“APRIL 08 DESIGNER DAY”

………………..The April 08 “Designer Day” event had many wonderful items. It really was a mixture from day to night……..Starting at the top left was a wonderful MILANO STITCH SWEATER JACKET. It was in a blend of acrylic/wool, It had an open stand collar, very Audrey Hepburn, and bracelet length sleeves. The body was A-line and it had horizontal band pockets……The collar, the front band, the bands on the sleeves and hem of the jacket were all in contrast colors. I had a very special button from my archives made. It was a combination of gold metal, black enamel with a dome pearl in the center. It was very expensive and brought the knit jacket to a higher level…..The colors were Ivory/Black and Red/Black…….The next item was a shirt dress in a very interesting new fabric. It almost looked like a chambray because it was in two colors. It had very very fine vertical  striations, and the fabric had a sheen…..The colors were Silver and Slate Blue. The dress was basically taken from my “Work Shirt” in Fuji silk, and made longer into a dress…..The next column of items were all related. At the top was a PAISLEY BROCADE DRESS…It had a funnel neck, short sleeves and Princess seams to create an Empire shape. Pockets were in the seams. The buttons were covered in the brocade. It was the Brocade fabric that made all of the difference. Due to the jacquard construction of the brocade it kept its’ A-Line shape beautifully….The Swing Brocade jacket also kept its’ beautiful shape because of the stiffness of the fabric, though it was very soft to the touch. It too had a funnel neckline, 3/4 sleeves and band pockets. The buttons were also covered in the self fabric. There was a matching pencil skirt with an elastic waist and back zipper. Both the dress and jacket had a retro look…..The brocade was very dimensional and the paisleys, which had fine metallic threads. looked raised. The colors were Ivory with Silver and a Pale Pink with Gold…..The scoop neck tank was also a lurex blend in the ivory/silver and pink/gold…………The next shirt was in SILK ORGANZA and had the most incredible embroidery on the front and sleeves. The leaves were in satin thread stitch but the CURRANT BERRIES were RAISED to look like actual berries. It came with a tank because silk organza is very sheer. It came in the Ivory or Black….both with the green leaves and red berries…….Another collector’s item, and not to be found anywhere today!……The next two pieces, the top and skirt, could be worn as a two piece dress or separately. These were two of Jac’s favorite pieces. The Ballet neck or Sabrina neck sleeveless top was in Rayon/Linen and it had a wide band at the bottom of DTM SHEER ORGANZA. It was short at 24 inches and the 3 1/2 border was slit to the Linen/Rayon portion. The skirt, in the same Linen/Rayon, also had a 3 1/2 inch of organza set in to the skirt approx. 5 inches up from the bottom of the 27 1/2 inch skirt. The skirt was a 3/4 circle with a side zipper and elastic at the back sides of the waist band…..The two pieces came in IVORY, BLACK and COCOA and Jac wore them all, but mostly the IVORY and BLACK……………..The final piece was a soft SAFARI blazer….soft because it was made in 100% TENCEL.. It was 28 inches long….it had 4 patch pockets and button flaps. The bottom pockets were side entry. It had elbow length sleeves and the cap had a box pleat to exaggerate the shoulder which already had a pad. It had classic 4 hole buttons with a thick rim DTM. The back had a yoke and three seams for shape. The front had body darts. It came in WHITE and KHAKI OLIVE.There was also a matching crop pant, but I don’t remember if it was bought.  This was the perfect summer jacket because you really didn’t need to wear anything under it, and the fabric of this unlined jacket was silky against the skin.

This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. Cela

    Memories….I used to wear these circle skirts with
    Ballet neck tops, sometime the skirt was a “wrap”
    that tied at the waist. The top would usually be a bodysuit and people thought I was a dancer, but it was just a really comfortable way to dress in the summer.

    1. Louis Dell'Olio

      Cela, I actually did one of those circle wrap skirts that buttoned at the waist for QVC. It was in Rayon jersey. There was a matching top but I don’t remember it. It should be coming up???

  2. Carol

    I have both the silk organza shirt and the skirt with the organza band, both in black. It’s a gorgeous “circle” skirt that makes you want to twirl when you wear it!

Comments are closed.