Yearly Archives: 2021

……………………….QVC started something new with Linea. In Sept. they chose three styles that would be sold on the Linea .com site only. They wanted to see if selling Linea, without a formal on air presentation, could generate sales…..This was the start of the cut back…..Also, due to the late start on developing these pieces, Elaine and I discussed which fabrics we could easily get for delivery…After 10 years we had a very good relationship with the sweater factory, and new he would make just the one pieces for us. The other items, the blazer and skirt, we kept in the new Roma Ponte, because we could get the fabric, we loved the fabric, it it would be easier to produce and we knew the Ladies would love the fabric too……..The sweater in the ENR rayon/nylon [WK], had a ballet neckline and long rib starts on the sleeves and the new “WAIST WHITTLING” ribs on the torso. It came in Pewter and Black……The next two items were in the new Ponte knit that Elaine and I name “ROMA PONTE”. We decided that since there was already so much Ponte knit being sold that we had to develop a quality better than anything anyone else was using. Ponte knit is just a technique of knitting on knit machines, like a double knit or jersey. It is the quality of the yarn that makes all the difference. Acrylics and Cashmere can all be knitted on the same fully fashioned machines, but the value of each garment is astronomically different because of the yarn……..same with the ROMA KNIT…The yarn we selected was superb…..a very high quality and expensive yarn….When the women received the jacket and skirt they new just from the look and touch that this was something special……The Roma Ponte tailored like a dream, and the finished garments looked ten times more expensive than what they were. The jacket above was a classic three button with special mottled faux HORN buttons……..Just the buttons alone gave the jacket a more expensive look. It had body seams in the front and back with the addition of the center back seam for shape. It had set in band pocket….and strong shoulder pads. The entire jacket was top stitched and fully lined…..we offered the jacket and skirt in BLACK and HEATHER CHARCOAL GREY. I was able to promote the pieces on my website so the Ladies didn’t have to rely on  the terrible photos on QVC as their only guide……..The three pieces sold very very well. The biggest surprise was the positive reception the new “waist whittling” sweater received. I knew it would look good on missy sizes, but I was waiting to see how my plus gals liked it???!!!…………They loved it! They said it made them feel like they had a waist…..It’s all “smoke and mirrors”!

…………………June 10 was short and brief…..Three new pieces plus a few reorders…….The top tunic shirt/jacket was made in my very successful Linen/Rayon blend. It had a stand collar, 3/4 sleeves, bust darts and side slits. Both the collar, which had a separate emb. design, and the front were done in a satin stitch emb…….The panel in the photo at the extreme right was the emb. sample I had to approve, which I did. It had tiny jet buttons down the front…………….It came in White with Black emb, Linen with Taupe emb. and Purple with tonal emb….It was reordered the following season and new colors were added……The design was Moroccan…..The peasant blouse below, since it was over 10 years ago, may very well have been the first ‘cold shoulder” shown on QVC. The trend didn’t start for years later. As you can see it had a square neckline, with shoulder straps. It had a button front with side slits and a self tie belt. It was the sleeve that brought the newness. It had a loose elastic at the top with shirring and a tight elastic at the bottom to catch the forearm……..The belt was made up of three streamers attached at the center back with a stitch so they couldn’t come apart, but the belt was separate from the blouse. The colors were Deep Fuchsia, Azure and Black……..The next tank was made in the rayon jersey fabric. I was always thinking of new ways to make a tank look new. I loved when jackets were worn open and there was some sort of surprise underneath. I thought this pleated neckline was it……It came in Taupe, Purple and Black……perfect to wear under the new Emb shirt/jacket, and the May Leopard print blazer too….There were also four reorders for June…the WINDOWPANE shirt/jacket being one of them!

Cathy told me QVC is having a “Friends and Family Sale” and the fish pendant is part of the sale [40% off]. They already sold close to 90 of them since the sale began….maybe more by now! Cathy told me there were about 200 left. There are only two colors….Rose Gold and Green Patina….. Get them now before they swim out to sea forever…..LOL

………………….The May 10 Anniversary show was all about BOLD PRINTS and BOLD COLOR…….The top row was all about the “STATUS PRINT”. The two button blazer with the 3/4 length sleeve had turn back cuffs. The matching skirt and jacket were made in a beautiful stretch COTTON SATEEN. The scoop neck 3/4 sleeve Tee was made in my poly jersey…….They were made in two different factories, but matched perfectly. The print was inspired by status type prints that Versace, the Italian designer, was making very popular, and still uses them to this day! The print is a combination of circles, Acanthus leaves [ also known as Baroque leaves], and Flowers to delineate areas of  bold color. The print was done in two color combinations. The Blue/Green combo had blues, turquoise, green, lime. black, white and golds, and Pink/Purple combo had purple. bright pink, fuchsia, lavender, black, white and golds. There was also a coordinating sweater knit tank. The body was a solid color, blue or pink, and the tubular trims were in different colors of the print. For those women who loved European designer clothes these were a must have, and to wear them all together was a MUST! Then there were those who felt is was too much for them to wear it as a suit, so they bought the jacket and tank or picked up the skirt to wear as a separate with the tank and a white or solid jacket. However they chose to wear it…it sold out and was reordered. I remember we brought back both colors and added a neutral of brown, tan, khaki, and I think a med grey with white and again the golds…I loved this print then, and I love it now. It still looks current and modern, and it brings a smile to my face…..The georgette peasant top below had an elastic ruffled top that could be worn several ways. The puff sleeves had elastic bottoms. I had two sketches, one with the smocked waist and one plain with a self tie belt. I don’t remember which we did??? It came in Purple, Teal and Black……It looked great with the print skirt…..The next V-neck Tee shirt top with the short sleeves was in a cotton/span knit. It had BUNDLE STITCH multi color emb. What is “Bundle Stitch”? It is a method of emb. where you use many ends of thread to create one stitch. This makes the longer stitches much thicker and pronounced. The colors show up much stronger. The tee was sold in Yellow, Azure, and Black….all with multi color emb…….The V-neck sleeveless jumpsuit to the left was made in Rayon/Span jersey. The colors were Azure and Dark Olive. The sketch shows a separate Obi belt in self fabric, but I don’t remember if we offered it….. Many times it came down to price, and Elaine was always worried that if it was returned the belt wouldn’t be sent back with it. This happened often when garments were sold with separate pieces………….The next dress was also in Rayon/Span knit This was a beauty and fit great. It had a twist bra top attached to shoulder straps and an EIGHT GORE fit and flare skirt. It fit through the hips and then flared out….The perfect travel dance dress in VIOLET and BLACK………The next item to the left was a tiered Boho, crinkle georgette dress. Between each tier was a mini ruffle.Talk about the perfect take away travel dress. Twist it into a ball and pack it away in the luggage or a beach tote. It came in Black and Bright Blue…….The 10th Anniversary was off to a great start…..in spite of “them”….. Every single piece was a success!