The Collector
Martha Stewart believes more is more meaningful.
Martha Stewart has never gotten rid of a single piece of clothing. Stored in the attic of her home in Bedford, New York, her museum-quality collection is climate controlled and perfectly organized.
Each item is hung professionally and removed from dry-cleaner plastic—her very own vast sartorial archive. The long reigning queen of domesticity begs the question: wouldn’t we all keep everything if we could?
Each of Stewart’s drawers is dedicated to one item; in this drawer, scarves are staggered so each one is visible.
Is there nothing she can’t do? “I learned how to sew all my clothes,” she says of her modest upbringing in Nutley, New Jersey, as the second oldest of six. “Shirt sleeves, button holes, jackets, coats—I made my own wedding dress.” She married Yale law student Andrew Stewart (whom she divorced in 1990) while attending Barnard, where she double-majored in history and architectural history. They settled in Connecticut; Stewart started a catering business, and a New York publisher approached her to write a cookbook. Entertaining came out in 1982, Martha Stewart Living magazine in 1990, and her television show in 1993.
CC design consultant
Chris Reynolds
by Sally Schultheiss
