Designer

……………………Today, May 5th is my sweetheart Jac’s birthday…..She loved that her birthday was on Cinco de Mayo….a happy holiday!……..I chose this picture, because this is exactly how she looked the very first time I met her…….She was just seventeen…….a baby!…….Without makeup she looked like she was twelve….She had peaches and cream skin, corn silk blond hair, and “eyes as blue as the sky”, as her Mom always said…She had a soft beautiful voice that was just perfect…..She was 5’10” and 1/4 as she always liked to add the 1/4 inch….A true statuesque beauty with the most gorgeous legs…..She had natural grace and moved beautifully…..She was the sweetest and kindest person I ever knew…..The day I met her I actually talked to her by chance. Of course I knew her as one of the beautiful models we booked for our shows, but I really didn’t KNOW her….Jac and two other models were booked to do our showroom, which means they would be there the two weeks the buyers came in to write their orders, and model the clothes for the clients…..One evening about 7:00 or so, I needed to get out of my studio where I had been cooped up the entire day. I knew everyone would have gone home by now so I could walk around freely, and enjoy my cigarette….Yes, in those days I smoked…….I happened to walk into the models room and Jac was sitting by herself. All the other models had left, and Jac had just finished showing to the last customer of the day. She looked startled when I walked in…I said…”Hello…you’re Jac aren’t you?”….she shyly said “yes”….I thought she was adorable, and we started to talk and talk and talk. Before you knew it almost two hours went by, and I was starting to be missed, and knew I had to get back to work…She said she had to leave too. I later found out she missed two trains to Larchmont where she lived, and where her mother was waiting to pick her up at the station…..just so she could keep talking to me!….From that evening on we became friends….I made it my business for the rest of market week to stop into the model’s room and say HELLO….Jac eventually moved into the city when she became 18 or 19, and lived two blocks from me…..We went out for dinner and to movies, and clubs, but mostly in a group….She was still a child to me , and not even legal yet…so I knew better, and kept a distance…However, she had no trouble getting into clubs. They always wanted the beautiful models to come in………As she got older and more mature….I started to look at her differently….She wasn’t a baby anymore, and she, in her own way, let me know it…..Eventually we started to seriously date, and I stopped seeing other people….That’s when she confessed to me that the minute she saw me, and spoke to me that evening in the model’s room….for her….”it was love at first sight”…She remembered exactly what I was wearing….my blue chambray shirt with the sleeves rolled up and khaki pants….She said I kept brushing my hair off my face, because it was long and always falling….She thought that was so cute…..It took me longer to have those kinds of feelings for her….Her age had a lot to do with it, but she was patient until I came around…..and when I did…that was it…..We moved in together in 1984, and were always together from then on….until that devastating day six years ago when she passed away…….I know NO ONE will ever love me more than my Jac…..She truly taught me the meaning of loving………..It’s so unfair that she had to leave me at such a young age…when there was still so much we wanted to do together……I miss her every day, and I’ll  miss her until my dying day…..when we will be together again……………………………….HAPPY BIRTHDAY in HEAVEN my ANGEL…………………………………………I LOVE YOU BABY, OVER THE MOON AND BEYOND THE STARS

………….On a Spring AK collection where DOTTED fabrics were a theme…..I also incorporated SEQUIN DOTS………I used different size sequins to achieve the look I wanted. The GIANT ones had to be specially custom made…….From left to right starting at the top left….The short jacket had an open portrait neckline with a notched narrow collar and lapel,  with a cutaway bottom. The two button jacket had four darts front and back for shape, plus a back center seam, and 3/4 length sleeves. The entire jacket was banded in black, and had black piped besom pockets…..The dress below had black sequins covering a black empire bodice, and GIANT sequins on the white A-line bottom to look like GIANT POLKA DOTS….These sequins had a single hole close to the edge so they didn’t lay flat on the dress….They flutter a little….The white hand bag had a black sequin flap……The RED short jacket had three large flat black jet buttons. It too was banded in black and the jacket, and white skirt had the GIANT SEQUIN POLKA DOTS…..These sequins had holes at two opposite edges so they laid flat…..The solid black and white dress had an A-Line body. The black top was covered in baby size sequins with the single hole GIANT sequins sewn on top so they fluttered…..The white tank dress had the GIANT two holed sequins on the top, and the bottom was a printed dot on a stretch cotton sateen. A black gross grain ribbon trimmed the empire bodice…..The little waist length black banded jacket was in the printed cotton sateen…The short skirt was also in the stretch cotton sateen with an interesting banded bottom…………..The cropped sweater set in the black and white stripe….tied at the top with a small bow…..The short cotton sateen skirt had the two hole GIANT black sequins….All the tights were printed for me by my hosiery licensee, and the shoes and bags were planned to be in the cotton sateen stretch dot……The use of the sequins was a whimsical way to extend the dot group……I think the sketches look a little bit like Anna Wintour…..bobbed hair and sunglasses!

…………..I had this idea to have a “SCALLOPED CORDING” made that would be attached to a tape so I could insert it into seams…….I spoke to a man who owned a company that made all kinds of custom sew on bands, and tapes in a variety of materials from rayon, to metallics  to straw….He also made pipping and cords in different thicknesses in a variety of yarns…again from rayon and metallic cords to straw cords and everything in between….I discussed with him if it were possible to take the cords and attach them to tapes in a scallop design, so I could insert the tapes into seams. He said he hadn’t made any, but he saw no reason why he couldn’t do it…..A week later I had different samples of different thicknesses of scallops with different spacing between each scallop. It was just what I wanted. I played around with the different variations, and settled for three sizes. One was very fine for blouses……I started to sketch!…..These croquis are just a few of the ideas I came up with inserting the scallop edged tapes in different ways….Starting just as an edging to a jacket as the sketch at the upper left. Then inserting the scallop tapes into ALL of the seams and darts, and the bottom of the jacket and the hem and seams of the skirt….as the bottom left sketch shows…….Then I sketched it also using it to outline pocket flaps……The different uses for the scallop tapes was only as limited as my imagination………….Years later when I was at QVC, I used the same technique for a silk tiny floral printed spring blouse. I had the print fabric made into the same scallops design sewn to tapes and used it to trim a scoop neckline…..down the front, and to edge the cuff of a 3/4 length sleeve……..Everyone loved this very custom, very designer detail.

…………….Every so often a designer must break away from what they are known for, and design something emotional, and the opposite of what they are expected to do….to step out of the proverbial box…..or else their blood starts to boil over….LOL!…….I was always known for tailored clothes, but I also loved to design ultra feminine evening clothes, and sometimes fun frivolous  clothes……clothes that would surprise an Anne Klein customer……In these croquis sketches are just some of my more fun and fanciful ideas for …….”FRIVOLOUS RUFFLES!”….I LOVE the navy jacket with the organza ruffle collar, and the red rose!…..over the georgette palazzo pant!!….The multi tiered, off the shoulder super short dress with rick-rack embroidery at the extreme left…..The bare midriff  rib knit top with the convertible ruffle georgette neckline worn with low slung drawstring easy linen pants…….and the summer sundress with ruffles trimming the shoulder straps….a pin tucked empire bodice and a ruffle border on a swing short skirt…….In my experience I have found you are either a ruffle person or not…..but I do believe ruffle people do have more fun!

……………………Sometimes a simple detail can become an important theme on a collection……….The side seam SHIRT TAIL cutaway bottom worked well for many different tops and jackets. The sketch says matte jersey, but it was too flimsy…I switched to a Rayon Cady fabric, because it had more body, and kept the shape better. It was also a better fabric for the shirt tail hems…….From left to right…..A tank midi length tunic worn over matching pants……Next is a strapless tunic, again over the same wide leg pant……Next sketch is a ballet neck tunic with short sleeves worn over a short skirt…..The last sketch to the right is a 3/4 length single button jacket with wide open sleeves, and a stand collar. It is worn over a simple chemise dress…..It’s always “in the details”.