The Larger-Than-Life Story of a Fashion-World Insider

EVERY INCH A LADY: My Amazing Journey From Dear Harlem to Haute Couture & Beyond, by Audrey Smaltz with Alina Mitchell

Audrey Smaltz has managed to wring a lot of life out of her 89 years.

Striking and statuesque at six feet tall, the onetime teen beauty queen worked as a model before a brief stint selling mutual funds on Wall Street — and this role, a remarkable feat for a Black woman in 1962, landed her on the cover of Jet magazine that same year.

Smaltz honed her fashion bona fides at Bloomingdale’s and Lane Bryant, then transitioned to the editorial side of the business when she became a commentator for the Ebony Fashion Fair, a now-legendary traveling runway show that showcased cutting-edge designer looks on Black models. Positions followed at Ebony and Vogue.

In 1977, having witnessed the chaos that unfolds behind the scenes at fashion shows, she founded the Ground Crew, a backstage management company that would be an industry fixture for decades. Along the way, Smaltz traveled the world. She mingled with icons. She attended the 1963 March on Washington. She threw herself into passionate flings and great loves. And, always, she dressed to kill.

“There is an immense power in storytelling,” Smaltz writes in the introduction to “Every Inch a Lady,” the memoir she wrote with Alina Mitchell, with a preface by the designer Michael Kors. Taking in the breadth of her life story, it’s clear that her mastery of narrative has served her well — whether in the form of a great outfit, deft business pitch or snappy off-the-cuff commentary delivering a model down the runway. The writer Michaela Angela Davis once situated Smaltz among “a rare class of entertainers whose voices” are imbued “with an electricity that rushes out their throats, with the power to lift you out of your seat and your very skin.” On YouTube, there are several videos that give credence to this testimony; in news segments, backstage interviews and student talks at F.I.T., Smaltz is warm and witty, charming and charismatic.

It’s a shame, then, that in this book, Smaltz’s singular voice has been flattened into something that reads as less dishy doyenne than awkward press release. While the substance of each chapter is compelling, it’s weighed down by prose that reads like place-holder copy meant to be exchanged for more vivid imagery.

During Smaltz’s first trip to Europe, a solo jaunt through Lisbon, Barcelona and Paris, a portion of her time spent in Spain’s capital is described thus: “The Port Vell marina, with its clear blue waters and serene views, hosted a variety of vessels, from sleek yachts to traditional fishing boats. This dynamic scene truly captured Barcelona’s maritime spirit.” In France, when she arrives at the Dior boutique, mention is made of “a curated collection of exquisite art,” “mannequins in stylishly crafted ensembles” and “handbags, jewelry, shoes and headpieces, each an attestation to the artistry of fashion,” without any further elaboration.

Perhaps anyone would be hard pressed to conjure crystal-clear details from a trip taken several decades ago, but these frustratingly surface-level memories appear throughout the memoir. Many years later, when Smaltz goes on her first date with her future wife, she writes that they had “the most enriching conversation” and that they “never stopped talking” — and that’s the entirety of what we learn about their discussion that fateful night.

“Every Inch a Lady” is packed with stilted sentences that trip over themselves awkwardly without delivering much in the way of meaning. Recalling an appearance with her Ground Crew employees on “The Montel Williams Show,” during which they provided makeovers for educators, Smaltz writes that “the segment was uniquely enriched by the involvement of students who, with endearing candor, shared their perspectives on their teachers’ wardrobes, setting the stage for dramatic transformations.”

Fortunately, there are moments where a livelier, more idiosyncratic tone peeks through. “I like to say I was born, bred, toasted, buttered, jellied and honeyed in Harlem,” Smaltz says of her uptown upbringing. When she conjures some of the playful runway commentary she’s given over the years, it’s a reminder that “Every Inch a Lady” is largely bereft of the crackling energy and élan for which Smaltz is known.

It is a testament to the twists, turns, high points and high jinks of Smaltz’s life story that the book still pulls the reader along, despite the shortcomings of its writing. When she sets her mind to something, she is admirably, hilariously steadfast in achieving it, whether it’s posing as her own boss and delivering a glowing reference in order to secure a bank loan or having a one-night stand with Isaac Hayes as a much-needed reprieve from an ill-fated marriage. It’s a gift that Smaltz has gotten her recollections down on the page for future generations; it’s only too bad that the execution isn’t worthy of the living legend.

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