Fame or Name

My grandma is one of the most amazing mentor and role models in my life. She prays for me daily. The prayer, she admits, is mostly for my health and well-being. However, she confessed that she also prays that I will live like Charles James and die like Picasso (minus the scandals of course).

Most of you are familiar with the legendary painter Picasso and his life story of living in poverty and nameless status until his death. He was never witness to the fame and credibility that he has today. He didn't live with fame, but he certainly left his name.

On the other hand, Charles James immersed his life with riches of the old-money crowd of New York City and bathed himself with compliments he received from others. He became a legendary designer at a young age and purposefully surrounded himself with aristocrats such as the women of the Vanderbilts,Hearsts, Perettis, Pons, Rogers, Steins, and ... you get the idea.

He used his fame to live his life any which way he wanted. Even his clients had no choice but to give up their dresses, which they rightfully paid for and owned, whenever he wanted it back. One day, when dressing M.E. Hecht for the opera, he insisted she wore one of Millicent Roger's old dresses. Not any old dress, but the dress hanging in the collection at The Brooklyn Museum. James's cab pulled up to the steps of the museum, he walked in, and walked out in 10 minutes with the dress in hand. Hect suffered a night at the opera in the prized viewing box under strict orders to sit up properly, not breathe too heavily, and to NEVER turn her back to the audience. (That was because Millicent Rogers was 30 pounds lighter than Hecht and they had to alter the dress quite a bit).

He was a cocky as any man could be. When asked what he thought about Schiaparelli, he said, "Without Dali and a dead fur animal, where would he be?"
Of Valentino, "Imagine building a career on one colour"
Of Chanel, "After her use of jersey, what else has she produced?"
Of Dior, "He appears to think shortening and lengthening hemlines constitutes fashion."
Of Courreges (whose design he liked), "Well he's been trained as an engineer, and you see how good is the result. But has he done an evening gown?"
Of Pauline Tigere, "Who?"

Charlie lived his life this way (which was to live it any way he wanted) until he realized a little to late that through his superfluous spending of money and lavish necessities, he soon found himself broke and without friends. He died in a run-down Chelsea hotel deserted by those he thought would be in forever gratitude for his designs.

So, I began to think. If I had to choose between fame or name, I would rather live my life pennilessly, but leave my immortal name as Picasso did than to live extravagantly but to die deprived of happiness. I have no intention to live striving to leave my name in legacy, but I certainly hope my grandma's prayers do get granted that I live like Charles James and die like Picasso because both men lived and died doing what they loved. They were passionate in their own ways. I once read that "If you find work that you love, you'll never have to work a day in your life." That's all I ever hope for.




credits to Vogue