Jill Anderson: I think that it’s sexy clothing without being tight or slinky or body hugging or you know cleavage or anything like that. I think that it’s comfortable without being baggy.

FF: I think it has to do with your natural understanding of what it is to be a woman. And you know why a dress isn’t an instrument of torture the way some male designers design things. And that you know that looking feminine and looking sexy does not have to be so obvious.

Jill Anderson: Yeah.

FF: And that your clothing understands that women have bodies and curves, and I think it’s very loving.

Jill Anderson: I would say that that’s a very good assessment, an excellent assessment.

FF: And so tell me, since we’re going to be shooting it, describe to me a bit what the Fall collection is about.

Jill Anderson: The first group is a whole idea -- I wanted to think of different ways that I could do my button off concept. So I worked that on some dresses, and on a jacket and just worked around that. The second idea -- the second group is some plaids. And I don’t know why. I always seem to edge in some plaid some place. And it’s not typically a best seller for me. But I always seem to find some kind of plaid that I love and -- and love working with and ...

FF: I know what you mean. I can’t resist plaid either.

Plaid suit in blue at left, corset jacket center, Italian widow's dress over satin slip dress at right.

Jill Anderson: And so then with the third group, I actually wanted to explore giving a little bit more of that sportswear influence that is important, and I love rip stop. So I just wanted to work a group around rip stop nylon, and pair shooting, but not being too sportswear influenced at all, but just in the fabric.

And the fourth group was working with the suffragette jacket and just some nice work suit things that I always need.

You know, it’s so funny and it’s so interesting to me that people say suits are over, suits are over. I don’t think that they’re over at all. I think people feel put together in a suit. I happened to switch on the TV on Saturday night, and they had the Apollo, somebody singing at the Apollo. And she’s wearing a suit, you know. Women wear it in so many different capacities. I just think that it needs to be comfortable and interesting. So I’ll always try to keep jackets because they’re just a great layering piece.

FF: And what do you see for yourself in the future? Where do you want to go, not just literally but with business, with your life.

Jill Anderson: I hope that I get a good web site going because I’d like for more individual customers to be able to see the clothes and try them out. With the web I feel like I’m still hanging on to my own retail roots, and being able to serve the ultimate customer with my product. And that’s a very, very important thing to me.

I feel very close to the ultimate customer from the beginning of the design process. I like to do wholesale with people who are like my ultimate customer. You know? Not some people who -- I mean big stores, it’s a machine kind of thing.

FF: Yes, yes.

Jill Anderson: You know? My favorite stores that I work with are people who buy the line like a whole story group. And they call me when it comes in, and they’re like "Oh, we just got your shipment in, and it’s like Jill Anderson day around here! And we’ve sold it out of the box!" and stuff, and so you know, that’s exciting for them, and for me, when you know we just kind of help each other. And then if something doesn’t work they send it back; I can sell it through the store, or I can make it work.

FF: And so basically the next big goal is the web site.