From Louis

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Putting on a Fashion Show is always a nerve wracking experience!……Back stage, no matter how organized you are, and how much you have prepared…..is always tumultuous!! In the photos you see the models lining up to be called to enter the runway…..Notice the man at the lower right wearing the head phones. He is talking with the “music” man and the man in charge of the lighting cues. They have gone over the timing a dozen times before the show starts. In the 20 years that I did shows I never had a major problem…..The most tragic thing to happen was a broken zipper! There were always sample makers at the ready to handle any problem…….even if that meant a model had to be sewn into the dress…….The photo at the upper right shows me and a group of the models after the show! The pressure valve has been released, and everyone was happy, and did a fantastic job!

………………………I’m looking forward to watching the 2023 SUPER BOWL!!!!!………….Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs, and Jalen Hurts of the Eagles hopefully will show us an exciting game!!!……..and I’m really looking forward to seeing Rihanna’s half time show! She hasn’t bee on the stage for a long time, so I’m sure she will pull out all the stops…….The rivalry between the KELCE brothers, Jason and Travis, will be fun to watch. It’s the first time brothers are competing against each other in the Super Bowl……..I’m also looking forward to the COMERCIALS!!!!   Hopefully this year they will be lots of fun!!! I won’t say which team I’m rooting for, because it always seems the team I want to win LOSES!!!! I’ll let you know after the game if I won or not!!!!!!

………………..These photos were taken backstage as the girls were waiting to go on the runway The photos at the left were of a CREPE GEORGETTE DRESS…..It had a halter top and a high stand collar. The back had a VERY DEEP SLIT to the top of the bum…..later raised for production!……The GOLD BULLION embroidery was magnificent…..The dress had a suggested retail price of $1695.00…….The MIDI EMBROIDERED SKIRT was stupendous! The silk crepe georgette skirt had rows of gold bullion paisley embroidery taken from archives….It was a shallow wrap, and exposed one leg when you walked…….It retailed for approx. $3000.00, and was the finale of the show……Notice the models [Gail] waiting to go on for the finale walk on the runway.

………………………WHEN YOU HAVE A BODY LIKE YASMEEN……….you need a dress to show it off!……The SILK BLEND KNIT DRESS in BLACK had beautiful GOLD BULLION EMB. It had the thinnest spaghetti straps and fit her body perfectly……The Black and Gold springolators, and the gold cuffs and gold drop earrings finished the LOOK!….Yasmeen was a fabulous model, and could still model today if she wanted to…..I give Yasmeen the credit for creating “THE WALK” that so many copied.

……………………The……SHALWAR KAMEEZE….is often referred to as a “suit”…..The Shalwar is a pant, usually wide on the top and tapering at the ankle….however over the years it has evolved into a wider range of styles. A simple slim pant sometimes with small side slits can also be a Shalwar…..The Kameeze is a long shirt worn over the pant. They come in a variety of styles and necklines…They were and still are worn by both WOMEN and MEN. Today they come in a variety of fabrics and patterns. and are in fabrics that are both casual for everyday wear, or extremely dressy….often printed in GOLD or embroidered with real gold threads.. The outfit at the extreme left is a perfect example of a SALWAR KAMEEZE. The LONG top is made out of a SHEER GEORGETTE with a short CREPE GEORGETTE attached shell under it…which is tucked into the pant. The CREPE GEORGETTE  is used for the SLIM pant……..Both pieces are HAND EMBROIDERED with real GOLD BULLION THREADS. I researched authentic Indian embroideries and all of the embroideries were done in INDIA……The three piece outfit on Gale at the right consisted of a long Crepe Georgette embroidered jacket….a long V-neck Crepe Georgette tunic which was the same length as the long jacket. The bottom was a long sheer georgette skirt with high side slits over a solid Crepe Georgette slim pant…They were attached at the pull-on waist…..The detailing of the embroidery was simply magnificent!!!!…..To give you an idea of prices in 1992…the tunic at the left had a suggested retail price of $1335.00, and the pant had a suggested retail price of $995……The jacket on Gale had a suggested retail price of $1695.00, the V-neck silk georgette crepe  V-neck tunic was $180 and the skirt and dress combo was $295……I can’t imagine what the prices would be today….easily double if not triple!!!!!