When A Flight to New York Was Fun and Exciting

There was a time when jumping on a commercial airplane was a big deal. I had done it once before. A flight from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City in an attempt to learn to ski and to visit my friend, Lisa, who was attending the University of Utah. My long distance childhood travels were generally made in convertibles in which we followed Route 66 from California to Detroit to visit family and buy a new convertible.

My husband, Bob made his first trip on an airplane in 1959 when he and his family boarded a Lockheed Constellation travelling from Los Angeles to New York. They then boarded a ship for the trans-Atlantic journey and lived in Europe for a time. He recalls as a child watching the flames behind the engines, an experience which led to a lifetime of travel.

It was no wonder that within a month of our moving in together, he flies off on a business trip, but before he leaves, he handed me a ticket to meet him in New York. Nowadays one can find designer fashion just about everywhere. At that time, 5th Avenue was one of the few places one could find a collection of designer boutiques in one place. While Bob was conducting his business, I made my way there.

I have learned more about couture construction from turning designer garments inside out while in the dressing room. This method of education took on a new meaning moving in and out of the high fashion boutiques of New York. (Will have more on elastic casing later, as I recently used the technique I learned from within the Ralph Lauren dressing room on that trip.) My sole purchase was a red leather belt from Gucci that perfectly matched the silk dress I had made to wear to my 10-year high school reunion, that same year. It may have been the only time I entered a Gucci Store, although I did covet through a window recently a Gucci handbag.

Its no wonder that I couldn't resist adding to FineFabrics.com a collection of fabrics made for Gucci.

Leave it to Gucci to keep their logo subtly embedded in the design.

We'll be adding more new designer fabrics to FineFabrics.com from this collection and others.