Monthly Archives: July 2024

…………………The sun has set and dinner will be shortly served.

……………The Olympics in Paris has begun!!!! and I couldn’t be more thrilled!…….The opening ceremony was done in FRENCH FASHION…….not in a stadium…..but using the “CITY OF LOVE” as its’ backdrop…….The athletes came down the River Seine in boats of all sizes waving their national FLAGS IN THE POURING RAIN, but did they care it was raining?…..not a bit….Nothing was going to spoil their fun! As they came down the river VIGNETTES were happening all along the river, and on the roof tops of some of the most famous landmarks of Paris……What a PRODUCTION!……Some were more successful than others, and it was a lot to undertake, and some will say too ambitious….In a way it reminded me of the fashion show….”The Battle Of Versailles”….The French production was also too ambitious, and in the end was not good…..I can say that there were some incredible moments….like the many Marie Antoinettes in red dresses in windows of a famous building….all headless holding their heads in their hands……LADY GAGA did a spectacular Folies Bergere performance with hot pink feather fans and a slew of male dancers ……It reminded me of Marilyn Munroe’s dance number…..It was preformed on a gold staircase on the banks of the Seine…..Can Can dancers and Heavy Metal bands all performed….It was a bit all over the place……However……you can bet I will be glued to the TV for the next two weeks watching every event I can!

…………..Every aspect of the ceremony was incredible…..The Eiffel Tower coming to life with thousands of lights and the Olympic Rings ablaze………The FINALE brought me to TEARS when…..CELINE DION…..came out on stage in front of the tower….LOOKING RADIANT!……….and singing with her STRONG BEAUTIFUL VOICE!…….OMG…..she was INCREDIBLE…..such courage….for me……that’s the meaning of the OLYMPIC GAMES!……..Good luck to ALL of the athletes…….but especially our American SONS and DAUGHTERS!

………………..I wish I could claim to be the author of any of these terrific posts, but alas they all belong to more cleaver minds than mine!

………………..I recently saw on YOUTUBE this clip of Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond singing “You Don’t Bring Me flowers Anymore”. It was a huge hit for both of them….an extremely successful duet…..They sang it at a 1978 Awards show that was on TV. I’m not sure what awards show it was, and from the clip you couldn’t tell. It may have been a Grammy Award show? I remember Barbra coming up to my and Donna’s studio at Anne Klein, and Donna and I helping her to select something to wear…..She wanted this draped cowl front top with huge shoulder pads, very fashionable at the time, and easy pants….that I had designed, but of course she had no idea which one of us designed it!!….We showed her many samples, but she kept coming back to this draped top and languid pant…..It was in this icy grey color silk georgette with rhinestones scattered all over…….Honestly, I did not like the color on her! With her skin color, her mousey hair color and her curly kinky hair style at the time [which I didn’t find flattering], I felt the grey washed her out…..I tried in a very subtle way to convince her that we would make it for her in any color she wanted, and I showed her swatches of other colors I thought would be more flattering and better on TV……..but…….Barbra gets what Barbra wants and she loved the grey…….so it was the grey she wore…..I still think, after all of these years that I was right! I would have preferred it in a soft white with the glistening rhinestones……Barbra and Neil were terrific together…..and in the end that’s all that counts……….I was still proud that Barbra was wearing my design, and to this day she has no idea it was mine!