Yearly Archives: 2021

……………………..There were two groups to July that blended together. They were conceived as one large group, but they had to be split due to the number of garments. The CAD has “Bridge” noted on it so this must have been a 1:00am show…..The jacket on the top row was a fully lined SUEDE….It had ALL OVER tiny GOLD GROMMETS……..The neck band and the band down the front were in leather and had gold dome snaps. The leather bands on the pockets, the hems of the jacket and sleeves were decorated with tiny flat gold studs…..WOW, there was a lot of work on this already costly suede jacket. We offered it in all Black and Chamois with BLACK leather….The sweater next to the jacket was called the “POET’S SWEATER”, because it had a very Romeo and Juliet  romantic look to it…..The yarn was a wool and acrylic blend that had become very popular because it wasn’t itchy and was very soft….quality always pays. It had a drop seam on the sleeve that corresponded with the horizontal body seam. From these seams there was shirring. The sleeve had a full bottom that went into a 3 1/2 inch ribbed cuff. The tunic sweater had side slits. It looked great loose or belted. We offered it in BLACK and DEEP MAGENTA….Angela has this sweater and still wears it over her jeans…..At the bottom row, to the far left, was a wonderful, very DESIGNER jacket. It was in BOILED WOOL. This was an unlined SWING jacket. It had CIRCULAR RUFFLES down the front and around the curved hem to the back. The RAGLAN sleeve had a separate ruffle at the bottom. ALL OF THE SEAMS and edges of the ruffles were finished with a cover stitch which kept the jacket and the ruffles light and fluid. All of the seams were cover stitched so there were no seam allowances to add any bulk.. The jacket, considering the fabric, was light as a feather. It is often the construction, facings etc. that add weight to a jacket……..This jacket had none of those things. We offered it in IVORY and BLACK…..13 years latter I brought back a similar design in MOSS CREPE. For me this is a timeless feminine design……..The next sweater I LOVED. I did the exact same thing for Anne Klein. I also did a dress and other variations for AK with the same zip off concept…..The tunic sweater was in the acrylic/wool blend, and was made in a 5 gauge jersey stitch. It was avail in fuchsia and black with gold exposed zippers. It had a zip off ribbed funnel neck and zip off sleeves. The concept was to create different sweaters out of one….so you could have a sort of ballet neck tunic without the funnel, or a funnel neck sleeveless pullover, or a band pockets over sized vest. On one of Chantal’s visits I gave her this sweater, and she told be her daughter, who just entered college, absconded with it, and loves it. I was happy to hear the next generation is enjoying my designs………The next long skirt was actually my first in the ENR Whisper Knit. It had the tubular back with the split. It worked with everything in all of the collections, and for years and years to come. It would not surprise me if many of you still own and wear it….It came in Deep Magenta and Black.

………………….For May 07 I presented a beautiful linen jacket with beautiful emb. It was chosen as the May TSV!……It had a beautiful VINE pattern around the neck, down the front, around the bottom hem. There was a separate pattern I designed for the sleeves. To edge the entire jacket I had black gros grain ribbon pleated on the diagonal and stitched onto the jacket as a border. It had one loop and button closure. The colors were PALE BLUE/ BLACK, NATURAL BLACK and IVORY/BLACK……There was a crop pant in linen in BLACK, PALE BLUE, NATURAL and IVORY to coordinate. A shell tank sweater in PALE BLUE, BLACK and IVORY finished the outfit.

…………………….May 07 Fashion Day had some really fun pieces and one of my favorite jackets……The sketch of the jacket on the top row was a twill denim 4 pocket blazer with lots of details. It had a yoke front and back. There were body seams in the front from the yoke to the hem and three seams in the back creating a great shape.. There were 4 patch pockets with flaps. and antique military buttons….antique gold on the white and antique silver on the black…..Zippers were a major detail. There were exposed zippers above the bottom patch pockets and on the 3/4 sleeves. The Capri denim pant also had exposed zippers at the bottom leg and the top side seam……Below is a 3 tiered skirt in the same fabric as the tunic shirt….It was printed and had laser eyelet cutouts……There was one more 8 panel linen/rayon skirt with emb. panels. A similar design was used in a previous jacket….The last item in the group was a had crocheted tank in a thick metallic cord yarn.. It was lined in nude….very sexy……….I made a similar top for an AK resort group, photo above. It surprised everyone when it sold out during the show!

………………….SEVEN YEARS!!!!! By now I felt like an old timer….LOL…I’d seen new designers added to the roster…..and after two or three seasons I’d see them go. If you weren’t a success after a certain amount of time you were cut……Many times a designer didn’t get a chance for the customers to even get to know them….to try the clothes out and see how they liked the product…….Pamela, Victor, George, Marc and so many others came and went…..The May Anniversary group had many beautiful items starting with the LINEN/TENCIL  two button Blazer at the bottom left. This was a brand new fabric I had developed from an Italian fabric I had in my archives. It was beautiful. It had a weave like a Panama hat…..it had panache….It was weighty but had a beautiful soft languid drape due to the tencil. The blazer came in IVORY, GREEN and FUCHSIA. The black lace trims gave the jacket the punch and nuance it needed…It had 3/4 length sleeves with a curved hem and a button. The coordinating rib tank in the cotton/rayon also had the black lace trim…..The Bermuda shorts and the Trousers were in the Linen tencil and worked with everything in the group and everything to come. If you loved the look of linen than they were the new summer essentials. I’m not sure when the Bermudas became avail. but they were planned for this group. Both pants were in Ivory and Black…..The next stretch cotton shirt was a THREE FOR ONE! I loved doing those kinds of things. First you had your basic shirt with a button front, a small shirt collar with a stand, body darts for shape and a curved bottom. The sleeves were 3/4 length, but the split cuff went straight down with a single button. The fun part of the shirt was the TWO SEPARATE button on front pieces. One was a self cotton fabric pleated trim set into a separate band that buttoned onto the front buttons of the shirt……The second attachment was a little more frivolous. It was a DOUBLE LAYER of shirred tulle cut in two widths so one peeked out from the other. The edge of the tulle was finished off with a fine cotton piping. This helped to keep the ruffled tulle bouncy. Again, it just buttoned onto the front and no one would ever know they were separate pieces…..Again, three for one…….Starting at the top again was a short sleeve sheer rayon georgette shirt. I saw the picture of Jennifer Aniston wearing a similar shirt and new I had to do one for Linea. ALL OF THE SEAMS were FRENCH seamed so the shirt was clean inside and out…..NO SEAM ALLOWANCES…..even the body darts were French seamed. The sleeve had a very wide facing which made it look like a wide band. It had a round bottom, and came with it’s own tank. Some complained it was too sheer?????? That was the whole purpose of the shirt!!! This quickly became one of Jac’s favorite pieces. As soon as she saw it away it went to her closet! I had to BORROW it from her to do “looks”, and she quickly told me to return it. Jac eventually got tired of this borrowing business and started ordering her own clothes which she had to pay for. She only did this with things she didn’t want me to touch. Most of the time she was happy just to take my sample!….The next sweater tank had all over [front and back] small black sequin emb. It was finished with black tubular trims. The colors were Ivory/Black, Fuchsia/Black and Black/Black. These were fun layering tanks under so many things or just on their own…..The last item was a  flowing silk chiffon paisley print tunic. It had fine silk piping and a button front which, if so desired, could be left open to show the solid Silk CDC tank. It had side slits. It also had a piped handkerchief cuff that added to the movement and femininity of the tunic…It came in Black/White and Red/White…..The White and Black sequin top looked great under the black paisley for an interesting and unexpected mix….play, play, play

………………….May 07 was a very big group, so I’ve split it up with two collages….Starting with the top row there is a six panel emb. cotton skirt. It had a paisley and vine design, and each panel was separated with a vine. The top of the waist band and the bottom of the skirt were piped in black. The colors were White with Black, White with Green and Orchid cotton with Black emb. This was a fun cotton skirt to dress up or down with a tank and flip flops…..The next tunic shirt was made in a stretch light cotton. It had THREE DIFFERENT LACES sewn on to create the design. It buttoned with 5 loops and 5 jet buttons that stopped a few inches below the waist and then opened. It had inseam pockets….The colors were White with Black, Orchid with Black and Fuchsia with Black laces……The bottom shows some very special pieces starting with the layers of georgette. There was double layer tunic with bracelet length sleeves, side slits and a key hole in a ballet neckline. The under layer hung longer than the top and both layers were completely piped on all edges…..The “pant skirt” was a pull on. It was a crop pant with an overlay of georgette just a bit longer than the pant. The two pieces came in Black, White and Peacock….They were perfect take away pieces that could be matched or mixed with other things….The next sweater was completely hand knitted. It had a raglan sleeve and a ballet neckline. It was the intricate pattern that separated this sweater from others….The knitting pattern was very complicated, and stitches were dropped and added to give the sweater a shape. I was far from a box shape with two sleeves. It too came in the Black, Peacock and White. The sweater looked fabulous with the layered pant/skirt…….The next skirt was pure whimsy! It was in a poly georgette. The bottom had rows of laser cut “feathers” one row over lapping the other for fullness. It also had teardrop sequins mixed in with the “feathers”. When you walked in the skirt all of the “feathers” fluttered…….I realize it’s hard to imagine. You will just have to take my word for it that it was FABULOUS!……The last skirt was made in cotton. It was a three tiered skirt and each tier was totally different. The top tier was simply black….the middle tier had tiny pleats and tucks all stitched down with black thread creating the look of a vertical stripe…..and the bottom tier was a combination of thread emb and tier drop shaped black jet beads used to create the petals favorite summer skirts to wear with a black tank and flip flops. It came in Black and White, Turquoise and Black and Fuchsia and Black.