How the Odeon’s Stylish Manager Shops
Talking Etsy, eBay, and "Swans" with Roya Shanks.
Last week, the final episode of Ryan Murphy’s Feud: Capote Vs. the Swans aired on FX. Looking back, one of the most memorable scenes to me takes place in the very first: Babe Paley and her husband, Bill hop on their private jet to Jamaica and host a swanky dinner party when they arrive. They bring Truman along, and he proves himself useful by entertaining everyone with salacious society gossip. At around the 17-minute mark, the camera pans to one guest in particular, who is unimpressed by his musings. I gasped. Wait! That’s the manager of the Odeon!
If you’ve dined at the Odeon in the last two decades, you may have recognized her, too. Her name is Roya Shanks, and in addition to rubbing shoulders with ladies who lunch on TV, she’s been stylishly presiding over them at the downtown New York restaurant, where she has been a manager for the last 20 years. In a Times profile of her from 2018, illustrator Joana Avillez calls her “the jewel of the Odeon.”
Roya moved to New York in the fall of 2001, just a few months after 9/11, and found a job at the restaurant in the classifieds section of The Village Voice shortly after. “Basically, I rolled in here out of college, and now I've been here my entire working life,” she tells me. “It’s outrageous.” The Odeon was meant to be a side gig to complement her acting career — she majored in theater at Yale — and not the other way around, but she still finds time for her original passion.
In Swans, Roya's lines are few but impactful:
"Well, I could never trust a writer," her character, who we later learn is having an affair with Bill Paley, tells Truman.
"I mean, I agree,” he says. “But why not?"
"The storytellers have the last word, don't you?” she explains. “And I would never let a storyteller have the last word."
"Then you tell me, dear, who should have the last word?"
"That is perfectly obvious — anyone who's lived through WWII could tell you: The person who has the most power."
As an untrustworthy writer myself who grew up just a few blocks away from the Odeon, I’ve always wanted to interview Roya. She is, without a doubt, one of the best-dressed women in New York, and after seeing her on TV, I figured there was no time like the present. Below is our conversation about Swans and Ladies Who Lunch, but also how and where she finds her incredible collection of vintage outfits.
Swans tells the story of the original Ladies Who Lunch. What’s the lunch crowd like at the Odeon? How has it evolved over the last two decades?
Well, I started working here just a couple of months after September 11th, so business was pretty decimated then. Brunch and dinner came back before lunch. It really wasn't until Condé Nast moved down here [in 2014] that lunch became busy — probably busier than it had been before.
The restaurant has always been a popular lunch spot for jurors, lawyers, and judges because of its proximity to the family court. So that’s entertaining. There are months when there's a contentious divorce case and two tables of lawyers don’t want to sit near each other, and they’re always in a rush. It's just funny what caricatures of themselves people are. One thing about restaurant work is you do start to profile people. Like if they come in dressed in a certain way, chances are they're going to that table where everyone else is dressed that way, too. We’ve also always had fashion people, writers, directors, and artists.
Lunch downtown is different from lunch uptown, but it’s still a glamorous experience here. What kinds of women do you see?
I mean, there are a lot of wealthier women whose children are a little more evident now than they are in shows like Swans. Like, there's a gymnastics place around the corner. So, at 2:30, it's all these Tribeca moms are having wine while their kids are at gymnastics.
Many of the actors in the show also eat here. Chloe Sevigny and Naomi Watts are the two who come the most frequently. Chloe has been coming here for years. At about the same time, we were both walking around the restaurant with big pregnant bellies and shared some meaningful commiseration in the storied Odeon bathroom. But, of course, I've seen Molly Ringwald, and Demi Moore is a good friend of a friend.
I do have one anecdote I wanted to share with you: About a year ago, shortly after we shot the show, a regular came in that doesn't come here often anymore because she no longer works downtown. Her name is Amanda Burden, and she was the director of the New York City Department of City Planning under Bloomberg. She would eat lunch here all the time. I was explaining to the hostess who she was, and I looked her up and I realized she’s Babe Paley's daughter! I was like, oh my God. I knew she was from an illustrious family, but I didn't know she was from *that* family — and that I was pretending to have an affair with her stepfather just a few weeks prior! I know her pretty well, so I went over to the booth and told her and we had a chuckle about it.
That’s so funny. I’ve also gone down a Babe Paley rabbit hole recently; she had incredible style. Where do you like to shop in New York?
Well, I used to shop in person in New York but my favorite stores closed a long time ago. I liked a place called the Family Jewels on 23rd Street and Shareen Vintage on 17th Street. Now, I have two kids and I don’t live in Brooklyn, where I feel like a lot of the vintage stores are. So I’m doing a lot of shopping online — a lot of Etsy and eBay. My thing is that I don’t care about designer names and labels. All the time, I walk around here and people are like, oh, is that so-and-so? Usually, I have no idea who they’re referencing. Sometimes I do. But I just think, wow, I’m spending a fraction of what they are. You don’t need a label to look good. But there is still a fixation on that. I think it’s kind of weird.
If you’re not searching for labels online, are you searching for specific silhouettes, eras, etc.?
Everything. Prints, textures, patterns, and shapes. I have stuff from every decade from the 1920s to the 90s. Now, the 70s and the 80s, and the 40s are my favorites. I like contrasting prints, big shoulders, and weird sleeves. And generally dresses, although I do have a few pantsuits that I love. Usually, I don’t buy things to go together. I just have them in my closet, and then one day, I’m like, wait a second! Maybe they came from different places and eras, but they could go together. And you put it on and it’s like, yeah.
I think it’s a sign of a skilled shopper if you can buy vintage online. You must know your measurements. Do you ever get stuff tailored?
It’s very rare that I have a fail. Most of my stuff I don’t; I just don’t have the time. But yeah, once in a while. The real triumph is when you buy something that’s too small and you get it to fit with tailoring. In the neighborhood, I go to G&G Cleaners. They’re great.
Do you have any favorite Etsy and eBay shops?
SecretSirenVintage and KokeshiVintageShop are great. I have like 25 eBay searches that I get results for every day. It’s fun to wake up to them in your inbox.
What are some of your saved keywords?
I have a few. Victor Costa and Jeanne Marc are two of my favorites. Tina Leser is another designer I like. No one knows about her. She was an American woman who lived abroad, so she was attracted to different fabrics and her stuff is just really cool. Also, Tory Richards — in the 60s and 70s she did these bright Hawaiian prints and tiki fabrics. Really beautiful. As I get older, I still like tight-fitting things sometimes, but I’m deep into the caftan look now. I see my trajectory as an old lady in New York wearing amazing caftans. I love Josefa — imagine rich ladies in Palm Springs in the 70s. In the last five years, I’ve noticed Josefa prices going up. I actually don’t want to give away this 80s brand I like because the stuff is so cheap, but it’s so amazing. It’s one of my eBay searches. I have 15-20 of these pieces.
That’s okay; I respect gatekeeping. You must see so many fashion trends come and go through the restaurant. It was just Fashion Week in New York. Any thoughts about this current moment in fashion?
I don’t pay much attention to it. I don’t think much of it. I'm not concerned with trends — I dress to bring myself joy. As the acting work comes and goes, dressing myself has really become my most reliable outlet for creative expression.
Now that Swans has aired, what’s your impression of your scene?
It was interesting to see myself in that scene having a seat at that table. In my working life, I serve those women, but I'm also white and educated and can certainly swan around. I can fit in. I get to know a lot of customers deeply and do have sincere and genuine friendships with people, and yet the fact that I am employed to help bring them comfort doesn't go away. I don't mind it. Honestly, I love to serve people. It is one of my truest passions. And one of the most sacred parts of my job is discretion and trust. Their secrets actually are safe with me.
For the last word: What’s your Odeon order?
A very rare tuna burger with sauteed onions, mixed greens, and a pickle. And you can’t go wrong with the Odeon hot fudge sundae.
NEXT TIME: I’m going on an adventure with not one but TWO guest shoppers.
This was a great read! Roya’s approach to fashion is really refreshing.
omg !! roya was wearing the most amazing thrifted jacquard suit the other month and im still thinking about it !! love this piece.