Already a New York institution, 85-year-old Betty Halbreich, who has, for more than 35 years, run a personal styling business at Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue, is about to become a mainstream star, as Lena Dunham and her Girls collaborator Jenni Konner are making a HBO comedy based on her life.

Until recently, Halbreich was an octogenarian the NYC elite adored, a woman long past retirement who garnered New Yorker profiles and television spots: well respected, lauded even, but an insider, essentially – not a household name. Then Dunham, the writer and director who sets the agenda for what an entire generation cares about, was enlisted to work on a show called All Dressed Up and Everywhere To Go based on Halbreich’s recently published memoir. And suddenly we all want a piece of Betty Halbreich. 

So what are the essentials you need to know about Betty Halbreich, a woman who has dressed Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen and Sarah Jessica Parker?

She doesn’t like to discuss money according to New York magazine: ‘I really hate when [salespeople] say something is only $1,000. That’s a lot of money. I don’t even know how to ask customers how much money they want to spend. It’s too embarrassing. Nice people don’t talk about money.’

She isn’t a fan of overly high heels. Or skimpy underwear, telling The Daily Telegraph: I’m always behind some young woman, teetering and tottering and buckling on her high heels. Women lose all their grace when they can’t walk. These days they can’t control their legs and they can’t control their rear ends, so they’re in double trouble. And when I see those behinds wiggling, I think to myself: 'Heck, these girls aren’t wearing pantyhose! They don’t even have underwear on!’’ 

She knows what frightens us: ‘A woman’s biggest fear is a three-way mirror. You should see their faces when I put them in there.’ 

She’s no slave to labels: 'Nowadays women want brand names and logos. I don’t like logos. I don’t like showing a woman a dress and telling them it’s a Prada or an Oscar. 'Whose is it?’ they’ll ask automatically, especially the oldest, biggest, I-can’t-even-tell-you-who-they-are customers. The whole 'what’s my best friend wearing?’ thing is stronger than it has ever been. Women are so competitive at the moment, especially in their 30s and 40s. Those newly-wed women with young kids? They’ll Prada themselves to death.”

She respects Kate Middleton’s fashion choices: 'She wears so much McQueen, and McQueen always looks the same, but she really does pretty well. Of course she has an extraordinary figure – athletic and lean – which is very easy to dress.'

But she can be blunt. This week, when she and Dunham appeared on a New Yorker panel together, Halbreich had some tough fashion appraisals for the actress/writer director:  ‘I told you, that blue eye shadow at the Emmys made your eyes tear,’ Halbreich said. ‘I know. The Emmys weren't my finest hour,’ Dunham answered.

All Dressed Up and Everywhere To Go: Seriously cannot wait.