Jill McGowan “The Great White Shirt”

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What would you do if Martha Stewart came calling? Maine designer Jill McGowan shares her enthusiasm about her recent appearance on The Martha Stewart Show.

Because everyone’s life is now a reality show, tell us about your excellent adventure taping a segment on The Martha Stewart Show a few weeks ago.

We found out less than a week before the show was to be aired live that we were invited, so I rallied my husband, David Hembre, and son, Theo, to join me and my sister and business partner, Jolene, for a 24-hour road trip to NYC.

We drove south on a Wednesday morning, stopped at Rein’s Deli (Exit 65 off Route 84) for lunch, and arrived in New York around 6 p.m. We checked into our favorite hotel in Chelsea, went out for pizza at Co. on 24th St. & 9th Avenue, and then went to bed around 10 p.m. Jolene and I woke up early, had coffee and

On the opposite side of the color wheel, the ‘Maria’ is a camisole with satin straps made of Swiss cotton/ lycra knit.

breakfast (I am really grumpy if I don’t have breakfast first thing in the morning), and walked three blocks to Martha’s television studio in Chelsea. We were greeted with open arms and coffee, granola, fruit, yogurt, and fresh boiled eggs in the green room (more breakfast–all good). We ran through our segment of the show with Mary, the producer, and from that point on, things moved along so smoothly and quickly I barely had time to think about being nervous. I barely remember what I said or did during my segment, but after it ended, we watched the rest of the show in the green room and then packed everything up and said our goodbyes. Theo wanted to do some shopping, so we parked at Times Square, walked to the M & M store, and he bought a present for his teacher, Mr. R. We then drove north, had dinner at Rein’s Deli, and got home around 9 p.m. We’d taped the show, so [we] watched it again that night.

Martha Stewart said she’s just come back from a trip, where she’d worn a set of your camisole undershirts every day. How did she get these?

I think Martha said she’d taken some of my shirts on her trip to South Africa and also liked the camisoles I make. She ordered them from my catalog, and they are really popular. I use a Swiss cotton/lycra, and this fabric is so soft and wears well. I wear them every day.

The Stewart show promoted your appearance with the phrase “the great white shirt.” Is it really a Zen-like thing like that? Have you spent your creative life hunting “the great white shirt”?

My mission, from the get-go, was to improve the standard and quality of women’s apparel. It’s a constant challenge and goal. The zen moments are fleeting.

Can a classic like a white shirt really be improved upon? What are your goals in creating new classics?

I want my clothes to be pulled from a trunk in an attic or a thrift store in 20 years and hope someone says “they just don’t make things the way they used to.”

I find great inspiration from vintage clothing but believe the designs from history don’t always work for women in today’s world. And the waistline is always too tight!

Then, do you believe the little black dress can be improved on?

Funny you should ask; I designed a little black dress (available in sizes XS-XL) named “Audrey” last season, and I wanted to show it during the fashion segment on Martha, but we had to cut some of our looks because of time constraints. It is my interpretation of a comfortable, flattering black dress and travels well.

Tell us about your translucent shirts.

The sheer white fabrics are new designs. The fabric comes from mills in Switzerland and Italy. Textile designers inspire me and help move my looks and designs forward. The textured white shirts can be worn anytime, over a camisole with a treasured piece of jewelry or under a sweater or jacket.

We’re looking for an aha! moment. Tell us about old movies you’ve watched where you’ve jumped up and pointed at a white shirt and said “There!”

Audrey Hepburn’s interpretive beat dance in Funny Face was a riot, and any movie she was in is inspiring and worth seeing at least once. My big aha moment came from design school, when I discovered one of my favorite designers, Claire McCardell. She was one of the first designers in the late 1930s to break out of the back room of department stores and make a name for herself. Chanel was first in France to break the mold in apparel design, but McCardell was a true original American designer and made her mark in women’s ready to wear.

There was a moment of self-awareness on The Martha Stewart Show when you laughed and acknowledged some people just don’t want to wear a white shirt, and a model came out wearing a beautiful patterned blue alternative. But then you said, truly, anyone can wear a white shirt. When shouldn’t someone wear a white shirt?

In January, on Congress Street without a coat. Brrrrrr….

Across the decades, which influences do you channel?

•1800s: Levi Strauss & C. F. Hathaway •1920s: Chanel •1930-60: Claire McCardell, Bonnie Cashin & Chanel •1960-2000s: Geoffrey Beene, Anne Klein, •Perry Ellis & Alber Elbaz

Tell us about running into one of your shirts.

Jolene and I were eating breakfast in New York, and a woman nearby was wearing one of my shirts. After finishing breakfast…I walked over and introduced myself and thanked her for wearing my product. She was very nice and thanked me back for making it and said she had a dozen more in her closet and my shirts helped her get through the work week (she’s an attorney in New York).

Tell us about three dream fashion-shoot locations in Maine. Places where the land perfectly complements your crisp, breezy designs.

Top of Katahdin–it would be quite a haul, but the views are breathtaking. Who would schlep the shirts, though?

Schoodic Point–my husband and I were married there. You really feel like you’re on the edge of a continent at Schoodic.

Portland Museum of Art. I love the design of our museum. n

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