"Melody Sabatasso stood in the lobby of San Francisco's Huntington Hotel, arms overflowing with a handcrafted denim patchwork skirt, a jacket and an assortment of other sewing equipment. She had just hitchhiked across the Golden Gate Bridge and to the top of Nob Hill from Marin County, and she wasn't amused to learn at the front desk that her famous client refused to see her for a final fitting. The budding designer wouldn't take no for an answer."
""So I get up there after telling her, 'Excuse me, I'm a woman just like you, and ... I don't appreciate being ignored - I've worked very hard on this,'" Sabatasso said a handful of decades later inside her bustling, wood-paneled studio, which is located down an endless boardwalk about 15 miles north of San Francisco. It turns out the refusal stemmed from personal love life issues."
"Leaving the room after the fitting, the customer asked in her signature, sultry voice how much everything cost. It was $75 for the skirt and $125 for the jacket, Sabastasso nervously replied - she normally charged $40 for a skirt, tops. The actress looked at her and asked if this was just the deposit. "You don't know your worth," Sabastasso recalled her saying."
Melody Sabatasso carried handcrafted denim garments and sewing tools to the Huntington Hotel after hitchhiking across the Golden Gate Bridge. A famous client initially refused a final fitting at the front desk, prompting Sabatasso to insist on being treated respectfully. She confronted the client and completed the fitting in the hotel room. After learning the prices, the client — Lauren Bacall — paid far beyond the asking amount and sent a generous check with an encouraging note. Bacall's words prompted Sabatasso's mother to move across the country to help launch the Love, Melody label. Love, Melody later produced custom creations for icons like Elvis and Priscilla Presley, Sonny and Cher, and Natalie Wood.
Read at SFGATE
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