Designer

…………………….Men’s clothes have always been an inspiration……..I guess it’s that old Hollywood glamour of Katherine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich….with a little Carol Lombard thrown in. The men’s pattern linen blazer and solid linen trouser mixed with  beautiful pinstripe linen shirts…..with a touch of GOLD METALLIC…..gave a summer crispness that always looks fresh and clean. The shirt had tiny clear resin buttons that my jewelry company made for this collection. There was also a stretch cotton sateen short skirt with an exposed front gold zipper as another option………Gleaming metal belts were a major theme for this 1991 Resort line.

………………….I LUV LINEN!………I realize there are many women who do not….but…..there are many women who do love the fabric….wrinkles and all! There is no fabric that is cooler to wear in hot humid climates than linen. That’s why it is so popular in the middle east. Linen goes as far back as the ancient Egyptians, and probably further back still. Even today the finest linen and cotton raw yarns come from Egypt. The navy linen above came from Braghenti, an Italian mill that I had a close relationship to……..This was a “glazed linen”, meaning it had a sheen to it as opposed to a washed linen which was matte and super soft and drapey. Due to the “wrinkle” factor it was best to keep the silhouettes simple. There was, from left to right, the square neck sundress with the wide straps….the “boyfriend blazer”, and the double breasted sleeveless V-neck dress. All of the buttons were classic 4 hole buttons with rims….however the metal was all 18K gold plated. Anyone who knows there gold could recognize that these were not just ordinary gold buttons. The white sleeveless cotton jersey TN dress under the jacket was in the cotton jersey. The jewelry company that had the AK licence was named SWANK. I’m sure many of you heard of it. They had a huge men’s division and made watches, cuff links and tie pins and bars….really any accessory for men including duff bags and small leather goods like wallets and belts, and even jewelry boxes. Do men use jewelry boxes anymore? The company was huge. They made many of my belts both metal and leather. The calf leather strap was made by their belt division, but the large fish hook and stud “buckle”was made by the jewelry division. The Anne Klein accessory business was growing by leaps and bounds. When I left Anne Klein it was a 5 digit million dollar business. I started the Anne Klein Couture jewelry business from zero, but that’s another story. It was really fun to have all of my imaginations come true….and then there were the SHOES!!! That was great fun to do too, and they all coordinated with the collections beautifully. Between both the Anne Klein Couture shoe collection, and the Anne Klein 11 shoe collections combined they were a huge business, and sold every where!

………………………….Cotton jersey knit was a fabric I always loved to use, but at the designer level I had to be careful because there was a lot of competition with cotton knit fabrics at lower price points ….so the quality had to be very special. There are all grades of cotton. Long staple cotton is the best. Italy imported a lot of the raw cotton yarn from Egypt where the best yarn came from…..There is also a great deal of difference between COTTON JERSEY and COTTON INTERLOCK which is the more common cotton knit fabric……I always used cotton jersey from Italy which was a superb fabric……The open front cardigan, the V-neck slip top…..the “Boyfriend Blazer” and the TN sleeveless dress were all in cotton jersey knit…..The backless halter dress in the cotton jersey had a convertible cowl/hood. Any of the jackets worked over this dress…..The trousers were linen……….There were two sizes of Fish that I used for the “School of Fish” belts. The larger fish was used for a single row belt, and the smaller fish was used for a double row belt………….There were many “special orders” taken on all of the belts! They sold like HOT CAKES…….expensive hot cakes!

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………………………There simply is nothing like wearing beautiful Linen in the tropics. I practice what I preach, and have many pairs of linen pants, shirts and 4 blazers…..The unlined “WASHED LINEN” had a very soft hand, and the breezy topper jacket had a fishnet long flap in the back. She is wearing it over cotton/span knit leggings…..remember THIRTY YEARS AGO………I was always known for my sweaters……The white cotton and silk 3 gauge knit sweater was a beauty……made in Italy……………….perfect for those cool,early dusk sea breezes.