Author: Louis Dell'Olio

You know………I couldn’t offer you anything in sequins….without offering you ……..BLACK SEQUINS!!!!! I am a sucker for sequins. My very first sight of a TRUE DESIGNER DRESS, when I was seventeen, was when I went to work for Norman Norell as an intern for a summer job before I started Parsons School of Design. I was brought to the all mirrored [ceiling and walls with a black and white diamond patterned marble floor], waiting room. There was a huge bouquet of Mr. Norell’s favorite flower…the Calla Lily. They were in a huge Lalique vase perched on a mirrored Parsons table…..I sat on a white satin covered bench with gold leaf legs waiting……in this ante room immersed in Norell perfume…..To this day it’s my favorite, but it isn’t made any more….another story another time, but I still have one bottle!. It was truly an assault on the senses…..something I will never forget…….. I was then brought into the showroom, on my way to the back rooms, to meet the people I would be reporting to. As I entered the showroom I was confronted with a GOLDEN RACK of five MAGNIFICENT SEQUIN DRESSES……each costing $25,000………….WOW……….that did it for me.!!…. They were made of  silk jersey…..covered with INDIVIDUALLY HAND SEWN tiny sequins….no machine or chain stitched sequins here! …..Each dress was EXACTLY the same….only each one in a different color. It was astonishing!!………I remember I had to deliver a “MERMAID SEQUIN DRESS” to Lynn Revson’s town house…..her husband owned REVLON…..at the time the number one makeup company in the US, maybe the world. I was in a sweat!! She opened the door in a bathrobe! I was stammering!!!…………..anyway I digress…………..Mr. Norell showed me and taught me the RIGHT way to do sequins…..and believe me there is a right and wrong way to do SEQUINS……….you never want to look like a hoochie mama in sequins…..I think you know what I mean. Sequins can be elegant and sophisticated…..even at these affordable prices…..it’s strictly a level of taste…………………..Above, I have shown the top and skirt as the all important two piece dress……..and for a more fun edgy look…..with the white cotton “KATE SHIRT” and the my FAUX FUR PERSIAN JACKET, J229709………..If you are daring enough……you can create your own NORELL LOOK……..by wearing the new COTTON BOW BLOUSE and pile on the new JET BEADS coming in NOV……a FABULOUS party look…Mr. Norell was know for his PUSSY CAT BOWS…..If you aren’t acquainted with Normal Norell, I suggest you google him…..He was considered the BEST AMERICAN COUTURE DESIGNER in America. Yes, he did true COUTURE……hand made clothes. In the back rooms were custom forms of ever important socialite in NYC and around the country, who came to him each season to have their clothes made. I am proud to say, in my second year at Parsons, I won the Norman Norell Scholarship, that is still given to this day…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

…………………………………………………………………………………………….HAPPY HAPPY HOLIDAYS…………………….much Love………………………………Louis

I am sorry to report the Tuxedo will not be part of my fall collection. Due to late delivery it was canceled…..so I’m afraid you will have to wait another year….as I always say….”Men make plans and God laughs”….believe me I am just as disappointed as you…..especially after seeing the final result….don’t mean to rub salt into the wounds …………..think of the bright side…..now you have money to spend on something else.

The October pant is the “GABARDINE TROUSER”, A238535. The fabric is my classic Poly/Rayon/Span gaberdine that I have used in many pant styles through the years………This trouser is ….NUMERICALLY SIZED….. This is a zip front pant with a single waist band button. The front of the pant is flat, but the back waist band has a full elastic. Don’t worry about puffing…..the shirring is keep to a minimum…….There are slanted menswear pockets. Since this fabric is thinner than the blue/brown pant from Sept. there should not be a problem of the pant being too small due to the pockets…………………The inseam is 32 inches. Sorry, this pant does not come in a petite…… I would consider this to be a wider leg pant as the bottom opening measures, on the half, 10 inches, as apposed to the slim leg which is approx 7 inches. The pant is unlined, and has a beautiful soft drape……….Some have asked can the leg be made slimmer for those who prefer a slim leg…..the answer is yes. It actually is a very easy alteration, especially since they are unlined…..I do however, try to give you a variety of pant shapes and leg widths……it’s up to you……………….The colors are………………..RUBY………………….LAPIS……………BLACK…………..We tried to match the Lapis and the Ruby to the WK colors, but we could not achieve the saturation of the WK yarn. They are very close, but slightly paler as you can see in the photographs…..for me, totally acceptable…………..A HEADS UP………….when the pant comes up in the show….I will be showing the BLACK pant with the NEW TUXEDO JACKET that will be avail in NOV! Since the TUXEDO will not get air time and will only be sold on line….I thought this would be a good way to show it to you. I however, in real life, would not have put these two items together as the blacks are different…..I am only doing this for YOU…so you can get a sneak peek of the TUXEDO jacket…..Jac will be wearing it. There will be a TUXEDO pant with the satin stripe down the leg to match the jacket, or if you were lucky enough to get the BLACK PANT from Aug. that went with the asymmetrically zipped jacket…..the fabric and color is the same……………..I would strongly suggest that you order your normal Linea NUMERIC size. These are not small nor are they big….they are easy languid trousers………………………….enjoy………………..much Love………………………………….Louis

Hello all. I believe the silk /cashmere scarf will be posted in time for my show on Friday. It seems QVC has had inquires about the silk/cashmere “muffler”. I know I have been calling it a muffler, but QVC will have it listed as a SILK/CASHMERE SCARF. …..so that is what you have to look for. If you look for a muffler you will not find it……sorry for any confusion…..” a rose by any other name”.

For all of my GIRLY GIRLS…… With the Oct. group of clothes, I thought it was the perfect time to offer a BOW BLOUSE  in my exclusive COTTON/SPAN TWILL  fabric. The style number is A238544………… By the way Chanel is offering a cotton bow blouse, this season, very similar to this, and you can bet it’s 5 times the price….Many of you already own this fabric in either the “Kate” or the “Robyn” shirts. It is a very fine twill fabric, 98% cotton and 2% spandex…..There is a lot of stretch to this fabric due not only to the spandex, but due to the weave. I love the denseness of the fabric. So many white shirts on the market are cheesy and close to transparent…..this one is not, and it feels like a very expensive cotton shirt….one that could cost $200 and up…..I was recently in Bergdorf’s men’s store buying a suit and they gave me a white dress shirt to put on with it…..the price tag…$1200….for a cotton shirt! I am used to seeing $250 for mens’ shirts but $1200!………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

DETAILS………this blouse has them all…..The color is WHITE………….The BOW……..the bow, when tied, stays nice and crisp. It will not flop! Once you tie it and arrange it the way you like….it will stay just that way!….This is VERY important. At the upper left, there is a small picture of the back of the collar. Notice how the fabric is SHIRRED to control the fullness so the collar doesn’t ride too far up the neck……a detail you would only see on the finest shirts….most wouldn’t bother with this added step……….Down the front is a  buttoned DOUBLE PLACKET with an approx 3/4 inch shirred ruffle on either side……At the bottom right is a detailed photo of the sleeve and cuff. The cuff itself has two buttons and has the same ruffle detailing at the hem. There is a button placket on the sleeve…..another detail that is often left off. This gives the shirt a nod to menswear. The bottom of the shirt has a curved shirt tail which I think is often more flattering and elongating than a straight across bottom………The picture at the lower right is not just to show you the length of the streamers, but offers another way to wear the shirt…………..Leaving the streamers UNTIED is considered “COOL”…….a very nonchalant hip look…..great with jeans. There are so many ways you can incorporate this kind of shirt into your wardrobes and many ways to wear it……from casual with jeans to dressed up with the sequin skirt…….a fun HOLIDAY LOOK………………………remember Sharon Stone with the Gap cotton shirt and the Vera Wang long evening skirt……………scroll down for more………………………………………………………………………….enjoy……much Love…………………………..Louis