Designer

………………………..Over his lifetime as an illustrator he did many portraits. It isn’t usual for a fashion illustrator to do portraits or to capture a persons spirit on a blank piece of paper….but he did, and he did it beautifully. Above, is just a small sampling of his portraits………..Starting at the top left….Babe Paley and Amanda Burden, Gloria Vanderbilt, Yves St. Laurent, Diana Vreeland, Lauren Bacall [inset], and Pat Buckley [love this portrait]. The bottom row starting at the left, Babe Paley, Lee Radziwill, Jackie Kennedy, Pauline Trigere, Audrey Hepburn, and Lady Mendl with the Duchess of Windsor. I was lucky enough to have my own portrait done by the master!

‘

…………………..Suits and jackets were always an integral part of each collection……The suits above were made in RAYON CADY. It was a beautiful matte fabric from Italy that tailored beautifully. The weight of the fabric was such that these clothes could be worn almost year round…..The fabric was the same construction as the Silk Cady only using fine rayon yarns…The blazer to the left, on Gayle Elliot, was short with a cutaway bottom paired with pleated trouser pants….very similar to the Linen plaid jacket that was also part of this delivery group…………..The jacket to the right wrapped over to the side seam where it had loops that buttoned with three Gold Plate “bean” shaped buttons…then it curved around down to the front…..The pants were straight legged without pleats………..The Bib necklaces had multi rows of different sized Artisan  gold plated irregular shaped beads. Again, it was a take on my “Robbie the Robot” necklace.

………………….Rayon Cady was truly a wonderful fabric. It had all of the qualities of its’ silk version, but was a third of the cost. It tailored and draped beautifully, and had a wonderful matte finish. Rayon dyes really well so the black was always a super saturated jet black…..Within each new delivery group or the introduction of a new fabric I always introduced some new silhouettes. I did repeat some of the established silhouettes of the collection, but it was important for the buyers to see NEW!….The Bolero jacket was new to the delivery and to the Rayon Cady. It had a shirt collar and a two button front. Below the bottom button the jacket started to curve away. The button on the sleeve was a working button, so if a woman so chose she could unbutton it and turn the sleeve back like a french cuff. The Jumpsuit at the left glided over the body following the lines of the body. It had buttons down one side and at one shoulder. The Jumpsuit and Bolero created a NEW” kind of suit……..The “suit” look to the right had a low slung skirt that had two buttons on the waist band to give a DB effect. All of the Artisan Gold “bean shaped” buttons were made for me by my jewelry company….The silk Cady long sleeve jewel neck ivory blouse was perfect as the layering piece. Jac worn both the jumpsuit and bolero and the bolero and skirt to many events in NYC. It was the perfect thing to wear to gallery shows, book signings, and special evening events that used to take place in the NYC department stores. She loved all of the pieces, and particularly loved how the slung skirt looked with the jacket. It was much edgier than if the skirt came up to the natural waist with a straight waist band…..Jac looked stunning.

………………………SILK CADY is a heavy silk, usually 2 to 3 ply, but it can go up to 8 ply. Due to the fabrics unique construction Cady has an almost matte finish with a slight sheen.. It is used in the more expensive designer lines and the Couture as the price per yard can go well above $250 depending on the ply…..The jacket and walking shorts, and the dress were both in Silk Cady……..The dress was one of Jac’s favorites. It had a wonderful V back, but the bottom didn’t come to a point. It had a blunt square cut across the  bottom……………….The necklace was amazing!!!!, and it coordinated with the earring and bracelet. It was all lucite with gold orbs inside and a beautiful gold chain. This wasn’t any gold….We called it “ARTISAN GOLD”, and my jewelry company developed it for me. It had a warm glow and was more like an 18/24 karat gold. It had a beautiful sheen to it, and wasn’t overly shiny. I tried to develop it for my Linea jewelry….We called it Russian Gold, but it was never quite the same, as much of the “Anne Klein Couture” jewelry was real gold plate.

…………………………..Silk yarns come in a variety of weights. The hand knit sweater to the left was a blend of silk, linen and cotton. It had the hand of silk and the texture of linen and the body of cotton. I called the sweater “Black Birds”. The V-neck tunic was in a luxurious silk yarn. It was in a jersey knit with wide black bands. The “modesty” tank was attached…There was also a knit skirt to coordinate…..The “look” of both sweaters was slouchy and comfortable. The V-neck had a very 20s vibe, while the hand knit had an modern abstract pattern.