Designer

…………………..I remember visiting the Twin Towers a few times…..I particulary remember going to a cocktail part in the restaurant high up in the tower…..Standing at the edge of one of the ceiling to floor windows you had the sensation of falling out….I had to stand back….The views from this magnificent, miraculous building were exhilarating…..How could I possibly imagine what was to come.

…….There isn’t a person who was living on that horrific day, and who is still living today, that doesn’t remember exactly where they were and what they were doing on the morning of September 11th…………………I remember it vividly…….We woke to a splendid September morning. The weather couldn’t have been finer. A crisp morning with incredibly blue skies. I remember, as I was letting my three puppies out of the kitchen into the back yard……what a fantastic day it was going to be. Jac was upstairs in her Mom’s bedroom helping her get ready for the day. I was in the kitchen making fresh orange juice, and getting breakfast together……I turned on the TV, and on the news all was calm. The report was the weather was going to be a banner day…..I could sense it was going to be a slow news day…..Then it happened. There was a SPECIAL REPORT, never a good thing…..They reported that a plane had struck one of the twin towers! At first they thought it must have been a private passenger plane. I ran upstairs into the bedroom and told them to put the TV on. Jac and her Mom couldn’t understand or believe what they were seeing…..As we watched in horror the second plane hit, and it was clear that this was no accident, but an act of terror…….We were riveted to the TV. As more news and more images came flooding in….seeing the buildings on fire, the people running down the streets as the fireman ran into those buildings was something imprinted on my mind forever. The images of people jumping out of the building, knowing to their deaths, was devastating. I couldn’t imagine how it must have been inside for these people to make this courageous choice…….Then the first collapse…..and then the second…….How could this happen???!!! From that day to this the world has changed…..America…..New York City was always a place of relative safety. Never again will it be thought of that way………TERROR…..took on a new heightened meaning…….As the day unfolded more news….all bad….The Pentagon was hit by a plane…..and the brave passengers of another plane captured the terrorists, but it was too late. They crashed it into a field in PA………………Today 21 years later, we can only remember, and pray for all those lost, and pray this never happens again. The fight for FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY was never more fragile.

I have just found out that 90% of the “LINEA FASHION JEWELRY’ prices have been slashed!!!! This would be a great time and opportunity to give the site on QVC a look see. It’s never too early to start buying Christmas gifts for family and friends, and gifts for YOURSELF!!!!!

………………………Jac had an extensive doll collection which I have inherited. I used to accompany her to doll shows, and it was fun to watch her get excited when she would find a doll she thought was special! After a while I started to know more and more about the different companies, the years they were produced, and their VALUE!!! We also have very very old German porcelain dolls that were her mothers. Jac started collecting dolls and cutouts from when she was a little girl, and then later as she was older started collecting Gene dolls which were more high fashion dolls…..I guess the doll collecting sort of started her in her modeling career…….It all connects…..There are well over 200 dolls!….They are everywhere!!!….Now for my dilemma……Some of the dolls need repair…..mostly re-stringing as they are very old and the strings have deteriorated over time. One very old doll [picture at the center bottom] needs more work done. All in all it’s about seven dolls that need work…..I have tried in vain to find a company or “Doll Hospital” that I can trust to send these dolls to. I have googled thinking for sure that I would find the right company, but I’ve struck out……….so I’m reaching out to all of you for help……Perhaps one of you knows of a reputable company I can contact to have this work done. I know Jac would appreciate it too…..It’s sad to walk into the room and see the dolls heads sitting on the shelf next to a headless doll!…….Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

…………………………If I were asked who was the most famous person I have ever met…..my answer would be immediate!……..QUEEN ELIZABETH!!…….it was in the early 70s and I had been working at Anne Klein for a year or so. I was in my twenties so that was fifty years ago. The Queen was in her early forties…..still a young women………She was making a trip to the United States, and as it turns out one of the very few she would make in her lifetime…….She was going to be in NYC for a few days…..The Queen requested to see BLOOMINGDALES! The plan was that she would be taken on a tour of the store….stopping at some planned exhibits…….One of the floors she was stopping on was the Designer Sportswear floor where the boutiques were located right as they would come off the escalator. Bloomingdales selected three sportswear designer companies to be represented……..Ralph Lauren…..Calvin Klein……and Anne Klein. Donna and I would be there representing Anne Klein……The store set up the horse shoe shaped boutique area to showcase the three houses with their clothes and mannequins on display….Ralph had the first wall on the right as they entered the room….we had the center back wall and Calvin had the left wall of the horseshoe……..Donna and I were so excited to meet the Queen….Of course the next question was what were we going to wear. It was either late spring or early summer….don’t remember……I decided on my brand new navy Armani suit with a tie and white shirt. I was very thin then and the suit fit perfectly. Donna decided on a white single button blazer with a matching vest and short skirt from the new spring collection and low heel shoes. She also wore a white small fedora…..The next question was how were we going to get from 39th Street and 7th Ave to Bloomindales up on 59th street and Lex???? Donna had a bright idea…..”Let’s take the subway….this way I can stand and not get wrinkled”…..I thought that was a splendid idea even though neither of us had take the subway to Bloomingdales before. How hard could it be……thousands of people take it every day!!! So on the day we followed the directions we were given and off we went. When we arrived at the store we had to be met by store officials and escorted in. We were shown to out places, and then the wait….and wait some more, and continued to wait…..The Queen was late……Ralph, Calvin and Donna and myself started to talk until we got the word that she was on her way down the escalator………PLACES EVERYONE!…….First we saw the bright lights of the movie cameras and then photographer’s flashing bulbs……remember it was 50,years ago!……..then in she walked…She was splendid….I don’t remember what she was wearing, but I remembered everything matched….I was to learn that was her signature….First she stopped at Ralph…..shaking hands and saying a few words, then to Donna and myself….Donna curtseying and a hand shake [she had been practicing for a week!], and a hand shake for me……We were told the protocol before hand on how to address her and how to shake her hand…….NEVER GRIP THE QUEEN’S HAND!!!!! Just hold yours out and let her take it, and she will hold it as tightly or as loosely as she wishes……..I know there were words said, and she did remark at how young we were, but that’s all I remember……Then a goodbye and off to say hello to Calvin……The whole thing couldn’t have been more than 15 minutes or so……It was a whirlwind, but a moment I will remember forever…….Again, I was blessed to meet this remarkable woman……How many people can say they met, spoke and shook the hand of the Queen!!!???………..Now…..she is with Prince Phillip……………..Rest In Peace Queen Elizabeth 11…..your reign was spectacular and will be remembered through the ages.