Carole Little, American fashion designer, Died at 80

Carole Little was born on September 27, 1934, in Chicago, and died on September 19, 2015.

She was an American fashion designer.

She attended the Los Angeles Trade Technical College.

Little majored in English at UCLA.

Little moved to Los Angeles when she was a child.

She studied fashion design.

Carole started to work as a secretary for a Los Angeles swimsuit maker.

Then she worked for a large manufacturer where she designed trendy wear, including hot pants.

Leonard Rabinowitz was her business partner and they became married.

Carole started California Fashion Industries Inc. in downtown Los Angeles in 1974.

She was married to Rabinowitz for 22 years until they divorced in the late 1990s.

In 1979, it was said that the company had $30 million in sales.

During the early 90’s, Rabinowitz said, the volume had reached $350 million.

The first line of Saint-Tropez West, after a few years, they started putting Little’s name on the clothes.

In the 90’s the company started having difficulties.

Two of its executives were killed within a span of several months in 1994.

Two of the company’s employees were killed in a short space of time, the cases had the police confused, but were thought to involve organized crime operating in the garment business.

Then shortly after the company later filed for bankruptcy after an ill-fated merger.

Cherokee Inc. bought the Carole Little label, in 2002.

She left behind her daughter and two grandchildren.

Carole Little passed away at 80 yrs old.