My 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'

In Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the legendary character of Holly Golightly found a certain kind of comfort in the quiet elegance of Tiffany’s, a place where, in her words, “nothing very bad could happen to you there.” Whenever she’d be feeling upset, going there would calm her down right away.

I’ve been to Tiffany’s in New York, visiting with my mom when I was young and impressionable. It was beautiful—filled with shiny objects. There was something deeply pleasant about its muted robin’s egg blue interior. But ultimately, it was too polished and luxurious for me to feel fully at ease. It was a nice store, but a store nonetheless. My mom—generously—bought me a deinty birthday keepsake, which I still have and appreciate.

But while I look back on that visit with her with some nostalgic fondness, it would be dishonest to say I felt the same comfort Holly Golightly did there. For me, it was not a place of belonging, but of admiration from a distance—surrounded by objects I could look at, but not …