Monthly Archives: April 2023

……………..I knew I had more, not that many more, pictures from my High School prom….From L to R….my best friend Bobby, his date Phyllis, me and Mary….I had an enormous crush on Mary through out junior and senior high school, and we dated and went out all the time, but then we went to different schools, and our lives took different paths. We did however always keep in touch, and we did become BFF….As I said in another post I was the last friend she wanted to speak to before she passed away…….Jac used to jokingly say to me, “you should have married Mary”, because Mary became a real clothes horse. She used to come up to Anne Klein and buy lots of clothes [she married well]. Later she bought lots of clothes and jewelry from Linea…………..I miss our long telephone calls…..Mary was really a good friend who we both could confide in……I miss that.

…………………This was the formal picture taken at our High School. I know Mary’s mother took more pictures of us at Mary’s house, but I’m sure are gone…….That’s Mary’s High School senior picture that was in the year book……Mary’s father was very handsome Irishman. Her mother, was a beautiful Italian woman who’s family was Sicilian! What a combo………very fiery.

………………….I don’t think it’s any secret to anyone that my favorite vacation spot is the Caribbean…..especially Anguilla………However, my second favorite vacation destination are the Greek Isles…..If they weren’t so far away they could even be my favorite, but it is a journey to get to them. Jac and I made several trips to Greece. It helped that one of her best friends, Elena, lived there just outside of Athens…………..Elena is Swedish, but lived in NYC, and was in the same model agencies, in NY and Europe as Jac. They often worked and roomed together, and many times were paired on the runways together, because of their similar look, both tall, blond and same body type. They also moved alike…..Elena was always fascinated with Greece and Greeks, and had quite a few Greek friends who lived in Athens. She was very friendly with this small band of musicians, and the girl lead singer. One summer they were going on a tour of the Peloponnese, singing at different tavernas. Elena asked Jac if she wanted to go with them. They were traveling in a van or small bus….don’t remember…..Jac said YES and off this little troop went…..playing music, singing, eating and drinking, and having a marvelous time……At one stop Jac was sitting alone, and this Greek guy came up to her and tried to pick her up. Jac told me he was a really cute guy….a little short for her, but with a sweet angelic face. She told him she already had a boyfriend, but she’d like to introduce him to her friend……Jac introduced Elena to Angelo [which means angel], and that was it…..They married, Elena moved to Athens, and they had a son Gianni who now has a daughter of his own……So it was faith that Jac went on that little trip and introduced Angelo to Elena….BTW, Angelo is everything Jac  said. He’s a wonderful architect too…….We have visited them as often as we could, not often enough, and have gone on trips to the islands with them…..It’s always better when you travel with people who speak the language fluently!…….The photos are of one of our trips. It seems Angelo was always taking the photos!……The top center picture was taken at a sea side restaurant, and Elena was selecting our dinner!…..Angelo and Elena loved Jac, and were broken hearted when I had to call them and tell them the sad news of her passing……We still…..all these years later…..keep in touch through e-mails and phone calls. They always ask me to come, but somehow, without Jac, I simply can’t.

………………………Anne Klein was close to all the people that worked for her…..She appreciated every single one of them, and knew it took a TEAM to make her company successful. Anne was the nucleus of her company….Every thing revolved around her, and no decisions were made without her approval….even though she had partners. They all knew the success of the company was due to her vision, and hers alone….When I started working there I soon realized how loyal and loving the entire company had been to her. I knew I had to EARN their respect. I made it my business to meet and know everyone’s name, and not hide out in the design studio. I hung out with the sales people, the cutters, the fabric people, and of course my pattern makers and sewers….every single person….I even made friends with Andre, who cleaned the place. We all figured out that with all of the overtime he put in “cleaning” he was the highest paid employee….LOL……As time went by we all got to know and respect one another. That’s the way Anne always wanted it …..one big family…..and I knew it was important for me to continue these close and warm relationships……..One day I was in the back room hanging with my buddies…..the cutters….They were an awesome group of men, and Donna and I had them working nonstop. We literally made hundreds of samples a season, and they cut them all! They were having a lunch break, and I went to join them. They were truly a bunch of crazy guys, and always teased one another and had great stories….It was truly a family….the whole company was a family and most people worked there from day one. Some had even worked with Anne at a previous company she designed for…..When i left the company 20 years later, many of the same workers were still there….some had retired, but most were were still with the company….On this one occasion, as we were having lunch together, and joking around, one of the cutters came over to me…..I so wish I could remember his name. I see and hear him as clear as a bell. He was a tall lanky guy with a very dry sense of humor…….He handed me this framed dollar bill. At first I didn’t understand why he was handing it to me. Then he said to look at it closer. That’s when I noticed Anne Klein had signed it! He told me the story how she liked to place bets with the guys…..but for only a dollar! I don’t remember what the bet was for…..It could have been about anything….How long it would take him to cut 40 pairs of pants???? Silly things……He won this particular bet, and she gave him the framed and signed one dollar bill……By this point we had all become close……He said he wanted me to have it!!!!! I was flabbergasted for so many reasons. I knew this meant a lot to him, and now he was giving me this great memento…….It meant so much to me…..I realized I was now one of them…..I was now part of the Anne Klein family…..It hangs on the wall in my office……I cherish this dollar bill, and  what this present means to me…..These are simple little stories that would have disappeared with time, but have great meaning to only me……I’m very happy to share this rememberance.