PERSE'S NEWEST PURSUIT; T-SHIRT TITAN SET TO EXPAND FASHION, RETAIL PRESENCE.(fashion designer James Perse)

Daily News Record, February, 2005 by Tschorn, Adam

Byline: Adam Tschorn

LOS ANGELES -- Some fashion designers will be forever linked to their iconic creations. Coco Chanel gave the world the little black dress, and Levi Strauss made denim indelible. And while James Perse didn't exactly invent the T-shirt, over the last seven years, his perfectly draped, exquisitely soft take on the T has transformed it from underwear to everywear and graced Tinseltown torsos from Ashton Kutcher and Billy Bob Thornton to Kate Hudson and Sharon Stone.

The son of Maxfield boutique owner Tommy Perse, the Los Angeles native got his start in the business in 1992 designing custom hats for Martin Scorsese's 50th birthday party. He launched his eponymous line in 1997 and opened his first store -- on Melrose Avenue, barely a...