"Leave it to Beaver? I wasn't too excited about that show," she says. "June Cleaver was always in the kitchen, always cooking. Then I'd flip the channel to The Avengers and there's Emma Peel in a sports car. I just loved that."

Meryl received her BFA from the Hartford Art School in Connecticut. At 24, she landed a job in visual merchandising at Macy's and after a brief career detour as an ice cream scooper in a friend's shop, she joined Bergdorf Goodman, where she would stay for the next 18 years, happily waiving husband and kids along the way. "My parents have been married for 60 years so I was very grounded, but it's just not the spirit I was born with."

Today Meryl is the store director of Eskandar on East 10th Street in Manhattan and admits that she is still inspired by Emma Peel. "That's who I am every day when I leave my apartment. Actually, Emma Peel and Sophia Loren--a combination. Whether I'm wearing corrective shoes or high heels, that's who I think I am."

• Where did you get your style, your look?
  • I don't know. It's just me. It's ever-changing. Something that’s consistently evolving.
• What do you wear at Eskandar?
  • I wear a white cotton shirt pretty much every day and then put a sweater over it, or a scarf. I love the idea of Catholic school clothing--uniforms. Then you put on shoes, a scarf, handbag, glasses and that's it. I could wear the same clothes everyday with different shoes, scarf and handbag.
• Your store I think is one of the most beautiful stores I've ever seen.
  • I do too. I really do. We’ve really have grown into the space.
• What’s your beauty routine?
  • Soap and water. I just started using moisturizer; until recently I didn't use anything. Now I use Mario Badescu. I've been going there for 30 years for facials.
• What do you like to read?
  • Iris Murdoch is a favorite. Also, F.Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night is one of my favorites. It’s just a great story.
• Favorite restaurants in New York?
  • I go to Bar Six all the time. It's just a little bistro. It's part of the people who own Il Cantinori, its been there forever. Il Cantinori being a favorite also.
• Did your parents influence your sense of style?
  • Since my dad was in the fashion business, my parents always dressed great. Once I was able to shop on my own, I headed straight to the village on 8^th street for all my favorite shops. I remember lusting after this Mexican sweater from Fred Leighton and saying to my parents, “This is the only thing I want. Can this be my gift for the next two years?”
• What inspires you?
  • Everything. I'm such a visual person and I'm so stimulated all the time by what surrounds me. Sometimes I'm very distracted because of that.
• You've never been married.
  • No. My parents have been married 60 years, so I was very grounded that way but it's just not the spirit I was born with. I like spending time alone. I don't ever feel bored. I know what works for me now. If I have a roof over my head and I can see and I can hear and I can walk, it's going to be a good day. And that's it. You never know what the day will bring is what I say everyday.