Yearly Archives: 2021

………………………I loved cables, from the most classic to the most complicated. If you’re a knitter you know what I mean when I say complicated. When I would go to Italy I sent a message ahead that I wanted to see samples of different cables….complicated cables! When I arrived there would be 10 or so samples for me to chose from. This kind of request is best left up to the professionals to create! The bamboo, 5 gauge cable cardigan had olive, berry red and terracotta stripes down the front, around the bottom and at the hems of the cuffs. The buttons were bleached real horn. It had a very casual college boy, preppy look. It was slightly oversided to look like you borrowed your best guys cardigan…..Under the cardigan was the olive knit tank, the ivory silk shirt, and the bamboo gaberdine trouser………To the right are three pieces in soft terracotta silk…..the blazer, the v-neck tank and a pull-on simple skirt. The self fabric belt came with the skirt…….Many times I would choose colors from make up. When I worked with make up artists I was always mesmerized by all of the color makeups they would line up. If they were flattering enough to put on the face….they were flattering enough to wear!

…………………..It’s funny to me how consistent I am as a designer with my color pallet….I liked what I like, and often repeated colors of a similar family. I was always drawn to natural colors and earth tones…a creature of habit…LOL…….However, I did branch out, and I did love jewel tones and bright colors, but I usually spaced them out with neutral collections……with an added accent color here and there…..Earth colors were always in my wheel house. Above, the plaid linen blazer is paired with the olive silk  blouse, the silk sand tank and the silk sand sarong skirt……The olive caftan dress had a button front with kimono sleeves. It had real pale bone buttons and wide turn back cuffs in sand silk……Famke is in an olive silk boyfriend jacket over a silk bamboo “Henley” shell and silk trousers… Silk Crepe de Chine had become a popular fabric in the designer market, but once the “Bridge” market, like Anne Klein 11 started to use it from China, the designer market used it less and less…It was still a wonderful fabric, and nothing could really take it’s place, but the Italian silk was so much more expensive than the China silk. Honestly I don’t think the consumer knew the difference…..They just knew the difference in price of the garments….It’s not that the designer market abandoned CDC altogether, but the clothes couldn’t be simple classics anymore. They had to be much more complicated where the Bridge market couldn’t copy them……This was the season of the Palm Frond jewelry, and I did a variety of styles and different frond designs……..Yes, 3o years ago the Palm Frond jewelry was born, and it still looks great today……When you design from nature….it’s always right.

…………………..Within every resort collection I added a very small group of “town” and city work clothes. We delivered these clothes to the stores for January and February selling….These pieces were what we now call “essential pieces”. It usually consisted of five or six fabrics with a few sweaters, and a print or two….These pieces could be worn right into spring and summer…..The more “fashion” forward clothes would be introduced later for the big Spring Fashion Week show……..The navy blazer and sand pant above was in a beautiful wool Italian Gaberdine. It was classic Anne Klein! The embroidered crest had real gold bullion threads and was executed in India by an embroidery company who had offices in Paris and Milan. They worked for many of the top designers of the world including many in NYC. The wrap shirt was in ivory silk crepe de Chine. The trousers were in sand gaberdine…..On my last trip to the warehouse with Chantal and Angela we found this jacket! It still, after 30 years looked great…..It really didn’t get more Anne Klein than this, and was something I was pleased to do for the tradition of the house…….and the AK customers!

…………………………………..Happy Birthday my Sweetheart…………………………………………………..

………………..My nephew Chris is my oldest brother Mauro and my SIL Kathy’s son……..Every so often he comes up to CT. and spends a few days with me. He’s 6’2″….He gets his height from both parents. He likes to think he looks Italian, but he’s all Irish from his Mom’s side of the family. My brother “did have” light brown hair and hazel eyes, so there could be grounds for a little argument there! LOL. He’s a great cook, and is a very creative and a crafty guy….He must get that from me!….LOL…Jac adored Chris. When he was a little boy he was very skinny, [a runt that he certainly grew out of], with lots of blond hair in a bowl cut and blue blue eyes….He had a deep-ish raspy voice…He would have fit right in with “Spanky and his gang”. He would have no clue what I’m talking about….There definitely is a generation gap, but it’s funny what he doesn’t know, and likewise what I don’t know about his generation….Jac and Chris would go off just the two of them for ice cream cones….They looked like mother and son…..To say that he is an “A TYPE” personality is an understatement! He gets that from my brother…..He is the perfect weekend guest…..He cooks, he cleans, and he stripped the bed, washed the sheets and towels, and remade the bed perfectly! I made Friday’s dinner, and we made dinner together on Sat. We went for an early dinner on Sunday before he left. He lives out on Long Island which is about 1 and 1/2 hours away. The weather was beautiful, and we sat out on the rockers looking at the beautiful clouds and the sea. We discovered there are over 40 different cloud formations….He googled it! He made a lovely tray of Bruschetta….sliced tomato on toasted Italian pieces of bread with olive oil, oregano, a pinch of salt and pepper, a touch of grated cheese, and a drizzle of Balsamic vinegar….yum……….We had a nice drink to wash it down!…LOL