Designer

………………….ATTENTION!!!!!…………I will be having a FACEBOOK LIVE SHOW…..this SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9TH…..at 1:00PM EST…..Hope you can be there!

……………………..PARTY TIME!……….Almost every weekend on Fire Island someone was throwing a huge party….On this particular weekend, an Hawaiian themed party was happening…..Frank Massandrea, on the left was a very close friend of Jac and I. He was a bridal designer, and one of the best in the business. Jac modeled in all of his shows, and she did “looks” with him…..He revolutionized how bridal shows were presented. Instead of the boring staid showroom shows that were typical of the bridal industry, Frank took them out of the showrooms, and put on extravaganzas using lots of models on beautiful sets…Each of his gowns was a fantasy, and I used to marvel how he could come up with these fabulous gowns season after season mostly in white……I remember one season he did the “Jezebel Collection”…..It had an antebellum theme. and he opened the show with RED brides in full skirts…..He was one of the most talented people I have ever know with impeccable taste, but above all he was the type of person who would give you the shirt off his back. We loved him…….Rick Costello, to my right, was my show room manager at Anne Klein, and was also a very dear friend of ours……He was one of the sweetest, kindest people I ever knew…A person who would drop everything if you ever needed him…Rick was very smart and a great people person……a real charmer with a fabulous smile…That’s why he was such a great manager………Three handsome ITALIAN boys!!! LOL….Frank decided to whip up these BIG Hawaiian shirts in his sample rooms for us to wear to the party. It was a pool party at a large house that was on the beach. Lots of models were there who were invited for the weekend by different designers…..The party started at 7pm and lasted until the last person left which was usually after dawn. Sometimes we would sit on our deck, and see stragglers walking on the beach making their way home from the party or where ever they ended up…A good time was had by all…Then, if we weren’t too hung over…we would head down to the beach, and used to have very competitive paddle ball games….singles and doubles……Jac was the cheer leader!….It definitely was the best of times………I know Jac, Frank and Rick are partying it up in Heaven right now looking down on me…….There is no fun in Mudville when you’re the only one left to play………I miss them beyond.

…………………Jac and I have always been…….BEACH PEOPLE!…..We loved the SUN….the SAND…..and the OCEAN…….We never were ones for the country or lakes…….We would never think to go and spend our vacations at the mountains or ski resorts where there was lots of snow!….No…Her sister and BIL have a house in Aspen, and invited us many times to go skiing, but we always declined preferring to go to one of the islands.   For our vacations we always headed south to the CARIBBEAN…….We loved the white sandy beaches, and the beautiful clear aqua water……plus the food was fabulous!……So Fire Island was the perfect place for us to spend our summers……Most weekends we flew out on a sea plane that picked us up at the 34th Street boat basic, and flew us straight out to the Great South Bay where we would dock at our community. It was approx. a 35 minute to  40 minute ride depending on winds. It certainly was a lot better than the two and a half to three hour drive to the ferry!…….On the days when the weather was too bad for the planes to fly either I drove or I had a limo take us out. We usually shared a 4 seater limo with friends, and spent the time playing fierce card games!………The minute we were on the Island all of the tensions of work melted away…….We spent lazy days by the pool looking at the ocean or on the beach playing paddle ball or lying in the sun….Jac was always careful in the sun and wore lots of sun block, but she did get a beautiful tan……She always wore a hat, and was a genius with make up so her face always matched her tan…….As for me with my Italian blood, I only used sun block when Jac put it on me!….LOL……………Those were the days!

……………..Since it’s the end of the summer I thought I’d tell some summertime stories…….Jac and I rented a house on Fire Island for quite a few years………For those of you who don’t know….Fire island is a 32 mile long strip of land, and one half mile wide off the coast of Long Island on the Atlantic Ocean….It is a barrier island in the Great South Bay, and over the years has protected Long Island from massive erosion…It is know for it’s miles of peaceful pristine beaches, with fine sand, which are some of the best in the world!….It’s also know for its’ centuries old maritime forests where deer abound….It has a laid back vibe during the day, and a vibrant scene at night…..You have to take a ferry to get there……There are no cars, and we had our little red wagon hitched up by the dock so we could haul our bags and groceries to the house on the beach, which was at the far end of the community…The house was a beauty….Very modern with a beautiful pool on the beach…..There are many different communities along the island, 17 in all….all on the beach, separated by a few miles of empty dunes, trees and underbrush……..We always took a long lease until February 15th……We actually loved it best after Labor Day when most renters were gone…..The weather was still perfect, and cool enough in the evening to start up our wood burning stove…..The beaches were empty and we always took a week off from work to be there by ourselves…taking long walks….We decided to give it up after the house was literally picked up and moved to the mainland after one terrible hurricane when many houses were destroyed………….Those years on Fire Island were……….the best of times.

………………………Now this is a Holiday everyone can celebrate and be happy for!!!!…….For all the people that work everyday to keep this country moving!…..Happy Labor Day!