- I have my way of making coffee and it's my way.
It might not be your way, but it feels very efficient.
I'm a New York City girl.
We don't have time.
I do a cold brew, I take a cold brew.
I simply pour it into my coffee cup, yes I do.
And then I put her in the microwave for two minutes.
[microwave beeps]
Boom, boom.
That's how I do my morning coffee.
My name is Laverne Cox, and I'm going to be taking you
on a little trip through Laverne's New York.
What brings me joy,
what I do on a daily basis and all that jazz.
[microwave beeps]
Two minutes later, it's gonna be really hot,
so I'm gonna probably wait a few seconds before I sip.
Many years ago, an acting teacher of mine
named Brad Calcaterra suggested to all of his students
that we should start our day
writing down five things that we are grateful for
and five things that we're manifesting.
Brad suggests that we write it down on cards
but like I do everything on my phone.
First thing on my gratitude list would be my boyfriend.
He's often first on my, on my list.
I'm feeling really, really grateful for my team today.
'Cause this week I've been so overwhelmed
but I've chosen this.
That is another thing to be grateful for.
I get to choose my life.
I'm grateful for my health.
I'm grateful for good health.
I'm grateful for my mother and my brother.
I believe in the power of manifestation though.
Write it down, write down the things that you want to happen
in your life and take concrete action.
If it is meant for you, if it is meant for you,
it will happen and it will happen on God's time,
not your time.
You know, I moved to New York City in 1993
and I thought I would be, you know, a superstar
in two, three years tops.
"Orange is the New Black" premiered in 2013.
That was 20 years after I moved to New York.
[piano plays]
Hello darling, good to see you.
- Good to see you.
- Alrighty, I am doing a voice lesson
with my long time voice teacher, Madam Ira Syff.
We met in 1996 and here we are 25, almost 26 years later.
- It's remarkable that you were only three years old
when we began.
- I own my age now that that's the,
Ira's gotten so used to like me being cagey about my age,
that he's like, well you must have started at three.
I'm 49 years old, so I think,
what have would have been in 1996?
- You were in your, like, early twenties when we met.
- Oh Jesus.
- I was only 110 then.
[Laverne laughs]
You wanna look at the Schubert or the summertime
or what do you like?
- Let's start with the Schubert.
[opera singing]
We're singing this lead by Franz Schubert called
"Der Tod Und Das Mädchen", "Death in the Maiden",
and in the first part of the song
the maiden is saying, please death, don't take me please.
I'm not ready to go,
and in the second part, death sings, and death said,
girl, it's gonna happen.
It's gonna happen, chill, come with me.
[continues singing in German]
- On these F's, [sings in German]
I wanna try to get just a little more of that on the low D.
[piano plays D note]
[Ira sings in German]
So it's not so pressed, but spooky and weird and scary
through the breath.
- Si, si.
[Laverne continues singing in German]
[relaxed music plays]
- So we're headed to Patricia Field's gallery
and many people know Patricia Field,
because she was the costume designer for "Sex And The City"
and so many other shows.
I know Patricia Field,
because I used to work at her legendary store on 8th Street
back in the day, and Amanda Lepore
also worked there at the time.
Mona Foot worked at Patricia Field.
Joey Roland worked at Pat Field, Dana Davis, Candice Kane.
[indistinct] like legendary New York night-life.
People worked at Pat's store.
When I think of Pat, I think of all of that
and all these really great memories of New York City.
It's a New York City that doesn't exist any more
and it makes me sad and things change,
but it was an incredible time to be alive
and to be in the city.
I was sort of gender nonconforming.
I started wearing girls clothes
like culottes and bell-bottoms
and eventually I advanced to dresses.
I was always sort of an outcast.
I was always kind of bullied because of how I dressed
and how I looked.
And when I arrived in New York City in 1993,
I didn't have to wait to get into Disco 2000.
You know, if you were one of the kids, if you had a look,
you went straight to the front of the line
and they let you in.
You could be different.
You could be trans, you could be gender non-conforming,
and there were places for you to go and work and make money.
Patricia Field and her store
was sort of the epicenter of so much of that.
Oh my goodness.
- What is amazing about Pat Field
is that there were often up and coming designers
that would feature in her store.
I always think of David Dalrymple.
I think of my dear friend, Steven Davis,
also known as Tobel van Cartier.
Pat's was always this place where you can go
and find interesting, unique things.
And Stephen Davis, this is happens to be Stephen Davis.
Stephen Davis, again.
So very proud of Stephen.
This is hot.
This is so hot, oh my God.
The woman, the myth, the legend herself, Patricia Field.
[Laverne laughs]
Pat's face on a clock.
In queer communities and LGBTQ+ communities,
we have oral traditions.
We have amazing culture that we pass down.
Patty's had so much success doing costumes for film and TV,
but the communities that she created through her store
is really, really important, and we should remember that.
The studs, wow.
It's like a rubber.
It's like Elvis, but like fem Elvis. [laughs]
I think about that downtown girl who's sort of whimsical
and throws a lot of different things together,
and I, when I see that downtown girl, that downtown girl
can be non-binary, she can be male identified.
She can identify as anything because it's Patricia Field,
and it's 2022.
Throw this and throw this on.
This hat is gorgeous.
Jonathan Ressler, this is gorgeous, I'm gonna try this on.
I'm kind of a, I don't wanna take this hat off.
I'm gonna have to pick this up.
Pray tell, what are these?
Are they chaps?
- They are chaps.
But I think they were intended to be chaps.
- Okay.
[gasps]
Oh my gosh.
It's a photo shoot moment.
It's a, it's super editorial.
[Laverne laughs]
Okay how, what.
Okay, I believe this is the fantasy.
This is the fantasy.
You cannot come to Patricia Field's gallery
and not have it affect you in a very special way.
Sometimes it's really just about being whimsical
and having fun and not being afraid to like, you know,
get it wrong because sometimes when it's wrong,
that's the most right thing ever.
- Laverne, thank you so much for coming.
We appreciate the support.
It was so nice to see you. - [Laverne] Of course.
- And you have to keep this, you have to take it with you.
It's only fitting. [Laverne laughs]
Thank you. - [Laverne] Thank you.
I will be back for sure.
That was so much fun
taking a trip down memory lane at Patricia Field's store.
No matter where I live in the world,
I'll always be a new Yorker.
It's not just a state of mind.
It's a state of mind, body, and soul.
Thank you so much, Vogue.
I hope you had fun following me this 24 hours
and until next time, stay in the love.
[Laverne giggles]
Bye.
Hello.