Monthly Archives: April 2024

……………….Navy and spring go hand in hand……BANISH the BLACK…..never……but Navy does come to the forefront as the weather warms up……..Starting at the left…….The placement pattern lace dress. The panels of the lace had a top and bottom design. You could custom order the panels in the lengths you wanted with the top and bottom design always staying the same. This simple short dress had a straight bandeaux-ish neckline with thin straps. It was lined in a pale grey georgette…….The pinstripe 7/8ths length double breasted jacket in the center had a large collar and lapels. It was paired with a petal pink silk charmeuse shell blouse and a petal pink charmeuse flower pin. The skirt was in the same pinstripe with a lace border peeking out from the elongated jacket……The pant suit to the extreme right was a navy and ivory woven pin dot fabric. The single button jacket had flap pockets and a band breast handkerchief pocket. It was worn over an ivory on ivory jacquard pin dot vest and navy Serge trousers…..All of the pieces had a quiet elegance to them…..A well bred look!

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…………………Summer suits always start with a JACKET……from there the coordinating suit pieces can be almost anything……..Starting from left to right…..The 3/4 sleeve length, double breasted OPEN PORTRAIT COLLAR jacket over cigarette pants……..The two button black carved jacket with 3/4 length sleeves, a white contrast collar, lapel buttons and besom pockets worn with a white seamed pencil skirt………”The Dress and Jacket”…a fitted dress with an empire seam, white top with an open neckline and a black fitted bottom. It is drawn with a white cropped two button bolero jacket………….At the bottom right a stream line double breasted minimal jacket with bound button holes and welt seaming………Here are four very different summer suits that will always look modern and fresh and contemporary.

………………One of the most influential and inspiring actresses, for me, has always been Marlene Dietrich…………Nothing beats a beautifully tailored LINEN WHITE SUIT in the Spring. A STRONG SHOULDER and a carved waistline paired with languid trousers is IT!!….One of the linens I used was a blend with rayon which kept the linen softer and not ridged, which also helped with wrinkles….The small collar and peaked lapel with the flap pockets and slanted band breast pocket were all taken from a man’s blazer…Working buttons on the sleeve were a luxury detail. The fully lined blazer in a cotton batiste came with half lined pants to keep them cool, and flowy……The fine cotton pinstripe shirt had all of the menswear details including collar stays. The silk tie had a striped polka dot design…….The halter silk georgette polka dot top had a bra top and draped from the center front…..The puffed short puffed sleeve georgette blouse had a three streamer tie. The three streamers were long enough to tie in a generous bow…..The sweater vest over the blouse was at the high hip length, and had contrast banding….The georgette pleated skirt also had a black band at the bottom………….Travis Banton, one of the most famous Hollywood costume designers of the Golden Age of Hollywood, had a long collaboration with Dietrich and did most of her costumes.

………………………..Is there really a better combination than BLACK & WHITE?…..and if you add a color my choice will always be RED!……..Starting with the center sketch…….The RED stretch cotton crepe three button shaped jacket with a WING COLLAR and a cutaway bottom with flap pockets worn with a WING COLLAR stretch cotton fitted shirt. The pant is a black stretch cotton crepe slim pant……Next is a WING COLLAR cotton crepe zip front, halter jumpsuit. The princess seams go all the way down the legs, front and back for a perfect fit…….Next a short red stretch cotton crepe deep V-neck, halter dress with three seams front and back for a great fit. Over the dress is a white open front cardigan…….The three sketches at the right show….a black and white stripe short sleeve knit top without any armhole. On the bottom a bold red and black striped cotton/elastane  pull-on short skirt…..In the center a mitered V-neck, cap sleeve knit top with a stretch cotton crepe pant……..and to the extreme right….a one button stretch cotton crepe blazer with black banding worn over a bold stripe cotton/elastane tank, and a cotton stretch crepe tulip skirt…………..Remember, these croquis were done well over 30 years ago, but still look modern, relevant, and wearable today.