Monthly Archives: June 2021

……………………HOUNDS TOOTH CHECK was the main focal point of GROUP # 2. There was a marvelous jacket that had an exposed zipper front. The jacket had body seams, front and back, from the shoulder to the hem. These seams created a side panel. From these seams, at the waist, were inserted straps in the self fabric. They were actually soft belts with metal grommets and metal buckles. These belts allowed you to CINCH the waist as mush or as little as you liked depending on your body shape…..so you could customize the fit….They gave the jacket a great hour glass shape. The jacket had a smallish shirt collar with a “half moon” stand at the back neck. It had shoulder pads and was fully lined in satin. It was a wool and synthetic blend. There was also a matching pencil skirt, and a matching BIG SCARF/SHAWL…..All three pieces came in BLACK/IVORY with GOLD metal or BLACK/VIOLET with SILVER metal…..There was a Crepe Trouser in BLACK or WINTER WHITE to coordinate……….I wanted to create something special, something unexpected to wear under the suits. Sweaters would be fine, but not special or unexpected….Then I found this terrific dimensional stretch lace….PERFECT….Hounds tooth with lace…..To coordinate this lace V-neck, elbow sleeve top with the suits I did them in BLACK with an IVORY knit lining [body only], and BLACK with a VIOLET knit lining…..The combination with the suits worked perfectly, and yes….totally unexpected. I always loved a surprise top under suits. These lace tops could also work with so many other things I had done and things to come……..I also did an incredible lace open front cardigan….It was longer in the front so you could style it many ways, The lace was made out of NYLON and RAYON. The nylon was the fine black yarn, and the shiny rayon was the flowers that had a satiny effect. The black threads made the lace look like it had a fine web over it. I had the rayon dyed in…..SILVER…..OLIVE….and MAGENTA……This cardigan doubled as a blouse when wrapped and belted…There was also a separate tank in the three colors, because the lace was very see through. A black tank under all would have been fine, but the the color under the color lace was very special. I only used this lace once, and never found another like it.

…………………………BOLD & WONDERFUL! That’s how I would describe this fabric. This jacket gave everyone a fabulous shape, because the fit was adjustable due to the side straps that could be cinched in as much or as little as you liked…..just a little would make a big difference………As a BLACK and IVORY suit with the matching pencil skirt it was nothing less than striking……With the matching SCARF it was DRAMATIC, and very designer looking. There were so many ways to wear this jacket….so many different bottoms to choose from, and so many color tops to wear under it…….For the fashionistas…..a red skirt or pant and a matching red sweater with maybe a black and white spectator shoe would be fabulous. Matching RED tights would have been wonderful, but this came well before I was doing LINEA BODY….All the jewelry was Linea too.

…………………….VERY VERY FRENCH……VIOLET & BLACK…….So Chic…so Sophisticated……Who could tell you weren’t wearing hundreds of $$$$ worth of clothes. The big black shawl was one I did in WK. I had done it for Anne Klein and showed it with everything from suits to long evening columns…..a truly fabulous piece and great for air plane travel too. The Ivory shirt came with ivory streamers, but the shirt also came in Black….so I combined the two using the ivory shirt with the black streamers……….Really all you needed was a fabulous black WK sweater, the hounds tooth skirt and the shawl to make a strong statement.

………………I wanted to do something special to go with the Hounds Tooth suits…..something unexpected! As it turned out it was something provocative, and sexy too. I found this wonderful textured stretch lace. By lining the body in colors to coordinate with the Hounds Tooth check suits….IVORY and VIOLET they matched perfectly. The sleeves were left see through. With these lace tops I was able to create that special layering piece that took the whole look to the next level…………..Going that extra mile brought the look to the DESIGNER LEVEL.

…………………………This very special lace was one of my favorite all time finds. It was RAYON and NYLON……. The fine black threads of the nylon held it all together and created this web effect across the shiny rayon. The rayon had a satin, almost metallic effect…….The colors were IVORY with BLACK…….OLIVE with BLACK…..and MAGENTA with BLACK….There was a separate tank you could wear under them in matching colors, but if you had a sweater to match, [black always worked, but the olive TN in photos was even better], you could style the lace cardigan any way you wanted…..By now I had WK sweaters in all the colors…..I loved it worn straight and open, or tied in the front….high or low. It also looked great BELTED or wrapped over in the front and tied in the back as the photo at the upper right illustrates……It also looked great under other jackets……I never used this fabric again, nor did I ever fine another that was even similar which made this a true collectors piece.