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Show Well, tan my hide! j DESERET NEWS, FRIDAY, S'ltons have it made with suede By Rose Mary Pedersen Deseret News staff writer LOS ANGELES Forty years ago, young Herman Silton came to the United States from Europe with a satchel full of dreams. he and his brother, Bert, Somehow, your shoes proudly began making beautifully-tailore- d leather wearing apparel for gentlemen. Today, Silton Brothers is headquartered in Los Angeles the sprawling city many people call the fashion capital of the West. Factories also hum in other locations on the map Juarez, Mexico; El Paso, Tex.; Brigham City, Utah. And instead of just Herman and Bert checking seams and sewing on buttons, there now are over 1,000 employes working on the production line. The kind of apparel manufactured at Silton enterprises has expanded almost as much as the work force. Although the company still deals in time-losclassic leather clothes for men, nowadays store buyers are tempted with other items as well stylish womens wear, knits, clothes for children, merchandise designed and priced for department store distribution. What else is new at Silton Brothers in the Seventies? Ask someone around the L.A. factory that question and the answer is bound to be: the Silton Sisters! fought with my family because I wanted to quit school and get married. Jack wanted to go to college, but I talked him into taking a job in a grocery store so we could get married right At far right: jaunty bermuda shorts with tan leather vest, plaid shirt and a versatile denim jacket. away. & I& ... fantasy frocks you look at in a magazine and cant envision at the office. Karen Siltons ensembles and separates are the kind of clothes that women of all ages can put on for almost any occasion and feel comfortable as well as stylish. attractive granddaughters The young designer believes in simplicity, ease, quality, classic good looks just the way her Grandfather Herman always did. Although they're just in their 20s, Herman Silton's granddaughters, Karen (left) and Debbi, have soared right to the top of West Coast's burgeoning fashion design business. Karen believes in She artfully combines fine leathers and beautiful fabrics in almost everything she does. (One of the knockouts in her spring collection: Nifty denim burmuda shorts that are teamed with a supple leather vest.) Another super Karen Silton look for spring: Luscious chambray suits in marvelous colors such as shrimp. (The believes that suits with jackets, vests, skirts can be instant wardrobe stretchers.) But getting back to leather. Thats really Karen Siltons trademark. In fact, most of those who write about fashion agree no one g handles such things as Antelope Suede and Spanish Lamb any better. exotic-soundin- simplicity, quality and classic looks just like her She has a special knack for getting the utmost softness into the design of each leather garment. She has a talent for timeless, not faddy, tailoring. And she closely supervises the production of every item in her line rt the Silton Brothers factories. Grandpa Herman. running Debbi sums up her sisters meticifious attention to detail by saying: Karen has a truly creative sense of style. smoothly. The two of them work closely together eight, nine, ten hours a day in their own tiny office on the fifth floor of the mammoth California Fashion Mart. ss When they arent working, theyre chatting, lunching, shopping or enjoying such sports as skiing together. (One of their favorite places to zoom down the slopes is Utah.) We live in the same apartment building just across the hall from each other, and we Debbi said with a get along beautifully, smile. I admit that I worried a little when I first joined Karen in the business. Wed always been good friends, and I wanted it to stay that way. But everything has turned out just great. As for jealousies, Debbi reports there never J We ran oil and got mar- - T ried and broke our parents hearts. I got pregnant real quick so our parents wouldnt have our marriage annulled. Karen, 25, and Debbi, 23, are brightening up the old family company with their contagious enthusiasm and dozens of bright, young ideas. The girls practically grew up around the cutting table and spent many summer, vacations working in the order department Then, about five years ago, they went to Paris . . . saw the skinny models gliding down the runway . . . visited the designer salons . . . fell madly in love with the glittering, glamorous world of fashion. Karen, who majored in sociology at UCLA, came back home determined to start her own sportswear line with her own Karen Silton label. And in just a few months, Debbi, a Stanford University student, joined her in launching a brand new and exciting business. Karen, a personable brunette, is the designer and artistic genius behind the label. Shes the one who sits down at the drawing board and dreams up beautiful blazers, jaunty jackets, smashing shirts. As for pretty, blonde Debbi well, shes the business wizard behind the operation; the national sales manager who keeps accounts studio-busine- . . I've tried to tell my husband he is setting a bad example for our son, but it doesnt help. So how do you train a child to tie his laces when his father doesnt? And when he gives me this, Daddy-do- n t talk, what do I say? CANT WIN DEAR CANT: When the boy says, "Daddy dont, say I know but daddy SHOULD. And Daddy is too big for me to spank. But YOURE not!" DEAR ABBY : Please, please print this letter. It might make a few girls think twice before begging for a wedding ring. leather fashions. Near right: soft chambray and leather suit. s, straight and public relations 3 DEAR ABBY : My husband refuses to tie his shoe laces. He steps into his shoes and lets the laces drag. We have a son in second grade who lets his laces drag on purpose. When I tell him to tie them, he says Model shows off two of young California designer Karen Silton's managed to scrape together enough money for . 21,1 977 C Daddy dont." Now I dont know what to say or do. At school the children are graded on neatness, and our son always gets a black mark because his shop laces are never tied. a ticket to St. Louis. And on a shoestring and a prayer, they opened a little factory where they Hermans OCTOBER Does the sense of style carry over into the Silton Sisters private lives and wardrobes? But the girls also spend time kicking around in faded jeans. And one summer they had the very jobs of waiting tables and doing maid work at one of Utahs ski resorts. have been any because both of them are working toward exactly the same goal. The goal is, of course, to be right at the top of the fashion ladder. And so far, so good. Karen Silton clothes have really been well received all across the nation, according to Debbis account books. Weve grown dramatically during the past two years, she explained, its very satisfying. Now, Karen has just completed her third spring collection, and we think the clothes are extra-supe- r. Fashion writers from around the country, recently in Los Angeles to attend spring fashion shows, had a sneak preview of the super clothes. The main thing about the fashions: They are really, truly wearable not the kind of Of course! Karen and Debbi just love to wear g the clothes that are featured in their collections. (The day members of the fashion press visited the studio, Kren was in a smart pantsuit made of denim, and Debbi was wearing a tweed suit with insets of grey suede.) good-lookin- We think its important to try many different things in life, Debbi emphasized. To be d just isnt any fun! one-side- Well, Jack wasnt really ready to settle down, so when hed spend an evening with his buddies, Id get mad and jealous. Then we started fussing at each other. He couldnt stand my whining, so he left me. Now ABIGAIL we re getting a divorce be-DUKtN cause he says he missed out on his youth and its my fault. I still love him, but his love for me has turned to hate. Please, Abby, keep telling young girls to finish high school and let the guys grow up before they start nagging for marriage. I am 18 years old and pregnant, and in six months Ill be a divorcee. KNOW I WAS WRONG DEAR ABBY : A friend of many years found out about a year ago that her husband of more than 20 years was messing around with a much younger girl. He said it was just a crazy middle-ag- e fling that was all over by the time his wife heard about it, but she keeps hearing rumors about him and other young women. She says she isnt jealous, just humiliated, and at her age she is not about to compete with young girls. She is a very attractive woman and has a lot more sense than her husband does. She started getting all her affairs in order such as her will and her finances. She says she cant see herself spending many more years with a husband who makes her feel Inadequate and too old for him. Do you think shes contemplating suicide? CONCERNED DEAR CONVERNED: Sounds more like shes contemplating DIVORCE. DEAR ABBY: Is it possible to marry a dead person using a proxy? In our area, a teen-ag- e poy drowned a few weeks ago, and he had planned to marry soon. They had a license already. I understand the girl was pregnant and she wanted a name for her child, so they were married at the funeral parlor. Is that possible? Can you find out for me? CURIOUS IN PA. Thank you. CURIOUS: You dont need a Philadelphia DEAR lawyer to hunt up a precedent for this. The answer is no, its not possible. - Everyone has a problem. What's yours? For a personal reply, write to ABBY, CO Deseret News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, Utah Ml 10. Enclose stamped, envelope, please. You Can Rent A New Piano For (PurctaM Option Available) per month including bench, moving & tuning UMMEIUIAY&JIUSICco. 1343 SOUTH MAIN, SALT LAKE CITY 486-448- 8 THE NEW LOOK OF GERINGER at WEST-MOR- R on all Geringor Lighting 6 Mi lSst-Mo-rr cUgtlting 7200 South State Open Weekdays men and 81 women said newspapers are the best kind of store advertising, reports Response 77 'til 6 Fridays 'til going big league? Youll make a fashion hit in our puffy, reversible parka. 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