Fifty years ago, my husband at the time, Marc Werner, our friend, Vince Regalbuto, and I opened an East Indian boutique clothing shop in Westwood, CA specializing in handmade “kurtas.” The Indian kurta is a collarless, loose fitting shirt usually worn with loose fitting pants held up with a drawstring. We decided to make them because they were loose, comfortable clothes for meditation and fun to wear. Our kurtas were mostly created with bright paisley print colors. We came up with the name for the shop, ‘Designs Because of Sat Purush’ since we wanted it to have an East Indian name with spiritual overtones. Sat Purush means “Creator” or “Supreme Being” and since we believed (and I still do) in a higher power and were followers of an Eastern philosophy, we thought it was the perfect name for the shop. The mid 60’s were the beginning of a spiritual growth in our country and our shop seemed to be the center for the L.A. area. Designs Because Sat Purush was not just a place to buy cool clothes but a place for people to come together and share ideas and philosophies.

This photo inside the shop, Designs Because of Sat Purush and caption were taken from an article about the Maharishi in Life Magazine, February 9, 1968 issue.

Our store was featured in Look magazine, Life magazine,  Women’s Wear Daily, and Fashion Week. There was a parade of celebrities including George Harrison, the Monkees, The Byrds, Jim Morrison, along with other movie & music industry people coming in and out of the boutique wanting their exciting new, East Indian clothing as well as our huge handmade pillows.

Perhaps not as well-known as our Rock heroes, Buddy Rich and his Big Band were a recognized brand name throughout the country. Buddy also wanted to cash in on the cool Nehru jacket fad that was sweeping the country. I think they really looked good in their official Sat Purush Nehru jackets.

But perhaps our biggest break occurred when a member of a new band, the Strawberry Alarm Clock, stopped in our shop after having lunch in the Loft, an Indonesian restaurant situated above our shop. The band was one of the icons of the Psychedelic Movement, which like others in this genre, was about to gravitate towards the growing Consciousness Movement in America.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK CONNECTION.