Yearly Archives: 2021

………………….There were four new styles for Sept. 11 and some “essentials” sold on line only……The jacket at the lower left was an upscale sophisticated “Barn Jacket”…..more Burberry than Macy’s. It was in a casual fabric that had a dull sheen. I had the fabric quilted in a classic diamond pattern. .It had a stand collar and snaps down the front , on the sleeves and one at each side of the curved side seam. It had flap pockets and an optional tie belt. The jacket had body seams from the shoulder to the hem which gave the jacket a nice gentle shape. Another very special detail which really made this barn jacket special was the faux suede piping…..The shirt next to the barn jacket was in a faux charmuse It had a button stand collar and a button front with a classic sleeve and cuff. It came with a separate oblong scarf that could be used as an ascot……..The riding jacket above had beautiful detailing. It was made in a beautiful smooth gaberdine which was great for tailoring.It had a high notch collar and lapel. I can’t remember what the contrast collar was made of…..either velvet or faux suede. It had princess seams and body seams from the shoulder to the hem. The jacket had a four button front and a cut away bottom The jacket was shaped. On either side of all seams was a top stitch aprox 1/8 inch. This gave the jacket a super tailored look. It had button flaps , but the actual pockets were in the seams.. It came in RED and FAWN, a very pale riding beige. The collars were brown on the fawn and either brown or black in the red…….This was and is a great looking jacket!………..The next skirt was a two tier pull-on lurex skirt. It had fine ribs  that gave the illusion of micro pleats when it hung. The colors were gunmetal and antique gold. It was a terrific Holiday skirt that could be worn with so many things…..sweaters, blouses, embroidered or sequin tops etc. etc.  In the following month there would be a matching peasant top avail.

……………………..Sept had a group of Acrylic/Wool “ESSENTIAL ” knits that would be sold on line only. There were two tops and two skirts, one pencil skirt and one six gore A-line long boot skirt. The tops were a V-neck tunic with fully fashioned cutaway side slits. The cardigan had a waist whittling bottom rib band and a wide rib cuff. It also had a jewel neckline and a button placket front. The bottoms and the tunic all had ENR construction. The cardigan was in jersey…..They all came in Black, Steel Grey, Dk. Mallard Blue, and Cassis. I think Cassis was the most controversial color name I ever used! It’s a wonderful liquor!!!!

…………………….I was looking at photos, posted by people I don’t even know, on my face book page, and was stopped dead in my tracts when these pictures came up. As I looked at each picture I became more and more upset until tears were streaming down my cheeks………The grief these people are feeling is so palpable it’s heart breaking. If anyone has had a great loss in their lives they can understand what these people are going through…….My question every year is always the same………WHY?………….Why wars…….Why do men need to have war…….Why such hatred….Why is the news about everything always terrible……Why can’t we do anything about gun violence?…..Why so many needless deaths…..Why did the world have to go through this horrific plague where millions of people had to die within a year!…..Why are there so many gangs who just kill each other. Don’t they realize there are no winners….only losers…….Why do some police have to shoot someone seven or eight times as the victim is running away………WHY do we say “Happy Memorial Day”? when there is nothing happy about it………………”Remembering” has a different meaning for these people in the photos above………….We remember to keep our loved ones alive…in our hearts….The one WHY I do know the answer to is why these men and women in the armed services gave their lives…..They fought and died to keep us FREE……………….God bless them all.

………………………August 2011 feature one of everyone’s favorites…..almost………The jacket at the upper left was a redo of a very successful jacket I had done in the recent past. It was done in the same fabric which was a sort of basket weave. It had a beautiful texture, but wasn’t heavy. It had the same double color twisted satin ribbon with pearls sewn in between each twist so the amount of labor was incredible…..However the original jacket had the ribbon and pearl detail all the way around the hem of the jacket and the hem of the sleeve. The original was to be a reorder….but……what happened many times with my jackets when the reorder was placed with the factory they refused to make them at the same price. When they originally made the first sample they really couldn’t judge the amount of time each jacket would take to make….time is money……..So when the reorder was placed they wanted additional money. QVC’s edict then was that a reorder price couldn’t go up so they wouldn’t buy the jacket at the higher price. We made a new version with reduced emb. and this they accepted. The thing is now the factory wanted almost the same price as the original knowing how long each jacket took to make. For some who owned the original they were disappointed in the new version with less, but loved the new pink so they bought it anyway. For those who didn’t have the original they were thrilled to get this new version. The jacket still sold out, but I didn’t want to make it anymore after this. On to something new…….The next blouse was made in a tissue weight poly fabric that had a similar “crinkle/crushed” process as a suit I was to do. The fabric reminded me of Japanese fabrics used by the most avant garde designers from Japan. The Japanese are known for the using the most experimental, new and unusual fabrics. I thought it was super chic….I still do. We sold it with an INFINITY SCARF. The blouse came in Cassis, Dk. Mallard and Black. The colors above are much paler than what they actually were……..The Leopard print brushed cotton coat had a wonderful look. It came in two distinct colors Ecru and Olive. It had a casual/dressy look meaning it could go both ways….For me it looks as modern and current as it did 10 years ago…..The next jacket was made in a faux silk Shantung fabric that I was to use again and again……until I found the most recent one that looked exactly the same , but had STRETCH!…….The jacket had a stand collar with a safari twist. It had side slits and the faux horn DTM buttons….The self tie belt had multi rows of top stitching which was a designer detail, and showed up beautifully on the Shantung……..The colors were olive, and sapphire…..Everyone loved the fabric. It looked very expensive.

……………………………The August group had two sets of Essentials. The first group of sweaters was in Rayon/Nylon that was to be known as “Whisper Knit”. There was a tank, a cardigan, a V-neck, and an elbow sleeve mock neck. They came in aubergine, dk. mallard, olive and black. The reorder TN came in seven colors.