Adrien Field: Social Climber

Adrien Field

By Noah Kalina

Adrien Field was born in Moorestown, NJ and moved to New York City in the mid-2000s to attend Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU where he contemplated concentrating in “Social Climbing” before he dropped out. He runs TheFieldNotes.com, a popular fashion and life style blog, and is a contributor to the print and web edition of Vibe Magazine, the urban quarterly founded by Quincy Jones.

Why did you drop out of NYU?
I couldn’t wake up in time for classes. More so, I was bored and I didn’t like being with other students. I didn’t feel like one of them. But I do like to learn when it’s for the sake of gaining useful knowledge. I couldn’t give a brown lump of poo about Macroeconomics, but certain things fascinate me like ancient Roman history. I also love languages. I speak French fluently and studied Italian at NYU.

What are your favorite items in your closet?
I get obsessed with certain pieces for a few weeks at a time. Right now I love these white and gray Cheap Monday leggings I bought from Inven.tory that had a red carpet moment so they can’t be worn out to an event again. I have a blazer that I studded myself, which I wore more than any other item in my closet all season.

Your three favorite places to shop in NYC:

1. Tokio 7
2. M&J Trimmings
3. Inven.tory

What makes a good party?
Exclusivity, passed champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Good publicists.

What the hell happened to your novel?
That’s a whole drama but I think it’ll be resolved if a certain project I’m waiting on goes through. I had finished the second and final draft last summer and had an agent but when he left his agency, there was no one there that felt strongly enough about the novel to represent it. It’s incredibly hard for a first time novelist to get published and I don’t want to go down the self-publishing route. I feel that it’s a quality piece of entertainment that can and will be published traditionally.

Will you share your favorite paragraph from it?

“Nice to meet you,” she said in her breathy voice that seemed to lack clear distinction between words so that they came out in one languorous wave. Just like that, she turned around and disappeared. He always felt chastised by this type of behavior, which was actually the norm among the social set. While it was his natural instinct to want to talk, people at parties generally cut conversations short and limited their interaction with one another to maximize their socializing potential. They key was to make sure as many people as possible saw you at the party, or in this case, in the VIP tent.

He figured that Theresa had been attracted like a moth to the crowding photographers and camera flashbulbs but had been disappointed when she stumbled upon him and two girls she didn’t know. Theresa was something of a new-guard socialite—one without piles of family money but that had cultivated a persona by attending almost every event that had a Patrick photographer and forging connections with other young influential people who could advance her somehow. As it was said about her, she’d attend the opening of an envelope if she was sure there would be a photographer. He almost had to admire that type of fierce dedication.

What are you reading right now?
I have about ten books on my nightstand. I’m trying to plow through Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, but when I’m in the mood for something less bombastic, I’ll reach for Candace Bushnell. I’m rereading One Fifth Avenue because I love her witty style and find myself mimicking it in my own work. My favorite author of all time though is Tom Robbins.

What’s your alcoholic beverage of choice?
Sober is the new drunk, except when it’s not and then it’s strictly champagne.

Are you dating anyone?
I’m going to join a nunnery if I don’t get any action soon.

Finish this sentence, Terry Richardson is…
Overrated and incredibly creepy-looking.

Barack Obama is…
Better than any of the other options.

Roman Polanski is…
Probably a victim of the US legal system and the unthinking public that likes to pillory intellectuals.

Lady Gaga is…
An indefatigable genius.

A guestofaguest.com is…
A pretty accurate social barometer for relevancy within a very select microcosm.

This is a great quote…,
“Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature.” –Tom Robbins, Still Life With Woodpecker