Yearly Archives: 2012

Hi Everyone,

Jac and I returned yesterday from London and the flight was uneventful….just the way I like it! We had a wonderful time doing everything we could cram into 5 days. We arrived to beautiful spring weather and sunny skies…..very unusual for this time of year in London, but I guess this warm weather is global. We checked into the magnificent Dorchester Hotel and immediately went on our way. We took a boat ride up the Thames and landed at the Tower of London which is steeped in history. Actually, anywhere you go in London is steeped in history. This is wear Anne, Henry the 8th’s second wife plus two others lost their dear little heads. During the 5 days we saw 3 Museums….the Victoria and Albert, the British museum and the National Gallery. We went to Buckingham Place, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral where Dianna got married. On Saturday, in the rain, we went to the famous Portobello Road to rummage thought the flea markets and antique stalls. It was packed with people speaking every language you can imagine….lots and lots of fun….then off to Nottinghill for lunch in a typical English pub. We went to the West End and saw two shows…..Ghost, which is coming to Broadway and Hay Fever, a wonderful Noel Coward play. Ghost was much more than I expected and the special effects were terrific……….I’m sure it will be a hit on Broadway. We had “High Tea” at the Dorchester and it was an experience. We had reservations for another at Browns, but canceled….to much to see and do….one tea was enough! On Sunday the sun came out again…so we went to Waterloo Station and took the train, 25 – 30 minutes, to Hampton Court…..which was the favorite home of Henry the 8th and all of his wives. Elizabeth the first also spent a lot of time there. We were told by the tour guide they new when it was time to move on to the next residence when the stench got too bad…..I would say that was a good indication it was time to leave! The grounds and gardens were beautiful with primroses growing everywhere and all kind of Daffodils blooming in the lawns. We did a little shopping at Harrods…..Jac wanted 2012 Olympic T-shirts….she’s easy to please! Harrods is something else and there isn’t anything that compares. I especially loved the food courts……5 or 6 enormous rooms, each decorated differently and each featuring different produce….one had meats, game and poultry…..another had caviar, zillions of cheeses, crackers, quiches and all different kinds of pot pies. Of course my favorite was the room with every kind of  jam, jelly, tea, coffee,  chocolate, and ever pastry and cake you could imagine……..don’t ever go there hungry! Speaking of hungry, besides the pubs we stopped into along the way, we went to some fine restaurants. Todd’s is a restaurant that specializes in fish. It is very beautiful, very elegant, with warm woods and upholstered chairs…..very clubby with a very chic clientele….and excellent food! Another newish restaurant in the theater district is The Delaunay. A huge room, very bistro, lots of banquets….a place to people watch and  to be seen. Another fabulous place to people watch is the Ivy Restaurant…..again in Piccadilly….the theater district……a really fun place and a favorite with celebs after theater…or so we’ve been told…..didn’t see any….but there were lots of beautiful people. I must say every place we went was crowded and the restaurants were packed…..I guess they haven’t heard there’s a recession. There were many foreigners traveling and visiting London. Everything is quite expensive including the cabs….which we took all over….we loved them and the cabbies were so friendly. The last two days of the trip were devoted to QVC. All of the people were lovely….from Sharon the front receptionist, who called me “sweetie”, to the crew, producers, stylists and the two lovely models that did the show…Tanya and Sharon…. who were very welcoming to Jac. All in all it was a good time and the two hosts, Katherine and Julia were wonderful. We truly had a wonderful time….but….we were glad to come home to tons of kisses from our three little girls………………………………………………………………………………………………………

P.S. Check out Jac’s posts and pictures on her face book!

I wanted to drop a quick line to let you all know we are back in the good old US of A…..of course not quite as old as England! We had a GREAT time in London and I will get back to you will ALL the details, but first I have to catch up on my 342 emails, regular mail and business questions that have to be answered. Hope all has been well with you and I will be “seeing” you all next week!……………much Love, Louis

“Sneak Peek” #8, is A222542. It is a CRINKLE GEORGETTE PEASANT TOP. The entire blouse is double self fabric…meaning the body and sleeve are lined in the crinkle georgette. The details on this blouse are very delicate and feminine. I had satin strips made and had three of them sewn down the front, [front only]…. from the neckline to the hem. The neckline is piped in the same satin and the elastic hem of the sleeve is also covered with satin [blue photo]. There is also a self tie belt [to be used or not], pink photo, that also is piped on one edge with satin. Sizing…..if you lay this blouse on top of the A221795, the paisley peasant blouse, they are approx. the same size. The difference is the fabric. The crinkle georgette stretches a lot more than the flat georgette of the paisley due to the crinkle……which acts like an accordion. Therefore, on the body, this may feel bigger, but the flat measurement are about the same. If the paisley felt tight in the size you received, this will not feel the same way. If the size you purchased in the paisley was big than you should go down one size in this. Peasant blouses with “elastic” necklines that allow you to wear them off the shoulder [last years paisley in olive and black], will always be and feel bigger than peasant blouses with fixed [no stretch] necklines. The colors are CHAMBRAY BLUE [they may have called it just blue, but it matches the chambray blue Boho perfectly], PERFECTLY PINK, and BLACK. In the photos you can see each color with it’s matching Boho skirt and then broken up with white bottoms just to show the blouse as a separate. Of course there are many other things you can wear with these tops…..such as the blue/ navy or gray/black mosaic skirts, navy pants, jeans etc. etc. I know many of you are always looking for pieces to mix with your Boho skirts and I thought this would be a good addition……I hope you think so too. This will be my last sneak peek before my trip to London, tomorrow, with one sneak peek remaining for the month of March…………time is flying!!!!!!! ……………..Love, Louis

A special weekend ……”Sneak Peek”. This Sneak Peek, #7,  is actually THREE new pieces: the KIMONO JACKET, A222265, the elongated TANK,  A222271 and the PULL-ON PANT, A222267. The fabric for all three pieces is my FAUX DE CHINE. Kimonos, worn casually as jackets over jeans, have become a strong “street” trend…..meaning many young women are buying thrift shop kimonos, when they can find them, and wearing them with camis, shirts, sweaters…..basically whatever they want…… then pairing them with jeans…….the look is very throw away and nonchalant, but has a certain chic. I have created an emb. kimono for you. This is a true kimono in the sense that the details: the band front, the shape and sleeve are taken from an authentic kimono. The emb. is all mine. The jacket is unlined so it is light as a feather and is approx. 28 inches long for a size XS. It has stitched through pockets so they always lay flat and stay in place. Take a close look at the photos to see the beautiful execution of the emb. The colors are BLACK with ECRU emb, CORAL with BLACK emb and SAND with BLACK emb. The workmanship is truly superb. The pull-on pant, unlined, is the perfect match to the kimono as a coordinate, but also is a great separate pant to be worn with many Linea pieces or other things you already own. The pant has an approx 32 inch inseam, a full elastic waist and has inseam pockets. This pant looks great with strippy flat  and high heel sandals, wedges, tea cup heels and slides. The colors are BLACK and SAND. A great silk pant is always useful…..even if it is faux…… The elongated tank is approx. 26 inches long for a size XS. The neckline and armhole are finished with self fabric piping and there are side slits for ease……another piece that can be used as a coordinate to the kimono or as a great separate piece. There are many ways to put these pieces together. Personally, I like mixing the colors. As you can see in the photos I have the tank and pant matching with a contrast jacket…… or the kimono and tank matching with the contrast bottom, [coral photo]…….. the black skirt is my 26 inch acrylic/wool knit skirt. It is MUCH MORE INTERESTING to have a contrast piece than to have all three pieces matching. The kimono can be used for any occasion or no occasion at all. For a more dressed up occasion wear the three pieces or pair the kimono with a dress, or pencil skirt. In one photo you can see the A219796, black faux silk shirt worn belted over a pencil skirt. Right now you can wear it with a turtleneck…..no need to wait for warm weather.For the “STREET LOOK” wear the white “KATE” shirt under the black kimono with distressed jeans…..in this case “holes” are acceptable. One look I particularly love [not photoed] is the sand tank worn with a black belt, with the tank worn on top of the black pant…..then slip the black and sand lace emb. cardigan over it……the different layers look edgy and very modern. It also works with the black tank and pant with one of the pastel lace emb cardigans. The KIMONO is a terrific “accessory” piece to spice up all of your essentials. The tank and pant will become some of your favorite pieces as the weather starts to heat up……………………Love, Louis

MIDWEEKSNEAKPEEK….say that 5 times in a row….FAST. My mid week Sneak Peek is style # A222274, and is an engineered stripe sweater. The yarn is 65%rayon/35%nylon. It is the same yarn, knit and weight as my A00025 sweater, with the stripes across the upper part of the body and down the sleeves. Most women have found this yarn and weight to be extremely COOL and COMFORTABLE to wear. This sweater has a jewel neckline, a 3/4 length sleeve and is approx. 25 inches long for an XS. I would recommend ordering you normal size. There is no need to size up or down, but it’s always a good idea to check the “click here” measurements. Why do I call this stripe engineered?…… because it is designed to flatter the body. It is NOT designed to emphasize body flaws. It is an all over stripe, but the stripes across the mid section of the torso are NARROWER and TONAL…..the end result gives the effect of a solid body with stripes on the upper half of the body….but doing it this way is more interesting….more “designer”. A small but important detail…..I could have made the stripes of the sleeves go to the top, but instead I added the Hot Pink and Green caps. This makes the shoulders look broader and the waist and hips look narrower….which is always a good thing…….smoke and mirrors. There are two color combinations. The first is NAVY and has the body stripes in dark navy and a dark blue. The upper body stripes are Kelly green, White, Red and Navy. The second is BLACK and the body stripes are Black and Dark Gray. The upper body stripes are Hot Pink, light Sand, Peony Pink and black. This is a fun layering piece and works under many of the Linea jackets you may already own or are thinking about purchasing. Some of the jackets that work well with these sweaters are, A221792, the Pea jacket in Green, Ivory and Cobalt, A221805, the Peony Pink, Ivory or Chino double breasted cotton jacket, the A221808, the Ivory, Navy or Red blazer with the signature gold buttons, A22543, the new denim blazer in all colors, A222274, the Black, Ivory or Pink blazers with the signature pearl buttons. That is just a few, but there are many many more from past collections that would look great with either of these sweaters…..like….the solid trench jacket with the tie belt and the white contrast touches…….I’m sure you could come up with lots of ways to spike your wardrobe with a sweater like this…………………..enjoy, Love Louis