Grace with her favorite cat, Puff. Photo: Didier Malige, 2000

The cats chapter of the book is towards the end and I must confess it’s the one I read first. You guys know we have a cat obsession here at Fashionista.

There are lots of incredible details about the many cats Coddington has owned over the years–like that one time she had her assistant drive her cat Pumpkin (the one who is depicted wearing Balenciaga on those Fashion’s Night Out bags) up and down the West Side Highway, testing out different treatments, to try to make him calmer during car rides–but here’s our favorite quote:

On cats:

Do I dream very much? Do I dream predominantly about fashion? No. I dream much more about cats.
…
In New York, I’m cat central: Absolutely everyone calls me for advice. They call me if they need to find a vet or discuss their cat’s symptoms or get the telephone number of my cat psychic. She’s brilliant by the way. Her name is Christine Agro, and I was introduced to her by Bruce Weber. ..Whether or not you fully subscribe to her findings, the insights she reveals about the inner world of your pets are so charming–and conjure such compelling images–that they’re possible to ignore.

Grace's sketches of her cats.