Cashin on-the-go with notebook and camera to record her travel observations, India, 1957.

"the cashin look"

As much as they resembled her girlhood illustrations, Cashin’s fashion sketches also were modeled after Hollywood test shots, wherein the actress posed in costume with details of the scene scribbled on a chalkboard at her feet. Although she was trained in all aspects of clothing construction, Cashin did not design on a dress form. She preferred to tell a story by drawing and describing her ideas, always depicting them on figures resembling herself. She supervised the process of translating these drawings into ready-to-wear by advising on the cutting of the pattern, the making of the prototype, and the structure of their marketing.

With great visual appeal, and chatty, autobiographical descriptions—"I live in a penthouse - and have a career - entertaining is fun, and I can be anything I choose at night"—these annotative sketches were great publicity tools. Often reproduced in the fashion press, they allowed Cashin creative control over her editorial coverage as they eloquently, cheerfully, outlined the context for each garment and the thinking behind her designs.