A Blass above the harbor

S.J. Cahn

For $3,000, any of the 25 women gathered Friday in the Presidential

Suite at the Balboa Bay Club & Resort could have stayed the night.

Or they could walk out of the 3,000-square-foot room with an

armload of personal couture.

Many of them did just that.

As the afternoon sun lengthened across the patterned Berber

carpet, the women perused four racks of clothing containing pieces

from the Bill Blass New York Collection spring line, choosing items

to try on in one of the suite’s bathrooms.

The showing was the first in Southern California for the

collection, which is being presented to prospective buyers

exclusively through private showings throughout the country. It is

the first time a major fashion label is bypassing stores and taking

the clothes directly to clients via individual sales consultants,

said the collection’s designer, Jose Solis.

“It’s not like you’re walking into a store and feeling

overwhelmed,” Solis said. The sales campaign is unusual enough to

have earned a November story in the Wall Street Journal.

That story caught the eye of Bay Club owner Beverly Ray, who said

she realized the line would appeal to club members, as well as others

in Newport Beach who may not have been to the new club, which

reopened in June 2003 after a $65-million renovation.

“I’ve always admired Bill Blass as a designer and I thought it

would be a real unique thing to bring to the resort,” Ray said as a

video of a Blass catwalk played on a TV behind her.

Blass, an Indiana native, began designing menswear in the late

1960s and started Bill Blass Limited in 1970. He died in 2002.

After reading the newspaper story, she wrote to the company and

got the rights to show the collection in the area.

The private showings harken back to Blass’ emphasis on “trunk

shows,” through which clothes are brought to smaller groups or

individuals, Solis explained. It allows people to own pieces that are

more unusual than those that come off a long rack at a department

store.

“It is the ‘trunk show’ idea, mass produced,” said Solis, who’d

spent the previous day in Boca Raton, Fla., at a similar event.

Similar, but not the same. Usually, Blass representatives host

shows in private homes, not third-floor suites overlooking a

sparkling blue harbor.

While that harbor at times caught the attention of a woman or

three who’d nip out to the balcony with a glass of champagne and

small plate of hors d’oeuvres, it was the clothes that clearly held

their rapt attention.

“I’d love to buy it all,” said Catherine Thyen of Corona del Mar,

who was checking out the line with Lido Isle’s Mary Rabbitt, who was

equally enthused.

“I think it’s nice that you can mix a lot together,” Rabbitt said.

The ability to mix the clothing -- which included leather pant

suits, sweaters, chartreuse and teal items of all designs,

awning-striped blouses and cocktail suits, all embodying Blass’

signature “classic sportswear style” -- is a goal of the line, said

Solis. She said she envisions it as a “lifestyle collection” for

people who are socially connected, with an active lifestyle that’s

balanced by kids and other trappings of a “normal life.”

The “trunk show” style gives Solis the chance to get among his

customers, “to really learn who the customer is, what they want,” he

said.

Bypassing the usual department store sales route also allows him

to keep prices down while using high-end fabrics such as silks,

cashmere and suede.

Judging by the women gathered, Solis had succeeded in that, as

“reasonable” was a word popping out of plenty of mouths. Prices

ranged from $75 to $1,000, with many of the pieces in the $700 to

$900 range.

Ray estimated that by 4 p.m. -- the show was running from 2 to 7

p.m. -- about 55 women had been through the show, many leaving with

orders placed.

“It’s been across the board,” she said of what items people had

purchased. “Mostly, it’s been one-of-a-kind sales.”

Model Marilyn Clark was surprised the suite had been so crowded.

“It’s been much busier than I thought it would be,” said the

Bayshores resident, who was outfitted in a sharp, red business suit.

“Oh, I love what I’ve got on,” she said. “I’d love to own what I

have on.”

Most of the love in the room seemed directed at a striking red

trench coat, which came on and off its hanger repeatedly.

“Everybody loves the raincoat,” Rabbitt said.

With private appointments scheduled for today, the full-length

coat still may end up in a few Newport Beach closets.