More Stuff You’d Like to Know About the Shirtjacket & Tulip Top

Thanks to all of you who offered such wonderfully insightful comments on my last blog post announcing the availability of the new Cashwool Shirtjacket and Rayon Boucle Tulip Neck Top. 

I am feeling my way through this brave new Internet world and until I am ready to open the “real” French Rags eCommerce website, I am somewhat constrained by the nature of blog publishing. 

That being said, many of you had good questions that were not answered in the last post, so I decided to take a whack at providing additional information below… 

More stuff you’d like to know about the The Cashwool Shirtjacket  

The sketches show flat measurements for the 3 sizes. These are garment measurements not body measurements: 

Click for Larger Image

 

• Style SJ001 – Long Sleeved Shirtjacket
• Colors: Black, Cream
• Sizes: Small, Medium, Large
• Price: $450.00 + $10.95 shipping/handling
• Body length can be shortened at no charge.
• Sleeves can be shortened at no charge.
• Sleeves can be lengthened for an additional cost of $15.00 per inch per garment.
• Note: jacket has curved hem and side slits
• Note: measurements are all approximate as they are subject to the tolerance of knits.

I am very sensitive to HOW yarn feels on my body….that’s why I love rayon…BUT I just adore Cashwool. Its so soft…I can wear it next to my skin all day. 

The Italian company that makes the yarn is Zegna Baruffa. They have been in business since 1850. I have a 10 yr relationship with them and get excellent choice and delivery.  Swatches are available by request. 

  

More stuff you’d like to know about the Rayon Boucle Tulip Neck Shaped Top 

The sketches show flat measurements for the 4 sizes. These are garment measurements not body measurements: 

Click for Larger Image

 

 

• Style BTNST001 – Tulip Neck Shaped Top
• Colors: Black, Ivory
• Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
• Price: $225.00 + $10.95 shipping/handling
• Body length can be shortened at no charge.
• The body can be ordered in longer lengths:
  • For 24” add $15
  • For 26” add $30
  • For 28” add $45
• Sleeves can be shortened at no charge.
• Sleeves can be lengthened for an additional cost of $15.00 per inch per garment.
• The tops in the photograph are 24″

The yarn is the new, finer Rayon Boucle.  Swatches are available by request.

Please email or comment if you want to order and I will respond.

 

New Product Test…CASHWOOL SHIRTJACKET

Thanks so much to all of you who have placed orders with me over the past couple of months.  You have allowed me to take the little baby steps necessary as I train a whole new crew to make French Rags.  I am very happy with the new Rayon Boucle, and all of you who ordered outfits made from it were happy, too.

Now, I am testing out CASHWOOL.  This is the fantastic Zegna-Baruffa ultrafine merino wool with the cashmere finish.  We developed Cashwool for French Rags in 2000 and made wonderful jackets and cardigans that you all loved as they felt just like cashmere, and they are light and wear very well.

I am starting with the SHIRTJACKET, as it’s my favorite and I need some more!!!  I live in this jacket as do so many!!!  I bought some deep, dark Black Cashwool….and we have successfully sampled, so I am putting more SHIRTJACKETS into production for February-March shipping.  Below we show many ways of wearing this one style…  

It will be available as follows:

• Style SJ001
• Colors: Black, Cream
• Sizes: Small, Medium, Large
• Price: $450.00 plus $10.95 shipping/handling
• Note: jacket has curved hem and side slits

Also in this February-March delivery is our BOUCLE TULIP NECK SHAPED TOP, with long sleeves, pictured underneath the SHIRTJACKET.  

It will be available as follows:

• Style BTNST-001
• Colors: Black, Ivory
• Sizes: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large
• Price: $225.00 plus $10.95 shipping/handling

Note: the black leather pants and all other accessories are not for sale.

To place your orders and/or ask questions, please email me directly at bfrench@frenchrags.com and I will respond via email.

Our next exciting step is a new eCommerce Website which we are targeting for March or April. Keep reading your blog updates for the latest news on this and other developments.

 

Looking at colors just fills me with joy!

Looking at colors just fills me with joy.

Selecting the most beautiful shade of any color is truly a transcendent experience!!

When clients ask me what colors they should wear….I always tell them to wear the colors that bring them joy…make them smile…fill them with feelings of well being.  And, although there are colorists out there who will do this for you…each and everyone can do this for themselves if they will pay attention to their own feelings.

I can get totally lost in certain colors.  Living in New Mexico catapulted me into TURQUOISE bigtime!!!  I still want to look at it AND WEAR IT EVERY DAY.  Just LOOKING at different shades of turquoise can be a profound experience for me…and the blue tones and then the green tones take me on different imagination variations.  And, although I didn’t wear it much until I moved to Santa Fe – it’s now the color for which I get the most compliments. 

I don’t believe in “fashionable “ colors…only in colors that you LOVE and FEEL GOOD wearing.  I am selecting new colors over the next month, and would love your feed in.  Let me know what colors YOU want to WEAR in 2010…what colors YOU want to buy.

Happy Holidays to All!

Brenda

 

Onward and Westward!

Thanks to all the participants in the Product Test. It has been very successful in that it has made us realize, once again, that the Design, Creativity and Production process only works smoothly with Brenda’s presence.

Our attempt to combine Santa Fe with Los Angeles involved so many trips and “trip-ups” that Brenda has decided to accept the offer to move her studio into the Los Angeles factory that has been doing her production for the past year.  She will also be moving her main residence back to L.A., whilst retaining a creative presence in Santa Fe.

There will be a new Spring Collection available in February which can be viewed both in Los Angeles and Santa Fe, and other venues nationally.

Stay Tuned!!!!

 

“Made-In-The-USA Patriotism Fuels Apparel Market”

Despite the word FRENCH in French Rags™, we are very proud to be an American company.   French Rags™  knitwear has always been made by American workers, in an American factory, using American raw materials and sold by an American workforce.

We agree that there’s plenty of room in the market for imports, but too many good people have lost their livelihoods with the flight of U.S. apparel manufacturing to Asia and elsewhere.  So we are thrilled to be able to say about the new French Rags™…”we will REMAIN an American company“!

The yarn comes from Philadelphia, the fabric will be knitted in Los Angeles and the garments will be assembled in New Mexico.

We have taken this approach not out of sheer patriotism.  That’s a wonderful by-product of our decision.  We’ve designed the business this way because it makes good business sense!

By producing here in the USA, we have much greater control over every process involved in bringing the product to market.  Most importantly, it is because we are doing all this in the U.S. that we are able to produce superior knitwear, delivered in 4-6 weeks.  That would be impossible if we were producing French Rags™ in Asia, Europe, the Middle East or anywhere else for that matter.

While we’re on the subject of patriotism, apparel industry trade magazine, APPAREL™ just published a timely article entitled “Made-In-The-USA Patriotism Fuels Apparel Market” (click here to read).  It’s a conversation being repeated throughout the apparel industry today as it resonates on so many levels during these challenging economic times.

 

When Will the NEW French Rags™ be Available?

One recurring question many readers have been posting in comments is “When Will the NEW French Rags™ be Available?”

We would love to be able to answer that with certainty but for now the best we can say is as soon as possible but no earlier than 6 months AFTER we secure our launch funding.  We have been and are continuing to be aggressively engaged in a variety of activities related to this fundraising.

To launch the NEW French Rags™ we are seeking a capital investment between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000.  We are talking with a select audience of angel investors as well as New Mexico Economic Development agencies in our quest for this funding. 

If you can’t wait for your first dose of French Rags™, you can participate in one of our planned product tests, about which you can read in the following earlier posts; BFI Considers French Rags Product Test and A Limited Edition.

Of course, we will continue to post the latest news related to our efforts to re-launch this preeminent women’s knitwear brand.  Stay tuned…

 

Smart Jacket Fabrics

Two color patterned  fabrics are great for jackets.  You can then use the darker color for pants or a skirt and the lighter color for the top.

Allover patterns are smartly versatile and these are, as you can see in the swatch pictures,  also reversible.  These patterns can only be used for jackets, however we will have some textured two color fabrics in the perfect weight for tops and scarves.  Imagine how fabulous they will look in Black and Ivory!

Pinstripe

Pave

Salt-n-Pepper

Kelp

 

The Lightness of Being at 70 degrees

As our surroundings become ever more temperate we move towards clothes that are geared to never being too hot or too cold.  As we move from our homes, to work, to travel we are mainly in 70 degree places…..give or take some fluctuations, which we take care of with layers.

Some of us live with seasons, some don’t, but the indoors for most of us are very similar.  And what works are clothes that we call “seasonless.”

Wool is for winter, cotton is for summer, but rayon works year round!!

And the proprietary rayon yarn used in French Rags™ knitwear, in the various weights and textures, is the epitome of this “seasonless” dressing.

 

A Limited Edition

Encouraged by your responses to our proposed product test, we have ordered yarn in BLACK and IVORY.  As we have reported, the new Rayon Boucle yarn is finer and therefore lighter and the few former clients and consultants who have visited our Santa Fe Studio and seen the new samples have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic.

We will offer 3 jackets, straight leg pants, a long or short skirt and several variations of the shaped top. These will be available in solid black or solid ivory and in black/ivory two-color patterns and textures.  Prices will be similar to original French Rags™ prices, and of course everything…yarn, fabric and clothes will be “Made in America”.

If you are interested in participating in the product test and have not yet contacted us regarding your interest, please email us your name, address and phone number and we will contact you as soon as possible with additional details and if you decide to participate we will send you the Limited Edition Sample Package, which will include swatches, sketches, etc.

 

COMFORT

Clothes that make you look thinner and are comfortable are what I am always looking for.  Recent shopping trips in resort towns made me wonder if America is really full of very thin, very rich women who never sit down or breathe deeply!!!  I look around at the women who are shopping along side me…and know that they are looking for accommodating, comfortable clothes in which they feel just terrific.

And…they are looking and looking and looking…..just like me.

Don’t the retailers who own/run these stores notice us?  Or, is it just when I am there that the other shoppers look just like me??

When people ask me why I became a fashion designer, I tell them it’s because I couldn’t find clothes that I would wear…and that’s as true today as it was 30 years ago!!

 

The New French Rags Knitting Facility

We thought you might enjoy seeing photos of our knitting facility in Los Angeles.  This operation uses the same commercial knitting machines we used in our original French Rags manufacturing facility.  

Multiple Swatches Being Knitted

New "Pave" Pattern

What this means for new and former customers alike is that we will be able to reproduce any of our wonderful, original French Rags patterns. 

For those of you who visited our former facility in Los Angeles, these photos will look familiar.  For newcomers, this is what commercial knitting machines look like.

 

Stoll Knitting Machine

With these industrial machines, we can knit any width of fabric, from blankets to swatches, as you see here.  Knitted garments can take from 1 – 3 hours to knit depending on the complexity.

Finishing the Fabric

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“VARIATIONS ON A THEME”

We are several months into developing a new French Rags™ Collection.  The yarn is being custom spun and is a lighter version of the wonderful Rayon Boucle for which we are known.  Our knitter has the same knitting machines that we previously used in our own factory and as a result, all of our original patterns can be reproduced. 

Since the fabric is now also lighter in weight, we are able to knit reversible fabrics so that each jacket is really two jackets.  In the photos below, you can see two versions of the Pin Dot pattern, and two versions of the Giraffe pattern.

The SOLID jacket is also a breakthrough, as our former yarn would not knit as a solid. The white jacket shown has been edged in black, but could be edged in white or any other color.

This shaped, notch collar jacket is Brenda’s favorite and can be worn many ways – even with the collar pinned high. It is elegant, versatile and looks good on any body type. It is seamed so that the jacket is quite clean on both sides. It’s a perfect travel-mate and can be customized by color, pattern and length.

We’ll be posting more exciting product development news soon so keep on visiting…

(Click individual thumbnails for larger images)

 

Pin Dot Jacket – Side A

Pin Dot Jacket – Side B

Giraffe Jacket – Side A

Giraffe Jacket – Side B

Solid Jacket w/Edging

 

BFI Considers French Rags Product Test

As part of our product development efforts, we are considering doing a product test to an
audience of perhaps 20-25 women. The details have not yet been finalized but it would be a paid trial in which participants would pay $2-$3000 and receive somewhere between 6 -10 garments.

We are actively seeking consumers to participate in this program and early response has been favorable.  We would anticipate securing a “go-forward” number of participants in 30-45 days and would target deliveries of test product sometime in September 2009.

If you would be interested in participating, you can email Brenda French directly at bfrench@frenchrags.com.

 

BFI Develops New & Improved Yarn Producing Lighter Fabrics

For 25 years French Rags™ knitwear was made with fabric knitted from a proprietary Rayon Boucle yarn that was spun exclusively for the company in the U.S. by its yarn supplier.

This yarn has been re-engineered and is now finer, allowing us to knit on finer gauge knitting machines…which in turn allows us to produce lighter weight garments. Since developing this new yarn in late 2008, we have been test knitting a wide variety of new fabric constructions, patterns and textures. The following images represent a small sampling of these prototype fabric designs, initially produced in basic black and white…

(Click individual thumbnails for larger images)