From Louis

………………….Rayon Cady was truly a wonderful fabric. It had all of the qualities of its’ silk version, but was a third of the cost. It tailored and draped beautifully, and had a wonderful matte finish. Rayon dyes really well so the black was always a super saturated jet black…..Within each new delivery group or the introduction of a new fabric I always introduced some new silhouettes. I did repeat some of the established silhouettes of the collection, but it was important for the buyers to see NEW!….The Bolero jacket was new to the delivery and to the Rayon Cady. It had a shirt collar and a two button front. Below the bottom button the jacket started to curve away. The button on the sleeve was a working button, so if a woman so chose she could unbutton it and turn the sleeve back like a french cuff. The Jumpsuit at the left glided over the body following the lines of the body. It had buttons down one side and at one shoulder. The Jumpsuit and Bolero created a NEW” kind of suit……..The “suit” look to the right had a low slung skirt that had two buttons on the waist band to give a DB effect. All of the Artisan Gold “bean shaped” buttons were made for me by my jewelry company….The silk Cady long sleeve jewel neck ivory blouse was perfect as the layering piece. Jac worn both the jumpsuit and bolero and the bolero and skirt to many events in NYC. It was the perfect thing to wear to gallery shows, book signings, and special evening events that used to take place in the NYC department stores. She loved all of the pieces, and particularly loved how the slung skirt looked with the jacket. It was much edgier than if the skirt came up to the natural waist with a straight waist band…..Jac looked stunning.

………………………SILK CADY is a heavy silk, usually 2 to 3 ply, but it can go up to 8 ply. Due to the fabrics unique construction Cady has an almost matte finish with a slight sheen.. It is used in the more expensive designer lines and the Couture as the price per yard can go well above $250 depending on the ply…..The jacket and walking shorts, and the dress were both in Silk Cady……..The dress was one of Jac’s favorites. It had a wonderful V back, but the bottom didn’t come to a point. It had a blunt square cut across the  bottom……………….The necklace was amazing!!!!, and it coordinated with the earring and bracelet. It was all lucite with gold orbs inside and a beautiful gold chain. This wasn’t any gold….We called it “ARTISAN GOLD”, and my jewelry company developed it for me. It had a warm glow and was more like an 18/24 karat gold. It had a beautiful sheen to it, and wasn’t overly shiny. I tried to develop it for my Linea jewelry….We called it Russian Gold, but it was never quite the same, as much of the “Anne Klein Couture” jewelry was real gold plate.

…………………………..Silk yarns come in a variety of weights. The hand knit sweater to the left was a blend of silk, linen and cotton. It had the hand of silk and the texture of linen and the body of cotton. I called the sweater “Black Birds”. The V-neck tunic was in a luxurious silk yarn. It was in a jersey knit with wide black bands. The “modesty” tank was attached…There was also a knit skirt to coordinate…..The “look” of both sweaters was slouchy and comfortable. The V-neck had a very 20s vibe, while the hand knit had an modern abstract pattern.

…………………Leave it up to the Italian fabric manufacturers to mix wool with linen to create fabulously textured Glen Plaids. Again, this beautiful plaid came from Torello Viera. Christie, on the left wears the scoop neck jacket with the cutaway bottom, flap pockets and matching pencil skirt. Again, the zipper pull was custom made in the clear resin with the gold orb inside. This matched the earrings and bracelet. Gayle, on the right is wearing the DB elongated blazer with a tweed pencil skirt and a black lace shell underneath. Of course the tailoring was superb , and everything MATCHED!

………………………….The Italian linen plaids were developed for me by Torello Viera, a marvelous manufacturer of wool, linen and cottons. They were, and are still located in Biella, Northern Italy. They were known for their precious and high quality fibers and their unique constructions. They are considered one of the finest Italian fabric mills in Italy. Their legacy is over 100 years old. It was a pleasure to go there to visit with their very talented fabric designer. He was a very distinguished handsome man in his late 30’s, and didn’t speak a word of English. We always had an interpreter, but he always understood immediately what I was looking to develop. They manufacture men’s fabrics specifically, but many of the women’s designers also buy their fabrics. Armani was a big customer. Their quality was superb……Tailoring was always my forte. There was something about a beautiful precision cut lapel and collar that I loved….It brought me back to my days at Norell soaking in all I could as I watched the tailors at work. That’s wear I learned that all jackets start with a good shoulder, whether a natural one or one with massive shoulder pads. It’s all about the balance….Of course the more expensive the jacket, the more care is taken with tailoring and what goes into making a beautiful jacket….The different placement of seams and darts to create a certain shape was extremely important…..Not all jackets have the same seaming…..The long zip front topper and the shorter double breasted cutaway jackets were beautifully cut and tailored. They look as smart today as they did 30 years ago.They are both worn over tweed linen…..a pencil skirt, and a pleated pant. A pongee silk shell piped in black silk is worn under the DB jacket. The zipper pull was made in the clear resin with the gold drop inside……I always felt the jackets I did for Linea had the same qualities as any I designed for Anne Klein. Of course with the price restrictions tailoring had to be kept to a minimal, but considering the prices of the Linea jackets…they were great IMHO……The two jackets above retailed for approx. $655.00, but remember that was 30 years ago! Today I can only guess how much they would cost, but similar designer jackets are over $2000.