If you’re like us, you’ve probably wondered what everyday stuff famous people add to their carts — like hair spray or an electric toothbrush. We asked designer Steve Madden — whose brand’s new fragrance, Goldie Eau de Parfum, launches today — about the meditative book, rejuvenating under-eye patches, and the Yankees baseball hat he can’t live without.
I love eye patches. I don’t sleep well, so I always feel like I have big bags under my eyes; I put those on and they wake me up. In fact, I should get ’em now. They kind of refresh you. They’re a great invention. It’s like the wheel.
A friend of mine had this and gave it as a gift. It’s just a helpful guide for every day and maybe helps me not personalize things so much. Every day you get a new insight. Today’s was about changing your mind. It’s okay to change your mind when you receive new evidence. It’s okay to say, Oh, I thought this way. But now that I know the facts, I think the other side of this — which a lot of people don’t do. They tend to stay in the same thought; even when they’re hit with new data, they don’t change.
One of my favorite things to do is to work out, and I work out to cowboy music. I listen to all that stuff. It’s so funny because I’ll put on the Rolling Stones or something, but I always end up at country music. I don’t know why that is. I’m really a New York boy. It’s very not on brand. I’ll listen to George Strait, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson. I use wired headphones, and I like them to plug into my phone. It looks so antiquated. I look so silly in the gym with my wires hanging all over me while I’m working out, but I don’t really care.
Oh God. I love this more than life itself. Okay, I’m going to tell you about the Coffee Mate. Are you ready? I got a story. So I went to prison for two years, and I was involved with the “Wolf of Wall Street” guys, just in case you didn’t know. But anyway, I was very worried because I was wondered what would I do about milk when I was there. I love whole milk, and it was a big fear of mine. We lived in dormitories, so I would get freeze-dried coffee and put hot water on it and mix it with this creamer. It was the greatest coffee I had in my life. It was so good. Can you imagine being stuck in prison and having great coffee? It saved my life.
I always wear baseball hats because I guess I like to cover up. I wish I could wear a ski mask. I really do. It’s not that I hate my looks — I don’t — but I just like to have less of them on display. And I love my Yankees hat. I probably overdo it with hats even. There are restaurants that don’t let me in with my baseball hats, which I’m really upset about. Polo Bar — I love that restaurant. I’ve got to call Ralph up. They used to let me in, then all of a sudden they said, “Mr. Madden, you can’t come in with your baseball hat.” It’s a wonderful restaurant, and I love Ralph Lauren. I look up to him, but he won’t let me sit with my baseball hat in the restaurant. Anyway, I’ve got a lot of Yankee hats. Hundreds of hats.
I love golf. I have a favorite driver. It has a pink shaft and it’s called the Autoflex. So you could say my Autoflex pink shaft driver makes me happy when I use it. I can’t live without it. I love pink. It’s a great color.
Here’s the thing: There’s a place called Breads Bakery on Third Avenue and 74th and 75th on the west side of the street. They make this bread called Caraway Rye — they only make it on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I live for it. I really have to kind of lose weight a little bit, but I love it so much, and I eat it right out of the bag. I used to do that with my mother when I was a little boy. She would get something and she would give me a piece out of the bag, and so it’s sort of Proustian in a way. It’s my favorite thing in the world, and I love that place. They have a commitment to very delicious pastries, and they’re so professional. I want my shoe business to run like that bakery does.
The bottle is great, and it smells so good. Actually, my daughter, Stevie, was wearing it, and I said, “What are you wearing? It smells so good.” And she goes, “it’s Goldie!” It’s named after my other daughter, Goldie, and really, it’s a vibe. You know Steve Madden, it’s Goldie; it’s everything you touch turns to gold. It’s just such a beautiful sort of thing. It evokes a very beautiful spirit.
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