Monthly Archives: June 2025

……………….At the beginning of the season I wasn’t sure this was going to be a good year for Hydrangeas…..There just didn’t seem to be many flower buds developing?…..but oh have they surprised me….Usually every other year they do wonderfully…One year they are full with flowers, and the next year not so many blooms…but now it’s two years in a row with beautiful colorful flowers….I planted the ones around the flag pole last year. They replaced the hybrid rose bushes that never seemed to do well….so out they went to be replaced by seven hydrangea bushes, and they are doing GREAT with lots and lots of BLUE flowers…..I will start to cut the flowers from the MANY bushes I have on my property, and bring them into the house…..Then I will dry them and have them all year round!…..SUMMER has arrived!!!

……………..There is NOTHING cooler to wear than pure LINEN……I know many don’t like linen because it does wrinkle, but many who love wearing linen don’t mind them…..it comes with the territory…they embrace the wrinkles….I wear and own a lot of linen, and don’t care if it wrinkles….IT’S LINEN…..There are linens that are blended with other fibers such as cotton or rayon, and they have the tendency to wrinkle less….but wrinkle they all will….I don’t care it just doesn’t bother me…..it’s cool to wear, and that’s really what matters…On the left the model is wearing a “tweed linen blazer” with white linen trousers, and a striped woven linen shirt……..On the right, the model is wearing another striped linen shirt, but this time it has GOLD LUREX STRIPES woven in. The buttons on the shirt were clear acrylic with a tiny gold shank made for me by my jewelry licensee. I wanted the buttons to disappear so nothing would distract from the shirt fabric….details!…… She’s wearing it with a zip front cotton skirt, and a gold belt made for the collection by my jewelry licensee….The SQUARE clip on gold earrings match the belt………DETAILS!………….ALL for my Resort AK 1991 Collection.

…………………..Last night I had the most delicious dinner….all made by moi!…..That may sound strange, but in todays world there are so many delicious pre-made things you can buy that sometimes it’s just easier to pick something up to eat…..but….not this. I made each dish with my own two “little” hands…….I am becoming a whiz at CRABCAKES with a little tartar sauce [that I bought]….The tri colori pasta salad and the cucumber salad were my side dishes….For desert I had a beautiful PEACH, and to drink… Black Cherry seltzer…I’m in the city today so tonight’s dinner has to be quick and easy……a GORGONZOLA BURGER and  THREE BEAN SALAD…..Now…..if it would only STOP RAINING!!! I hate to drive into NYC in the rain. What is normally a 45 minute to a one hour drive can take two hours and more……so please stop raining!

………………….NAVY LINEN……….I had this navy color specially dyed for me……I was very picky about the way the navy color should look….Not too green…not to red….not ROYAL BLUE or purple….not too light either!….It had to be the deepest INK NAVY….It became the Anne Klein Navy, and it was my standard color navy for ALL SEASONS….ALL FRABICS….even leather goods like shoes….I did the same thing with my Linea collection for QVC…The model at left is in a simple chemise dress with a SQUARE NECKLINE, and a navy soft calf belt, and a custom large “FISH HOOK BELT” made for me by my jewelry licensee….even the gold stud on the belt was made by my jewelry licensee….DETAILS MATTER…no matter how small…..The “fish earrings” and the gold plate “disc earrings” were all part of the resort collection…….The two models on the right are both in the same navy linen. On the right a double breasted V-neck dress, and on the left is a double breasted “BOYFRIENDS BLAZER”, worn with a sleeveless white mock neck sweater and a white cotton twill skirt…..All of the gold buttons were made for me by my jewelry licensee, and they were 18 karat gold plate!……Again, DETAILS MATTER!

……………When I had this FISHNET fabric made for me in Italy….my mind started to imagine the many different ways I could use it…..YES, the obvious was to utilize it in clothing….such as the two T shirts pictured here for my Resort 1991 AK collection…..but I played with it as an accessory…..and I started to sketch….I sketched it for a detail on espadrilles….a variety of bags, and even the crown of a sun hat…both shown here…..This cotton large fishnet was unique, and worked well to expand my vision……I put my licensees to work having my ideas come to life…..The buyers and clients all loved it in its’ many forms……The model on the left is wearing a fishnet back T-shirt with cotton trill shorts. She’s carrying a large canvas tote with the fishnet outside pocket. On her head a fish net combined with a cotton twill for the sun hat…..The model on the right is wear a fishnet T- shirt, with a crest embroidered cotton twill elongated blazer and a cotton twill skirt……ALL in BRIGHT WHITE!