This is not as much a current obsession, as I have always enjoyed style-centered documentaries. Over the years, I watched my top five, below, so frequently that I now usually enjoy them as background media whenever the television is not monopolized by PBS Kids. As opposed to watching reality television or vintage Sex and the City or the newest And Just Like That, any of these documentaries are not particularly inappropriate to run in front of a young child. In ascending order, these are my picks for documentary content:
Crazy About Tiffany’s
My now-husband, then-fiance found Crazy About Tiffany’s circa 2016. As I have Tiffany’s wedding jewelry, I was especially excited to watch it. Let’s just say that I have rewatched it enough times to make him regret bringing it to my attention.
Celebrity, stylist, and socialite soundbites are abound in this documentary about the storied jeweler. Looking at you, Katie Couric. In addition to examining the history and pop culture tie ins (Breakfast at Tiffany and Sweet Home Alabama, lol at the featured blogger who made these movies her wedding theme personality) to the retailer, the documentary also moves through the styling process in preparation for the Oscars for Ms. Justin Timberlake herself, Jessica Biel. (What she was doing going to the Oscars….who knows?)
Very Ralph
Very Ralph is a relatively recent release. As such, I have not had the opportunity to rewatch it. A review of the iconoclastic approach of styling a Ralph Lauren gold dress, as modeled by Naomi Campbell, directly influenced me in how I mixed a sequin midi dress with a utility shirt jacket.
Cue adding it to the rewatch queue.
Bury My Ashes at Bergdorf’s
This is the documentary that I have watched the most times. I initially was introduced to it via Netflix circa 2025, and later bought it on iTunes when it was taken off the app. Bury My Ashes at Bergdorf’s is stacked with marquee names from notoriously press-shy Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen to industry legends Linda Fargo and Betty Halbreich to author and culture commentator Jill Kargman. My favorite part of the documentary, though, is the year long design process behind the windows.
The documentary gives the reader an inside look at the established retailer shortly before it was bought out by Neiman Marcus.
The Tents
The Tents takes us back to the early days of New York Fashion Week into the eventual move to Lincoln Center. My favorite part of The Tents was chronicling of the 80s and 90s by those – editors and buyers – who legitimately had a reason to be at the shows. I love hearing about the crowds, attempting to get into elevators, and the consequential over capacity at the spaces which held these shows.
Unzipped
Unzipped gives the best part of The Tents, albeit from the perspective of one designer, Isaac Mizrahi. This takes us through the preparation for the fall 1994 show from conception (Eskimos, a word we really no longer use, right?) to a show fitted with a scrim, allowing the attendees a literal peek at the supermodels in various stages of undress. Quelle scandal!
Still, this is my favorite documentary ever. I love the cameos from Sandra Bernhard and Andre Leon Talley, less so of the one from Roseanne. (But hey, Roseanne was a different woman back then.) The former-most and the designer meander through the streets of (ostensibly) SoHo. Scene such as this perfectly captured a moment in time that makes the viewer long for the early 90s in lower Manhattan
