Vintage-fabric theft unstitches woman

Marisa O’Neil

Vintage floral-print fabrics, jacquards, silks and rayon meant to

inspire fashion designers may now be sitting in a dark alley,

abandoned by unwitting thieves, a Newport Beach woman worries.

Rise Taylor left thousands of the textile swatches in her car

parked overnight in a carport behind her home on April 14, in

preparation for an appointment early the next morning. When she

awoke, she discovered that someone had smashed a window of her car,

swiping about 1,500 irreplaceable pieces of fabric.

“I was very, very, very upset,” Taylor said. “It’s my living.

These are priceless. Some are from the turn of the century.”

The textiles may look like nothing more than scraps of fabric to

the average person, Taylor said. But some fashion and textile

designers view them as pieces of art that can help inspire their own

collections, she said.

“The whole vintage look is so popular,” she said.

And now a large chunk of the textile library owned by Taylor’s

boss, Sally Ball, is gone.

Taylor worries that the thieves may have tossed the fabrics, not

realizing their value.

“It’s an archive,” Ball said. “It’s like someone threw away a

treasure. Many were one-of-a-kind, created 100 or 200 years ago. And

they’re gone just because someone broke into someone’s car.”

Taylor called Newport Beach police to report the theft. She also

called police and trash companies from neighboring cities, asking

them to be on the lookout for the unique fabrics.

Newport Beach Lt. Steve Shulman said the theft is unusual, and

cautioned people to never leave valuables in their cars.

“No place is immune to getting your car broken into,” he said.

Taylor is offering a $500 reward, hoping anyone who finds them

will turn them in.

“What if it’s in somebody’s house who doesn’t know what to do with

it?” she wondered aloud.

The fabrics were in rolling duffel bags, four black and one green,

with different-colored tape identifying them, she said. The thieves

made off with five of the nine bags in her car.

Ends of the swatches, ranging from small squares to longer strips,

were mounted on colored cardboard, some joined together with a metal

ring. They included a variety of geometric, tropical and floral

prints, she said. Some of the most unique were 1940s-era rayon and

silk floral-print fabrics.

“I keep having dreams about how beautiful some of those were,”

Taylor said.

But now, early morning appointments or not, Taylor said she’ll

never leave the remaining swatches in her car overnight again.

Police advise people to park in well-lighted areas when possible,

and put any valuables that must be left in their car out of sight

before arriving at their location. Also, do not leave any keys hidden

in or around the vehicle.

“In retrospect, I shouldn’t have [left the fabric in the car],”

Taylor sighed. “But I never realized these would look like anything

to anyone.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or at [email protected].