Designer

……………………………..Since it is graduation time, I though I would post this picture of my two best friends from high school, and through out my life…..When this picture at my house was taken by Jac,we were going to our 40th High School reunion!…..Mary Claudia Donnelly Chandler was my high school sweetheart. We met when we were in 7th grade and became friends right away…She was a fantastic artist, and I though she was just great. She was very beautiful…very tall, thin with long hair, and huge blue eyes…..She was very bohemian in spirit, and loved all that went with that….folk music and all. We went every where together, and every Sat. you could find us in the Village in NYC. I took Mary to both our junior and senior proms. I have a picture some where. I’ll have to search for it. While all of the other girls wore typical long prom dresses, Mary made a silver Mylar mini dress [she had great long legs]. Needless to say she stood out like a beacon, and I loved it. For our senior prom we triple dated with Bobby [in the photo above] and Phyllis, and another couple, Andrea and Eric. We went into the city and heard Edie Adams at the Royal Box. She made a big fuss over us as we were definitely the youngest people in the room. After that we went to a place called “Cheetah” a fabulous new disco. It was 1966! Mary went on to NYU and Bobby went to Wisconsin, and I went to Parsons…….We always remained close. Mary and I eventually broke up as a couple, but never as friends. When I designed at AK she would always come up to buy clothes, and later she became one of my best Linea customers! which she is wearing in the picture. She met a wonderful man named Ralph Chandler of the Chandler’s of California….think of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. They had two beautiful daughters. Unfortunately, Ralph died in his 50s from kidney disease leaving Mary a very young widow. She never remarried. Mary and I continued our friendship over the years and we would text and speak on the phone regularly…..I was always an ear she could talk to. Jac would joke and say that I should have married Mary……Whenever she would come to NYC we would always meet in the village or Soho, and spend the day together….Jac knew and liked Mary, and was fine with us spending time together…….She loved to visit the art galleries and go shopping. She and Jac became good friends, and Mary thought Jac was the perfect girl for me….She was right…………….Bobby Tirman was my BFF. We were brothers. We too met at Elmont Memorial High School in the 7th grade. At 13 I went to my very first Broadway show with Bobby, “How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying” with Robert Morse. I have a very faded picture of the three of us at the stage door. Going to Broadway Saturday matinee shows became a thing we loved to do. We always ate at a restaurant called Toffenetti’s on Broadway in the center of Times Square….It was a 1000 seat restaurant and was a destination for 30 years…..It is long gone…….Through the years we did everything together. We traveled to Europe and went to Carnival in Rio when we were 20 [I have some great pictures of us]. When he moved back to NY after graduating from Wisconsin we rented our first apartment in NYC together. Many of our friends were the same, and we went out to the clubs together…..We were naughty boys!!!! but had great times….We rented summer houses together, and eventually he joined Jac and I in renting houses too…..Eventually, these two wild and crazy guys grew up, and our lives went in separate directions. No matter what we were up to or where we were we always spoke, and he would tell me of his new loves and what was going on in his life……….This past year I lost both of them………….Mary died from complications from diabetes…..She had it since she was a child….I remember being at her house after school. She was getting me something to drink from the refrigerator, and there were all of these vials lined up on the door. I asked her what they were and she explained that they were hers and what they were for. She never ever made a big deal of it, and no one would have ever known she had diabetes……….Bobby passed away from kidney failure…He was sick for a long time and at the end was in a care facility. I wanted to visit him so badly, but because of Covid I wasn’t allowed. It haunts me that my best friend died alone……..Other than Jac these are the people I loved most in my life, and it is so hard to loose them. Sometimes I find myself thinking, “Oh, I have to give Mary a call”, or “I wonder what Bobby is up to?” and then I remember. There is a very large hole in my heart where my friends belong. I know they are all together, Jac, Mary and Bobby….and someday I will be with them again.

……………….October 2011 had an extensive group of clothes. Starting at the lower left was one of my most favorite jackets, because of the CHENILLE FABRIC. I had used similar fabrics to this at AK. They came from one specific Italian company that specialized in these yarns. Armani used the company every season. It was a classic “boyfriend” blazer, but not over sized. The colors were charcoal grey, a beautiful elegant taupe and a deep juicy grape. Unfortunately the color in the photos did not come out true. This fabric is indestructible!  I’m willing to bet those that owned it still do! The boot length gored skirt with a swing bottom was in faux suede. It came in black, taupe and grape and looked marvelous with the chenille jacket….The next top was in charmuese, and had a draped front, and it had a very 20’s attitude. The cowl was designed to drape very deep, and a modesty piece was attached. The sleeves were straight without any buttons. The colors were, black, taupe and grape to coordinate with the collection……Above the cowl  is a sketch of an incredible faux suede jacket. It was originally planned in real suede, but Elaine said with all the labor it would have been over $400….so we switched to faux. The front of the jacket had SIX SEAMS and the back had 4 SEAMS all of which were piped in metallic leather! The panels at the bottom of the jacket looked like they were over lapping and each had a graduated length. It almost had a gladiator’s armor effect. The sleeve also had a piped seam aprox 2 1/2 inches up from the hem. The jacket had a zip front……..This was a laborious jacket to make……Did I hear Elaine sighing?! LOL. The next top was in a  Poly/Rayon jersey. It was tunic length, with side slits and a raglan sleeve. It had a slightly scooped open neckline with a piped finish. The neckline had a series of pleats all pointing to the center. In between these pleats were hand sewn SQUARE sequins cascading down the front. It also came with an optional self tie belt. It came in steel grey with silver sequins, and black with silver sequins……..The top jacket was in real suede with rib knit details. The colors were Aubergine and Black. It was sort of a Moto jacket with an asymmetrical zipper closure. it also had zipper pockets. There were knit rib panels in the side back and a wide rib knit cuff that could be turned back for sleeve length adjustment.

…………………….The second part of the Oct. 2011 group was devoted to Holiday dressing. Starting at the top, there was a double georgette sleeveless cowl top with sequin embroidery. It came in two colors: black with black and black with gunmetal sequins. This was a great top to wear under jackets and cardigans. The next top was already discussed in the previous post……The top below at left was a crushed velvet Tunic shirt in black and rich deep purple. The quality of this velvet was very silky. I used it for a boho skirt and it was fabulous. I know many of you still own it. It will never go out of style. I wanted to use it again years later, but it became too expensive and I had to switch to a different quality……still pretty but not quite the same………..The last piece was a fabulous peasant/gypsy top. It was in this incredible two tone lurex fabric. It was actually ribbed, but in a big piece it looked as if it had micro pleats. I’ve seen many fabrics used today that look the same!! It was the same fabric in the same antique gold/black and silver/black [it looked gunmetal due to the black] as the long two tier skirt sold a month before. I wanted them sold in the same month but due to budgets per month they had to be split up. Since I styled the show and used six models I was able to show the top with the matching skirt and with other bottoms. Nothing here looks dated or something you couldn’t wear right now.

………………….There were four new styles for Sept. 11 and some “essentials” sold on line only……The jacket at the lower left was an upscale sophisticated “Barn Jacket”…..more Burberry than Macy’s. It was in a casual fabric that had a dull sheen. I had the fabric quilted in a classic diamond pattern. .It had a stand collar and snaps down the front , on the sleeves and one at each side of the curved side seam. It had flap pockets and an optional tie belt. The jacket had body seams from the shoulder to the hem which gave the jacket a nice gentle shape. Another very special detail which really made this barn jacket special was the faux suede piping…..The shirt next to the barn jacket was in a faux charmuse It had a button stand collar and a button front with a classic sleeve and cuff. It came with a separate oblong scarf that could be used as an ascot……..The riding jacket above had beautiful detailing. It was made in a beautiful smooth gaberdine which was great for tailoring.It had a high notch collar and lapel. I can’t remember what the contrast collar was made of…..either velvet or faux suede. It had princess seams and body seams from the shoulder to the hem. The jacket had a four button front and a cut away bottom The jacket was shaped. On either side of all seams was a top stitch aprox 1/8 inch. This gave the jacket a super tailored look. It had button flaps , but the actual pockets were in the seams.. It came in RED and FAWN, a very pale riding beige. The collars were brown on the fawn and either brown or black in the red…….This was and is a great looking jacket!………..The next skirt was a two tier pull-on lurex skirt. It had fine ribs  that gave the illusion of micro pleats when it hung. The colors were gunmetal and antique gold. It was a terrific Holiday skirt that could be worn with so many things…..sweaters, blouses, embroidered or sequin tops etc. etc.  In the following month there would be a matching peasant top avail.

……………………..Sept had a group of Acrylic/Wool “ESSENTIAL ” knits that would be sold on line only. There were two tops and two skirts, one pencil skirt and one six gore A-line long boot skirt. The tops were a V-neck tunic with fully fashioned cutaway side slits. The cardigan had a waist whittling bottom rib band and a wide rib cuff. It also had a jewel neckline and a button placket front. The bottoms and the tunic all had ENR construction. The cardigan was in jersey…..They all came in Black, Steel Grey, Dk. Mallard Blue, and Cassis. I think Cassis was the most controversial color name I ever used! It’s a wonderful liquor!!!!