresh out of a mental hospital after a breakdown following her split with her husband. She had found herself alone in his city – it wasn’t hers – for the first time and needed a reason to get out of bed.
Fashion and style loomed large in her proper upbringing as a lonely only child in Chicago. At the famed department store, it was the thing that saved her life. But with age, she’s made a few changes, particularly when it comes to her relationship with clothes.
“I’ve loved clothes all of my life. I don’t love them personally anymore. It’s more of a job. Today it’s like whatever’s in the closet,” the blunt-spoken Halbreich said by phone in a recent interview.