Monthly Archives: March 2021

………..Another Anniversary! Eight Years!!!…….May 08 had a wonderful mix of individual pieces……..Starting at the top left was a 100% COTTON embroidered EYELET shirt. My sketch shows a short puff sleeve, but the sketch shows a longer 3/4 sleeve…….so I would guess the longer sleeve won out. It had a solid cotton collar, front button placket and cuff. According to the sketch the shirt had a V neckline that started buttoning part of the way down. I don’t remember if we kept that detail or made it a classic button front? The fabric was exceptional with lots of dimension from the emb….The colors were WHITE and BLACK. This was a wonderful Spring/Summer shirt…..The next 32 inch long, button front skirt had a back elastic. It was a SWING skirt…..great with summer sandals, wedges and espadrilles…..The fabric was a marvelous RAYON/NYLON blend and had a slight texture to it, but it was the iridescence of the nylon that made it new and fresh. Iridescent fabrics were a huge trend at the time, but I thought this was a timeless skirt and could be worn today, and look just as relevant and modern…The colors were ESPRESSO, INDIGO and CHINO. The next DRESS was also in an iridescent fabric….in a blend of poly/rayon/span. It was very light weight and very fluid. The rayon gave it a beautiful drape.. The colors were GRAPE, and PEWTER. The dress had a Safari look with the dropped yoke, short sleeve and breast pockets with flaps. It had a single tier at the bottom, and came with an optional self tie belt, but it had a wonderful easy look unbelted……..The two tops at the lower right were also in the iridescent Rayon/Nylon blend as the long skirt. They were both A-Line swing bodies, but not too much….just enough to keep them away from the body so they were nice and cool. The first sleeveless top had a cut in shoulder and an open neckline with a notched in V. There was a seam down the front which had a 1/2 inch top stitch detail. It had band pockets….It came in TURQUOISE, CHINO and ESPRESSO……The second sleeveless tunic had a fabulous COWL NECK. The sketch says it had band pockets, but they were erased so they may have been eliminated because the top came in WHITE, INDIGO and BRITE BLUE…….These were two of Jac’s favorite summer tops, and she always took them on trips. She wore them with leggings, and sandals, and some times with a very short cotton pencil skirt.. They were perfect for dinners in the Caribbean. The next shirt was Classic Louis…..It was in a cotton stretch shirting….It had an authentic trench coat collar and trench flap. It had body darts and a curved bottom. The sleeves were 3/4 length and had French cuffs. It even had epaulets! This was the kind of shirt you could wear with everything!……The next two pieces to the left were very ethereal…..The shirt and skirt were in poly chiffon and the very narrow banding was in poly charmeuse. These two pieces I would have to put in the headache category! Sewing those 3/8ths inch bands all over the constantly shifting georgette had to be sewn by very exacting patient workers. The shirt was on the short side. It had a small shirt collar and stand….a button front with a curved bottom. It had a yoke front and back and body seams front and back. The sleeve had some shirring in the cap to give it a vintage look……and it was banded ALL OVER as you can see in the sketch…….The georgette skirt had the same banding. It was a 33 inch long 8 gored pull-on skirt. Both pieces came in Black on Black and Off White with Black.

…………………..May 08 continued with some additional fun pieces….I always loved the DIP DYED process, and it is something you find at every price level….even expensive designer lines. The BIG SHIRT at the top was in Fuji Silk….It had a button front, a classic shirt collar and stand, with a 3/4 sleeve. It was an easy body with high side slits. It could easily be worn open with a tank. The colors were Off White/Purple, and Off White/Green. Since the silk dyes so beautifully the colors were very vivid and paled out to wonderful soft hues……The next top was a favorite of mine, but when any designer does these voluminous big tops it takes a certain woman who understands the look and isn’t intimidated by the size….What usually ends up happening is most size down, but the point of the design is compromised……c’est la vie. The top was made in a sheer crinkle chiffon, so it had a bit more body than a regular chiffon. It had a scoop neckline that could even be worn off one shoulder. The neckline may have been elastic but I can’t remember. I know the sleeve opening, even though it was loose, did have elastic. The neckline and the sleeve  elastics were covered in DTM poly charmeuse.. I know there was something under it but I don’t remember if we had a separate tank or partially lined the body….my guess is a separate tank in the poly charmeuse……Below this top is a STRETCH COTTON TWILL MINI DRESS…….It had lots of details starting with the exposed zipper front. It had 2 patch pockets with gold snaps and gold studs in the lower corners…..Above the pockets were exposed zipper pockets. I don’t remember if these were actual pockets or faux? There were also two additional studs on either side of the zipper at the top…..This could be worn as a dress or for those who thought it was too short could always wear it with a pair of Capri leggings…….To the left of this dress was another dress in SILK CREPE DE CHINE. It had an easy chemise body with 3/4 raglan sleeves, and band pockets. It had an interesting open neckline which had a separate frame [approx. 1 5/8 inches wide] that had a V notch. It was top stitched all around. What made the dress really interesting was the 7 1/2 inch contrast color hem. The colors came right from the Caribbean……..a MAGENTA body with HOT PINK border, A MARINE BLUE DRESS with an AQUA border and a FERN GREEN GREEN DRESS with a LIME border…..each was a beauty!!……..The next item was a slim ankle pant with little side slits, and a side zipper. It was a mid rise pant so it was below the natural waist line. The fabric was a beautiful silky stretch cotton in Ivory Chocolate and Pink……….The next item was a SILK SHANTUNG MANDARIN COLLAR JACKET with PATCH POCKETS. It had a button front placket, side slits and a high low hem line…….It came in three vivid colors LIME, HOT PINK and TANGERINE. This was a very popular jacket and was reordered the following year.

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………………..The April 08 “Designer Day” event had many wonderful items. It really was a mixture from day to night……..Starting at the top left was a wonderful MILANO STITCH SWEATER JACKET. It was in a blend of acrylic/wool, It had an open stand collar, very Audrey Hepburn, and bracelet length sleeves. The body was A-line and it had horizontal band pockets……The collar, the front band, the bands on the sleeves and hem of the jacket were all in contrast colors. I had a very special button from my archives made. It was a combination of gold metal, black enamel with a dome pearl in the center. It was very expensive and brought the knit jacket to a higher level…..The colors were Ivory/Black and Red/Black…….The next item was a shirt dress in a very interesting new fabric. It almost looked like a chambray because it was in two colors. It had very very fine vertical  striations, and the fabric had a sheen…..The colors were Silver and Slate Blue. The dress was basically taken from my “Work Shirt” in Fuji silk, and made longer into a dress…..The next column of items were all related. At the top was a PAISLEY BROCADE DRESS…It had a funnel neck, short sleeves and Princess seams to create an Empire shape. Pockets were in the seams. The buttons were covered in the brocade. It was the Brocade fabric that made all of the difference. Due to the jacquard construction of the brocade it kept its’ A-Line shape beautifully….The Swing Brocade jacket also kept its’ beautiful shape because of the stiffness of the fabric, though it was very soft to the touch. It too had a funnel neckline, 3/4 sleeves and band pockets. The buttons were also covered in the self fabric. There was a matching pencil skirt with an elastic waist and back zipper. Both the dress and jacket had a retro look…..The brocade was very dimensional and the paisleys, which had fine metallic threads. looked raised. The colors were Ivory with Silver and a Pale Pink with Gold…..The scoop neck tank was also a lurex blend in the ivory/silver and pink/gold…………The next shirt was in SILK ORGANZA and had the most incredible embroidery on the front and sleeves. The leaves were in satin thread stitch but the CURRANT BERRIES were RAISED to look like actual berries. It came with a tank because silk organza is very sheer. It came in the Ivory or Black….both with the green leaves and red berries…….Another collector’s item, and not to be found anywhere today!……The next two pieces, the top and skirt, could be worn as a two piece dress or separately. These were two of Jac’s favorite pieces. The Ballet neck or Sabrina neck sleeveless top was in Rayon/Linen and it had a wide band at the bottom of DTM SHEER ORGANZA. It was short at 24 inches and the 3 1/2 border was slit to the Linen/Rayon portion. The skirt, in the same Linen/Rayon, also had a 3 1/2 inch of organza set in to the skirt approx. 5 inches up from the bottom of the 27 1/2 inch skirt. The skirt was a 3/4 circle with a side zipper and elastic at the back sides of the waist band…..The two pieces came in IVORY, BLACK and COCOA and Jac wore them all, but mostly the IVORY and BLACK……………..The final piece was a soft SAFARI blazer….soft because it was made in 100% TENCEL.. It was 28 inches long….it had 4 patch pockets and button flaps. The bottom pockets were side entry. It had elbow length sleeves and the cap had a box pleat to exaggerate the shoulder which already had a pad. It had classic 4 hole buttons with a thick rim DTM. The back had a yoke and three seams for shape. The front had body darts. It came in WHITE and KHAKI OLIVE.There was also a matching crop pant, but I don’t remember if it was bought.  This was the perfect summer jacket because you really didn’t need to wear anything under it, and the fabric of this unlined jacket was silky against the skin.

…………. April 08, Group A has another one of my all time FAVORITE jackets!…….The COTTON SATEEN 3 BUTTON BLAZER didn’t only have contrast cotton banding it also had the addition of zipper teeth! Elaine by now had given up complaining because she knew these jackets could be done, and still come in at a reasonable price. Cotton was at an all time low and the duty was also low. All you have to do is look at the sketch to see all of the details including the working button on the sleeve which had a wide enough facing that it could be unbuttoned and turned back! We also did a matching pair of zip front trousers with a 10 inch opening at the bottom. This is a pretty wide leg, but because it had a sharp pressed crease it never looked overwhelming…..This was and is a stupendous suit, and Angela wears it still and tells me every time she wears it she gets tons of compliments…..and why shouldn’t she……She has it in the IVORY/NAVY, but it also came in the reverse NAVY with IVORY TRIMS….. Where else do you see a jacket like this….NO WHERE! and you probably never will…..Yes, you will see banded blazers, but not with the addition of the GOLD ZIPPER TEETH that makes all the difference, and separates the men from the boys…..If I seem to be bragging about this jacket….I am….it’s that special to me….a true collector’s item…….To wear with the suit we did a scoop neck tank with an elbow length sleeve in what was to be called Whisper Knit……It was offered in the NAVY, IVORY and RED………We also offered a short pencil skirt in the ENR WK….”They” usually made me choose between a pant or skirt so to be able to offer both in one group was rare, but because one was knit and the pant was woven they agreed……..The tucked peasant shirt was in a RAYON CRINKLE GAUZE. It was opaque enough where the white wasn’t see through. This was a terrific vacation shirt. It had a small shirt collar and placket front. A dropped yoke band which gave the illusion of a dropped sleeve. At the tip of the yoke there were tiny pleats to give the sleeve fullness which ended with an elastic cuff. The front had stitched down tucks that gave the shirt a lot of fabric and flow. The back had a full yoke and pleats across the center…..This was a fun shirt and a great beach cover up…..It came in WHITE, LEMON and TURQUOISE. The bottom shell top was again in the Linen/Rayon blend and was a crop Sabrina top with a wide funnel collar. It also had shallow Princess seam and small bust darts. This sleeveless top was another of Jac’s favorites that she wore with Capri pants. Jac thought it looked very Laura Petri from the Dick Van Dyke show!………..The next peasant jacket was actually a short version of a dress…only the jacket was in 100% Tencel, which was much softer and had more drape than the cotton sateen of the dress. The colors were WHITE, BRITE BLUE and BLACK….If the truth be told it was very similar to a YSL jacket…There was also an easy crop pull on pant to match..He was one of my favorite if not my favorite designers of all time……so he deserved a little homage!