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……………………..Cotton MATTE JERSEY is a very special fabric. In the designer world of fabrics, silk, silk/rayon or 100% rayon matte jersey are used for day and evening dresses. The quality of the fine yarns used on these slow, special knitting machines makes the fabrics very costly. The fabric has to be constantly checked to make sure there are no flaws. When I found a “COTTON JERSEY” made on matte jersey machines I was thrilled. This was something very new…..Only the very finest cotton yarns can be used on these machines to fit into the needles to make COTTON MATTE JERSEY…..perfect for hot weather…..The dresses above were made in this cotton matte jersey from Italy.  The strapless dress looks like a simple criss cross wrap top…….but it was built on a full bustier as any good designer strapless dress should be. There should always be some kind of underpinning for security and to give a good bust shape. Some bustiers are full length to the waist and some are just to the upper rib cage depending on the design of the dress. This bustier came just above the waist. The beauty of a good bustier is that it does its’ job without you feeling constricted or uncomfortable in any way.  The bustier was made out of light weigh mesh and boning to keep it light weight and comfy! It should look effortless and “unconstructed”, but the inner bustier gives a women the security she needs in a strapless…..Ralph Francisco was one of my pattern assistants. He had amazing hands, and could drape the most marvelous things. Jac always said Ralph made the best bustier she had ever worn and that’s saying a lot. When AK closed the couture division he went on to work for Vera Wang in her bridal division……The halter dress with the pleated soft tulip skirt was cinched in with a wide calf belt………”THE CATCH OF THE DAY” necklace was the piece de resistance!