Monthly Archives: August 2021

…………………………Ivory is a very rich flattering color. Its’ soft warmth looks wonderful next to most complexions. A true ivory is a clear, clean color like whipped cream. I usually saved optic white for late spring and the  summer months when the sun is strongest. Optic white looks best in cottons and linens…………The Silk Cloque suit to the left is an elongated jacket. I hesitate calling it a topper because that connotes outerwear which it is not as the silk fabric was light weight. It is fitted to the upper waist and then follows the lines of the body and gently A’s out from the hip down. There are three silver bean buttons to close the jacket. The cluster earrings are made of pearls and silver beads…………The fabric of the RIBBON, COTTON and WOOL blazer was made for me by Tissage de Chaumes in France. It’s a very subtle hounds tooth check pattern due to the combination of Ivory and White. It’s a classic blazer with a notched lapel, single button front and pockets with top flaps…..I loved working with this company. They did most of the original Chanel tweeds and later with Karl Lagerfeld. They worked together until the company closed it doors…..They made their own novelty yarns and dyed them. They wove the fabrics on old large wooden looms…I would discuss an idea with them or show them fabrics and colors I was working with, and they would go and collect different yarns in different colors for us to select and play with. Then they would make hand looms to send to me in the US to choose from….It was usually a difficult choice because they were all beautiful…It truly was a French confection…Many companies tried to copy the Tissage de Chaume fabrics but they never looked as rich or as intricate…..The short sleeve shell underneath is made in a beautiful Ivory lace also from France. There was a matching skirt, but the Ivory Cloque skirt also worked as a separate………………I used the clear resin and PEARL earrings and stick pin to adorn the outfit……..Though you can’t see them, both models were wearing the “birdcage” strappy pump in ivory. Just as a point of reference the “ribbon” blazer was approx. $820, and that was 30 years ago. In today’s market you can easily put a 2 in front of that number.

……………………….30 years ago I introduced “dressed down” evening clothes to Anne Klein. For me taking a typical casual style like a wind breaker, as above, and make it in a dressier fabric created a new way of dressing for special occasions. Adding a dressy touch like the clear resin and embedded gold orb zipper pull to a sleek Rayon Cady jacket you know immediately that this is something different……something special. The rayon pant was also slim and sleek. To bring the dressy attitude home I added the sheer stretch mesh top. The gold link necklace and belt finished the look.

……………………..There are always different qualities of fabric, and it all starts with the quality of the yarn. There are many types of rayon fabric, and likewise many different qualities of yarn. The rayon fabric I used for this collection was at the pinnacle of rayon fabrics……………….The dress to the right was simple and sleek. Its’ only adornment the custom made artisan gold bean buttons. You simply can not find dresses like this anymore, and IMHO they are desperately needed……….The sleek zip front jacket, again only has the clear resin and gold embedded orb zipper pull to adorn it……The addition of the clear resin and gold stick pin added a special and unexpected touch.

……………………..I love Silk Organza……Organza is a some what stiff fabric. It’s as if you dipped the fabric in starch, but it is the weave and the type of silk yarn used that create organza. There is usually a sizing that the fabric is treated with in the finishing process. Even with the stiffening process Silk Organza is still soft next to the skin. It’s similar to organdy, but heavier and more opaque. The Organza Portrait wrap blouse framed the face perfectly. It was trimmed in black silk. The pants were black Silk Cady……….The Bib Front dress was one of Jac’s favorites. She wore it to  special events and cocktail parties……We used to go to many cocktail parties and charity events when we lived in the city. We went out almost every night, but when we moved out of the city our life became much quieter, and that’s the way we liked it…..I know many of my friends who live in the city, still live that life style…out every night…..not for me….The dress was made out of silk faille, another new fabric, and the organza bib collar….Both collars were about exaggeration, which is what designer clothes are about to one degree or another…..Designer lines are not focused on the “basics”…….The Bib necklace and both sets of earrings were made with glass Black Jet and glass Ivory Pearls……The “BIRDCAGE” shoe was from the Anne Klein Couture Collection, and was made by my shoe company, Schwartz and Benjamin. It went with everything.

…………………….There are two portraits of me that are my absolute favorites…….In 1981 Lord and Taylor presented me with a portrait of myself by Kenneth Paul Block. It is inscribed “With Appreciation and Gratitude, Lord and Taylor September 15th 1981”. Honestly, I don’t remember what it was for!!!!! LOL…but I’m happy to have this special sketch done by KPB!…..I didn’t sit for this portrait, and I assume it was done from the photo though I never found out for sure. Lord and Taylor kept the original art work and I got the framed copy…..That was fine with me! Somewhere in this world the original, I hope, exists…..The photo was taken of me by a wonderful photographer named Michael Doster. He did a series of photos of me to be used as publicity shots. They were the BEST photos of me ever taken. I remember him telling me I had “a good side”, meaning the planes of my face were sharper on one side than the other. No one’s face is totally symmetrical. He went on to say I really couldn’t take a bad picture no matter what side was taken. A perfect gentleman, and a true diplomat, but as a photographer it was something he saw through the lens. I have always remembered it, and from then on I was very aware when I posed for photos that I had a good and bad side….LOL…Way too much information for me!…..I was 33 years old, and having a wonderful time!!!!! Good side or bad side…who cared! Michael was a wonderful fashion photographer, and we worked together many times. He moved back to Munich Germany where he continues to work and produce wonderful photos. I understand he now lives in both Germany and NYC, but I haven’t seen him in ions…..He moved on from fashion, and is now mostly taking wonderful photos of architecture and landscapes and has had many exhibits and books of his work. It would be great to run into him again after all of these years……. I wish him all the best.