The Leopard Coat

The client had vacated her Upper East Side apartment to return to Thailand to be with her mother. She left her husband stateside. The duplex, in one of New York's most coveted residential addresses, would be listed for sale. Sloan and I would spend two weeks organizing their home.

We had all types of vendors coming through the first day. Three antiques appraisers, two hauling companies and three movers. The representative from The Real Real would stop by tomorrow. Truthfully, we had no idea as to what the contents were.

The duplex was trapped in a time warp. There had been no improvements for decades. Even still, it was a magnificent space in a regal building. A private elevator opened to a beautiful gallery with a sweeping staircase. We entered via the Service Elevator, of course.

Each morning, I arrived 15 minutes early. I sat down on the handsome brown Chesterfield sofa in the lobby. I loved to watch the residents come and go. I watched the staff polish the woodwork. I drank my tea and took it all in. A young mom with an adorable baby girl in the newest of strollers, accompanied by Coco, the Pomeranian. Tootles, Coco!

The clients husband wore the same outfit every day. A white undershirt with an old, short sleeve plaid shirt and shorts. He ate a boiled hot dog every day for lunch. The chef's kitchen was indeed large enough to have several cooks preparing for a gathering in the formal rooms. The art appraisers were ogling over the magnificent mural on one wall in the dining room.

Sloan and I set to work on the clothing first. There were eight bedrooms. Most of them held the clients clothing. We were in a couture fantasy world. Vintage Chanel suits, Donna Karan, Gucci, Louis Vuitton. Every top brand was represented here. And then some.

I tackled one of the rear bedrooms. There had to be 30 vintage Chanel suits. They were beautiful. Hot pink, cream, purple, navy and white. Boucle suits and tweed suits. The piece de resistance was a long, black Chanel coat. It was a stunner.

Sloan was gathering all of the handbags in another rear bedroom. So much vintage Louis Vuitton! Chanel chain bags galore! There were lambskin quilted bags in every color of the rainbow. Our client is clearly a fashionista!

We anxiously awaited the arrival of The Real Real representative. Fritz came strutting in wearing short black shorts, a tweed Chanel top and Chanel sandals. Well, well, well! Wasn't he a presence!

Fritz, who had secured hundreds of pieces from other clients told us that this was going to be a very big haul. He would have to come back every day for the next four days so that he could carry all of the bags with the clothes. He would Uber XL over each day. We would be ready for him!

Sloan uncovered a fabulous leopard coat. She tried it on. I made her put on my cat eye sunglasses. We took photos for fun. You look mahvelous, darling! Because it was fur, The Real Real would not accept the coat. Sadly, we had to bag it for the...garbage.

The doormen were so helpful to us. They kept taking bags of garbage down to the basement. At the end of the day, Sloan asked where the leopard coat was. I told her that the doormen had taken all of the garbage. Sloan wanted to take the leopard coat! I felt so bad. I ran downstairs to the basement, which was a whole other operating world in and of itself. I began looking through every bag of garbage that was ours. I knew what bags were ours because we always use black contractor bags for garbage. I went through 28 bags until I found our leopard coat! Thankfully, the garbage was only clothes that were not suitable for The Real Real.

Sloan had her leopard coat! She was thrilled! We said goodnight to out hot dog eating client. We could hardly wait to see what outfit Fritz would show up in the next day. I was excited to sit in the lobby again the next morning to catch the action. Ahh, life in an ultra-luxe apartment building.