CHAPTER FOUR

Europe and Los Angeles

1950s

After a short time, Uncle Joe suggested that he travel to the family’s custom fabric business outside of Rome owned by two widows, Bettina and Laura Ottobre. Jim worked there for several months with them.

From there, Jim went to work as a draping intern for Sorelle Fontana, a renowned womenswear house also outside of Rome, where he remained for approximately six months. He secured a recommendation from the owner that enabled him to move to Paris and work at the House of Dior, creating toiles—the draped muslin prototypes used to develop garments.

The plan was that someday he could advance up within the company. However, he was told this would be difficult for someone who was not French, but was welcome to continue creating toiles. Jim was not easily discouraged. Every roadblock became a stepping stone toward a new adventure. He remained at Dior for a year, further refining his draping skills. During his time off, he flew to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) to visit Subramuniya at an ashram and continue his study of yoga.

After that year, Jim returned to New York, where he rented a room and worked nearby at a tailor shop on 59th Street. While there, he came across an employment advertisement from CBS in Los Angeles seeking a patternmaker. After sending his resume, he got the job and moved to Los Angeles. At the time, Jack’s of Hollywood, was located on La Brea Avenue, and served as the workroom responsible for studio costumes and alterations for CBS productions.

There, Jim created elaborate costumes and dresses for some of the early episodes of I Love Lucy , in addition to garments for various other television shows and Jack’s private clientele as well. Jim rented a bungalow apartment on Willoughby Avenue near Highland Avenue walking distance away from Jack’s.

At twenty-four, Jim established his own tailoring shop inside his bungalow apartment. The location was conveniently situated near several small studios, making it ideal place to build his own clientele. When Jack’s later moved its workroom to Western Avenue, Jim purchased his first car—a 1930s Duesenberg—which he loved. Besides commuting to work, Jim used the car to make fabric-shopping trips around Los Angeles.

Through a friend, Jim met his future wife, Barbara Ann Hall, an aspiring actress who needed some alterations done. Barbara, also twenty-four, soon became James’s fit model.

Barbara had left Youngstown, Ohio, at the age of twenty-one. Newly divorced, she boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Hollywood with her five-month-old daughter, Bonita, and her mother, Mary Hall. Together they sought a new life, warmer weather, and opportunities in the film industry.

However glamorous Barbara was, young aspiring actresses were plentiful in Hollywood, and opportunities were scarce. Life proved difficult as a single mother. She pieced together a living through a variety of jobs—hostess, model, and receptionist— while hoping for occasional auditions, interviews, and invitations to parties where she might meet producers and secure introductions.