It takes nine pairs of jeans to make one pair of my customized creations.
Melody Sabatasso, Bay Area fashion designer.
In the 1970s, Ms. Sabatasso was an independent fashion designer just starting out with her own boutique in Marin County. Her personal daily style back then included jeans but she found she had nothing appropriate to wear to an upcoming wedding. So, she got creative and made herself a patchwork dress out of re-purposed Levi’s.
Her dress somehow caught the eye of Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall, who commissioned the designer to make an outfit for her. Ms. Sabatasso hitchhiked to the Huntington Hotel in San Francisco for a private fitting with Ms. Bacall. On the inside of the ensemble for the actress she wrote in red, Love Melody.
That was the beginning of a long and ongoing career in custom re-purposed denim outfits. Her creation for Ms. Bacall (pictured above) is part of Levi Strauss: A History of American Style, the current exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.
Check back tomorrow for my full coverage of this impressive fashion exhibit.
OverDressed for Life 
Her designs are timeless can’t wait to see them at the museum!