Yearly Archives: 2013

Years ago, when the REGANS were in the white house, I was invited to a black tie STATE DINNER. It was two weeks before Christmas and the White House was RESPLENDENT! Every room looked like a jewel box. I was very honored to sit at Mrs. Regans table along with the guest of honor….the president of Columbia. Mrs Regan wore a stunning Galanos evening gown……..a simple column of DEEP EMERALD GREEN to the floor with just a simple 10 inch flounce at the bottom…………but……….what took my breath away was………..a choker of  multi strand CABOCHON EMERALDS…………talk about SOPHISTICATION with a capital “S”….it snowed that evening which made the whole experience and the memories MAGICAL………..I have always wanted to do my version of that marvelous necklace, and with the MALACHITE WK sweaters and WK skirt….I’ve come pretty close…..The photo in the upper right features the Long Necklace, wrapped three times with another “CHOKER NECKLACE” coming for the Holidays…..the combination….I think is pretty amazing……scroll down for one last picture…………….

………………………………………………………………………………….enjoy……………………much Love………Louis

This was a NIGHT TO REMEMBER……………….I was very privileged to be invited to a White House State Diner by President Reagan and Mrs. Reagan. It was two weeks before Christmas and the White House was MAGNIFICENT! I was also privileged to be seated at Mrs Reagan’s table, along with the quest of honor……The President of Colombia, [I think…it’s been a long time]. Mrs. Reagan was beautiful in her Emerald Green Galanos gown and CABOCHON EMERALDS at her neck………. I do remember I was sitting next to Heather Watts, the famous ballerina of the moment…..the owner of the NY Times, a famous football player, don’t remember his name either,  Anne Getty, a famous and rich socialite, and others I can’t remember, were also seated at the table……..everyone was well known for one thing or another….10 in all……I do have the menu that everyone signed …somewhere. At the end of dinner, as coffee was being served, Heather Watts leaned into me and whispered to me that there were ashtrays on the table, but no one in the entire room [the room with Lincoln’s portrait over the fire place ], had smoked the whole evening. I told her I did have cigarettes with me and we would subtly light two up and see what happens. I pulled out my gold cigarette case….very chic indeed….and we lit up waiting to be hauled off by the guards………Instead…the quest of honor, who is the gray haired man standing in the center of the picture…..said in his thick accent….”thank God someone at this table smokes” to which everyone lit up and had a good laugh……..The entire room started to light up…………I think….no, I know Heather and I started something…..Mrs. Reagan smiled and told me I was a bad boy……………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Yes…..a night to remember.

The outfits are lined up around my studio, and the accessory bags are almost ready to be packed…………REMEMBER………..I am on …..AUGUST 26th, with appearances on the 6AM morning show with PAT and JANE……….

then I will have a full hour show at …………..1PM……..with the ever delightful, SHAWN, and then again at……….11:00PM…..a PRIME TIME SHOW!!!!………….with the very sweet AMY. These are my, first of the season, TRUE FALL/WINTER COLLECTIONS. For the most part, these clothes are for when the temperatures cool down, and the season changes from summer to FALL. There are lots of new items in lots of new FABRICS, so if at all possible, these are not shows to miss…….the models will all be decked out in their LINEA FINERY…….and if that’s not enough…..there will be SNEAK PEEKS of things to come!…….scroll down for your FIRST SNEAK PEEK OF THE AUG 26th shows………………………………………………………….enjoy……………………………………..much Love……………………………………..LOUIS

SPRUCE GREEN is the first color I am presenting the OTTOMAN suit in.This is one of my favorite colors. I have chosen to accessorize the SPRUCE GREEN suit with the new VIOLET WK TURTLENECK and my new PURPLE PEARLS, but there are many colors that will work beautifully with the Spruce Green….depending on your mood……Grey, ivory, navy and espresso are classic….. topaz, wine, spice, orange, nectarine, cranberry, aubergine, and camel will add that autumnal and Town & Country look……..ruby, fuchsia, violet and lapis add that dash of unexpected COLOR!  If you are VERY daring try colors like LIME, AQUA, HOT PINK….the Fiesta colors can look very editorial mixed with the right accessories……There are many many more color that will be wonderful mixed with your SPRUCE GREEN separates………….For that head to toe look, wear a pair of matching or at least “blending tights”………….HUE always has a good range of colors, but keep your eyes open, you may find great colors in the most unexpected places. Last year Jac and I were in Target and they had colors I hadn’t seen before….it’s always good to pick these things up when they are avail……..you never know when you will need them…………enjoy……………much Love…………..Louis

My first Sneak Peek for my August 26th appearances is the…….. OTTOMAN SUIT………….The JACKET is…..A236142…. and the SKIRT is… A236143…… Years ago I designed this EXACT suit for Anne Klein, and Jac still wears it. When she saw this new suit hanging in my studio, she said to me, “are you thinking about doing my suit for QVC?” I immediately informed her that this was not “her” suit but the copy I have already done for QVC……To say that she was amazed is an understatement! She began EXAMINING the suit to see if she really liked the interloper…….She started comparing….”does mine have a double zip”……”no” I replied, and so the conversation went. When she asked what colors I was doing it in, I knew I had won her over,,,,,,,,,needles to say she LOVES it!!…..even if she will now have to share it with everyone else…LOL…….. I imagine…. she’s imagining where she is going to wear it and with which girl friends. Ladies, I have chosen THIS SUIT to be my first sneak peek because it reeks DESIGNER…..every detail says DESIGNER. The FABRIC, FIT and SHAPE exude DESIGNER…………………IF you found a suit exactly like this in a Saks or Bergdorfs, expect to pay $2500 easy.

This OTTOMAN KNIT fabric is brand new to my Linea Ladies, and it is ……100% COTTON.As you know cotton prices are sky high, and in order to “knit” this particular type of Ottoman Fabric, the cotton MUST be high grade and CLEAN……you may not know what that means, but trust me …..it means GOOD…….. This PARTICULAR horizontal rib construction is what is known as an OTTOMAN STITCH. It is not thick or bulky at all. Due to the knitted fabric there is plenty of stretch, but also due to the ottoman knit construction, it has structure, substance and is very stable. I will tell you that because of the high price of the fabric, this suit almost did not make it onto the line, but my buyers and my entire team believed in the “product” so much…….”we” all made it work ……enough said……….I will however say, that due to the fact we all “made it work”, this suit is the buy of the century.

Above is the ………….HEATHER GREY JACKET……………it is totally UNLINED. To say that it is very comfortable to wear is another understatement……………..you have maximum stretch with this garment. The jacket has a spread “shirt collar”….no stand necessary……………it has set in band pockets, and BODY SEAMS, front and back…. for a gentle, follow the lines of the body fit. One of the features Jac loved was the ……TWO WAY ZIPPER. It will be fun for you to play with all the variations of zipping or unzipping the jacket in different areas to create different looks. The body seams are top stitched to exaggerate the lines of the jacket. The jacket is approx. 25 inches long for the xs, but always check you QVC garment measurements for accuracy! The Zippers on the HEATHER GREY are GUNMETAL…….so get out you Linea GUNMETAL and SILVER jewelry…..This is one case where I like to keep it simple…….a single LOVE KNOT….or MULTI CROSS NECKLACE will do. Though there is a matching skirt, I do NOT see this jacket worn strictly as a suit. Wear the HEATHER GREY jacket with a white T and BLACK or GREY jeans for more casual outings……….wear it with BLACK SLIM pants for when you want that “uptown” look. It’s a terrific comfortable and versatile jacket that can take on any role you want.

The OTTOMAN SKIRT,  A236143, is a simple affair. It has a back zip with a single button on the waist band…..and a back vent. The skirt measures approx 25 inches from the bottom of the waist band. If you need to shorten, do not worry about the vent being cut off or too short. The skirt has enough stretch , that the vent really isn’t necessary, so it can be closed up or eliminated. Again, the skirt is unlined for maximum stretch and comfort. I think you will find this skirt not only the perfect companion to the jacket, but a TERRIFIC SEPARATE skirt to mix with many things you own………..it’s always good to add another TEXTURE to your outfit……………………..I have added the MUSHROOM WK TURTLENECK to the GREY suit. It is very CHIC. UNDERSTATED and SUBTLE, but gives a STRONG message that the wear is SOPHISTICATED and has an elevated TASTE LEVEL…………scroll down for MORE……………….enjoy………………….much Love………………Louis