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Morris, an 82 year-old man went to the Doctor to get a physical.
A
few days later the doctor saw Morris walking down the street
with a gorgeous young lady on his arm.
A couple of days later the doctor spoke to the man and said,
"You're really doing great, aren't you?"
Morris replied, "Just doing what you said, Doctor:
'Get a hot mamma
and be cheerful.'"
The Doctor said, "I didn't say that.
I said you got a heart murmur. Be careful."
9/12 See
us at the following upcoming show
Jan 30-Feb 2, Atlanta, Ga. Women's Wear Show
lingeriebyjs@adelphia.net
March 7-11, Chicago Halloween Show
info@shirleyofhollywood.com
The
West Coast Watcher
Returns
For several years, Mara Susskind, past president of Shirley of
Hollywood
entertained us with her articles in the now defunct Intimate Fashion
news and then in the Industry publication Unveiled.
In March she will begin a column for McPete Sez, with her first story
coming from Paris, France and the Salon International de la Lingerie.
She's the real "Suzy" of intimate apparel.
Mara, who has spent 35 years in the Intimate apparel business is still
the stylist for Shirley of Hollywood, and travels to major shows and far
away places to keep track of the trends.
Finding just the right colors or innovative styles is right up her alley as
she was trained by Sylvia Brown of Glydons for 17 years.
Glyndon's was the first American company to make sexy styles and made
Fredericks of Hollywood's first items over 50 years ago.
Mara was born & raised in Los Angeles and graduated U.C.L.A.
Her career started when Sylvia Brown became her mother-in-law and
mentor.
After several years in the factory, learning the ropes, Mara was the
California Mart Rep for 12 years.
When Glyndon's was sold in 1980, she opened her own boutique on the
trendy Sunset strip.
Bored with retail she joined Jezebel in 1983 as V.P. and
Stylist. In four years she helped grow the company
from $1 Million to over $11 million but she still had not found her
niche.
While in Texas in 1986 she met a young lady, Dana Schlobohm who felt
Mara would be an asset to Shirley of Hollywood, The rest is history.
After developing a line for the company "Mara Intimates" she
continued to work in sales and styling, but when the department store
business started to fall apart, the company decided that her up-scale
line would have to be dropped. At that time Mara began
concentrating all of her efforts on National Corsets other lines.
Sensual lines were developed but fell by the wayside, but Intimate
Attitudes (Plus Sizes) and Risqué (as the name implies) remain.
In 2002, Mara retired and owners of Shirley of Hollywood Roy & Jon
Schlobohm offered her a new position as a Special Projects
Manager.
Says Mara "This is the most exciting time of my life and keeps me
hopping. I can hardly believe I've Retired---Ha!
So keep your eyes peeled for Mara's column, "West Coast
Watch" debuting soon, and there will be lots of photos
too!
10/12 See us the Chicago
Halloween Show March 7-11
Future Looks Bright
for Accessories
The holiday retail season might have been dismal, but if the turnout at the spring/summer 2003 trade shows held recently in New York -- in particular ENK International's Accessorie Circuit,is any indication of a brighter future, you ought to check out the oversized sunglasses on display.
"We really had no idea what to expect," admitted President of ENK International, Elyse Kroll on the second to last day of the show. "But the number of retailers so far is higher than it was last January, and, for the first time, we took over three piers. The fact is, the economy has been weak and retailers have been suffering, but the only way to fix that is to put cool new merchandise in their stores. And I think everybody's realized that."
So, endless rows of cool new merchandise there was - a dizzying array of jewelry and bags, belts and hats, both vintage-inspired and sleekly modern.
When it comes to evening bags, the most prevalent trend was Victorian and 1920s-inspired hand-crafted, metal-framed clutches and miniature totes - an aesthetic that looks to become even more popular thanks to Virginia Woolf's character in "The Hours" and the entire cast of "Chicago." At Christiana, an L.A based-label, the bags were fabricated out of heavy wallpaper and tapestry prints in dusty peaches, sky blue, and sage.
For day, it was all about color. Striped and floral-printed, straw and leather-trimmed, cute and up beat were the key words. And personalized items are still important. Despite being only three-months old, the brightly-hued, initialized leather goods line Jam by Jana and Maria is already adored by Halle Berry and Drew Barrymore. "We never expected to be this big," admitted co-designer Jana Feifer. "People were lined up yesterday to place orders. Kitson [the L.A. boutique where Halle and Drew bought the bags] ordered 1800!"
Hable Construction's line of canvas basket bags and box totes in original, hand-printed fabric designs stood out for its modern chic. Sisters Katherine and Susan Hable have their finger well on the pulse: just as a new study presented at the National Retail Federation's annual convention announced that the latest luxury sector was garden goods, Hable Construction presented a line of graphically-cool gardening gloves and tool aprons.
Jewelry-wise, mother-of-pearl has a monopoly. Carved into clean disks
or shaped into a shell, the material hung as medallions, bold earrings, and bracelet charms at Wendy Mink and Arizona-based Destination Bliss. Revealing grittier desires, though, many designers sighted their messy, multi-strand chain necklaces as popular sells this season.
But it's Lucite, back from the '50s, that's got all the buzz. Frosted, brightly-hued and hand-carved, the bold plastic bangles, charm bracelets, rings, and dog-tag-like necklaces at Alexis Bittar and Lee Angel's booths drew hordes of retailers to, hungry from some modish optimism.
Worth's Corsets Entices many
When the fashion crowd first received invites last week for a small showroom presentation in the Hotel Meurice of a capsule lingerie collection by Worth, few people could have envisaged that the inconspicuous event would arouse so much attention and so many visitors.
This tribute came in the form of a small installation of Belle Epoque Worth outfits - some re-editions and an original. There was also the small but exquisitely designed collection of corsetry by 28-year-old Italian designer Giovanni Bedin, a protégé of Karl Lagerfeld.
Bedin, who has never used proper corsetry in his own collections before, "because it's so difficult to find people who know how to do this properly," let his creative juices flow in his Worth output. The result was black corsets with seductive details in stretch black tulle, or maybe a nude corset and suspenders with scalloped edges and seams outlined with piping.
A notable masterpiece was an adjustable corset laced at the side, with hooks and eyes not only up the center but over the breasts as well. Based on the construction of a Worth original, the bust openings would originally have been intended for nursing mothers, but in this day arouse more subversively erotic notions.
Isabella Blow, Tatler's fashion director and outgoing fashion personality, turned up for the Philip Treacy show Wednesday evening wearing nothing more than a Worth corset, stomacher and suspenders under her Alexander McQueen coat.
Blow wasn't the only one with a desire to wear these luxury undergarments, handmade in Italy. The collection's commercial director Valerie Niang told FWD that she wasn't prepared for the level of commercial interest in the collection. "We've had buyers from the US, from the big stores like Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdales. And buyers from France like Maria Luisa and Galeries Lafayette, from the UK, and Asia."
Next up for the collection is a stint at the Paris Salon de Lingerie on
February 23 and 24 with a stall next to Dior's.
Having a bad day?
Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet didn't pay enough postage on a letter
bomb. It came back with "return to sender" stamped on it.
Forgetting it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits.
There now, feeling better?
"Ask Andy"
Andy Weinstock has been in the fabric and textile business all his life, but
professionally since 1969.
"I love what I do, selling fabrics around the globe. I've met lots of interesting, creative, dynamic
folks; some have become dear friends. I love to help new businesses find the things they need to become successful. It works for everyone."
You can ask Andy questions about Fabrics at
Andy@mcpetesez.com
The "Ask Andy" Column is an opinion Column and may
not necessarily reflect the views of
McPete Sez
Hey Sales Reps !!!
Would you like to write an article for this newsletter? we are
looking 
for information for our readers and if you have anything to
contribute please e-mail me.
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