Also sad that it seems her daughter just 13. A difficult age to lose a mother.

NOOO. Oh my God. How sad. My brother’s partner worked for her years ago. Ugh

If the daughter is the lovely in these pictures, I'm glad she still has her daddy. So sorry for her loss.

Just hearing it on T.V. as I'm reading this. So sad.

Very sad. Suicide is a tough thing to live with...it forever impacts the perception you have the person you loved.

My heart aches for her husband and particularly for her 13 yr old daughter. That's a difficult age in any circumstance, but to lose ones mother - and to a particularly gruesome way of committing suicide - at that age, is just devastating. That poor family. It always seemed like she "had it all"...

its so sad and so true that mental illness knows no boundaries... so sad for the family left behind,....

So terribly sad. A talented life gone too soon. And my heart aches for her family left behind.

Sad but my pity for her is lessened because she chose to inflict additional pain on her daughter by implying in her suicide note that it was her husband’s fault. Very selfish act that will traumatize her loved ones.

I just read this on another forum, but I read the contents of the note isn't being revealed . But my first thought was it may have had something to do with the marriage.

Few people are acting rationally when planning suicide.

So sad, but how in the world could you hang yourself from a doorknob?

I had no idea who she was, saw a headline that she was dead. Hanging herself with a scarf on a doorknob while husband is in the apartment. Strange.

I had to look up who she was. It's so sad, I guess there's no age limit, and no amount of wealth can guarantee a person's outlook. My sympathies to her family.

I don't understand this. (Not the doorknob, rather what she did to her child.)

and below, How to get Kate & Andy Spade's preppy look

??? Brushworks? I don't understand your comment.

Didn't Robin Williams commit suicide in the same manner? Seem to recall one end of the scarf was tied to the doorknob of a closet door (inside), then the door was shut. ??? I don't know for sure, very sad.

In cases of suicide, there's the unanswered question, why?

But hanging by a scarf from a door knob when hubby is in the apartment leaves a different question.

A person has to be very determined to do away with herself in this manner, Death would most likely be by strangulation, not a broken neck as in conventional hanging.

Very sad.

I don't understand the manner in which she did this. Wouldnt you think even against your will to save yourself instinct would take over. I'm confused.

I don’t think this is an uncommon way for people to commit suicide.

While I totally understand the emotions people have when hearing someone killed themselves, especially if they have kids, people who commit suicide are not rationale, they are struggling and have mental health issues. A healthy person doesn’t just wake up and say “I’m mad at my husband so I am going to kill myself”. Many times the person has such a distorted perception of reality they feel they are doing their family a favor by dying, relieving them of some burden.

It's very sad she felt the need to do this. Her husband was moving out. Could someone tell me how you can hang yourself on a doorknob? I know Robin Williams did. I can't picture it.

Perhaps, lily, you can look it up for yourself on the internet if you're so interested and spare anyone else who may have lost someone to suicide. Y'know, a little compassion and consideration here.

How awful that an older sister from whom the entire family has been estranged for 10 years, has chosen to get her "fifteen minutes of fame" by claiming her sister was bipolar and had "reached out to her". Between this and Meghan Markle's horrible half-siblings, it makes me grateful I'm an only child! What the heck is the matter with people! Ms Spade has a 13 year old daughter who will be haunted by her mother's death for the rest of her life, and this "sister" comes out of the woodwork. Maybe she was bipolar - it would not be unusual if she were - but this is the family's business, not the public's. Truly disgusting behavior by the sister.

Annie, I was very saddened to hear of her suicide. I followed her career and have a small purse of hers. The last thing I want to do is bring up painful memories for anyone who went thru this. It was just a simple question. I don't understand the logistics.

Fine, lily...look it up. I'm sure you can find as many gruesome pictures as you'd like to see how it's done. Satisfy your own curiosity in whatever way you need to, but for here, let it go, please!

Gee, Annie, I think you're being unfair and harsh. Although I don't know lily, I am not reading into her posts that she wants to see gruesome pictures, etc. Perhaps you've been personally impacted by suicide, Annie, and that's tragic and I extend my deepest sympathies. But I don't think that slapping lily is appropriate.

I understand people wondering how they could do this to their child. I have a relative who lost a spouse to hanging only for their child to find them. I think you must have to be very desperate to do that. I think we are making strides in mental health but when private citizens have medical records disclosed dispite HIPAA laws I can get a famous person might be afraid of getting the help that could save them.

I think this is a level of mental illness that most people cannot grasp. When a person's deepest instinct to survive is gone. When they don't think they are hurting other people because they would be better off without them. Certainly that is something I cannot fathom. I guess we not only have to pray for their loved ones but pray for better mental health care.

I just seen on some news source that the husband said there was no note or letter.

Think it was this one

https://people.com/style/kate-spade-andy-spade-living-apart-sought-help-depression/

Sad but my pity for her is lessened because she chose to inflict additional pain on her daughter by implying in her suicide note that it was her husband’s fault. Very selfish act that will traumatize her loved ones.

Kaillean: You read the note?

Of course not. Just going by by media reports like the rest of you. Her husband did not say there was no note, only that he hadn’t seen it. But saying “ask daddy”, if true, is terrible. An awful burden to leave your family.

I think ElizabethA said it well. I have no doubt Kate Spade loved her daughter. It's hard to imagine a mental state so desperate that it would override that strongest of loves, but it happens. Almost certainly she felt her daughter would be better off without her.

Frances has not only lost her mother, but she lost her suddenly, and has that shock to deal with. Suicide adds another layer of trauma--particularly hard as children are likely to think it's their fault, and/or think the parent made a choice to abandon them. On top of all this is the fact that Frances is an only child. Having siblings would help her to process it--now and in the future.

I've been thinking a lot about it because I lost my mother when I was nine. it wasn't suicide, but it was sudden. (Many of you know, but some don't, that she died from cleaning a rug with carbon tetrachloride--no longer sold because it's dangerous--in November, with the windows closed.) And I was an only child. Reading the book Motherless Daughters made me wish anew that I had siblings. And I learned it might have helped if I'd been able to talk about it. When I tried to do this not long after it happened, it made my dad cry. And I didn't want to do that again.

(((Alisande)))

Alisande, as always, I appreciate how you share your life with us.

Hugs, Allisande.

So sorry, Allisande. It's never easy to lose a Mom, no matter what age.

oh my goodness Alisande. My sympathies to you - even though it was long ago, we never really recover from the loss of a parent.

So many nice comments--thank you.

Oh Alisande, I'd forgotten about that. How horrific to lose a mom, in any way at such a young age. I can't imagine growing up without mine.

(((((Alisande))))