Yearly Archives: 2021

……………………….The second portion of the May Anniversary shows also had some great and very successful pieces…..Starting at the top….the Cotton Sateen Stretch LEOPARD PRINT Blazer. This new blazer had three Poker Chip Black buttons down the front, and turn back cuff 3/4 sleeves. It had ALL of the Linea touches. It had Princess seams front and back with the additional center back seam for shape. It had shoulder pads and was fully lined in satin. It came in FOUR COLORS which was very unusual,. The buyers and the PTB must have really believed in this print. It came in White/Black, Taupe/Black, Lavender/Black and Turquoise/Black. It sold so well the next year it was reordered in two new colors……The next two items were a tiered crinkle georgette Boho skirt and a scoop neck, short sleeve tee shirt. They were done in “TWIN PRINTS”. The inspiration for the prints came from Indonesian wood block prints. One was a small foulard type and the other a larger graphic floral. The tiers of the skirt were done in alternating prints with the larger floral always being at the bottom for balance. The poly/span tee was done in the floral print……The colors were….Black/Grey and Hot Pink/Deep Red…….Below the prints were two separate bottoms, both made in a wonderful fluid, light weight, rayon gauze. The pull-on long skirt had a yoke top and a bias cut bottom that just flowed and moved beautifully….The long wide leg pull-on pant was perfect for warn summer months. It was easy and breezy, and never clung to the leg in the most humid weather. The pant came in Azure and Dark Olive. The skirt came in Purple and Black. The next tunic shirt was in the same rayon gauze. It could be worn as a shirt or open as a shirt jacket. It came in Azure and Dark Olive. Again, two great pieces for travel. The next tee “design” was one of my favorites….How do you make a tee new and special??? I decided to make it a short raglan sleeve with inserts of sheer DTM mesh! It was very sexy without showing anything…..however….the buyers insisted we double the mesh so no bra straps showed. Our fit model was wearing a nude bra, as she always did for fittings, and you couldn’t see anything! She said she would absolutely wear it like this with the one layer. After the meeting, behind my back, they told Elaine they wouldn’t buy the tee unless the mesh were doubled. I didn’t want to loose the sale for Elaine who already invested a lot of time and money developing the sample, so I agreed. There were just some battles not worth fighting over…..Jac would always say to me, “pick your battles”….so wise. Without my Jac it’s hard for me to live by that, but sometimes when the blood rushes to my head I hear her….”pick your battles”…….I was very disappointed in this tee because it ended up looking like a basic tee ,which was fine if you didn’t know what I really wanted, but for me all the special detail of it disappeared……..The next top and skirt were both made in sheer georgette. The top had a wide V neckline and a dolmen sleeve. It had a separate lining attached at the V and the shoulder. It was on the short side to keep the proportion with the skirt perfect. The double wrap skirt had a knit liner as the top. It was a pull-on. Both the front and back panels had soft pleats. which allowed the gossamer skirt to move beautifully and float in a breeze. Both pieces were done in White and Black. They were beautiful together as a two piece dress, but both were perfect separate pieces to wear with many other things……true investment pieces.

……………………………..Happy Easter Everyone……….The Day of the Resurrection…..the Holiest day of the year…. May God’s blessings shine on each and everyone of us………………much Love……………..Louis

……………………All I can say about these eggs is……………….WOW…………The earliest I ever did was dipping boiled eggs in hot water with vinegar and Easter egg dyes with my Mom………..Happy Easter!

It was sometime in April that Elaine and I were notified QVC was planning not to go forward with the Linea Brand. We were in shock because just a few weeks earlier we had a meeting with the buyers on how well the line was selling! We were dumb founded……absolutely blindsided…What could have happened in a matter of two weeks? The Spring shows were set through June,the buys were done and approved, and production was in the works, but Fall was still up in the air. They called a separate meeting at Elaine’s which we thought was a strategy meeting about Fall, and to show them sketches of what was planned. At this Thursday meeting they gave us the news! After they left Elaine, Rowena and I sat in her office in a state of shock, and tried to come up with different scenarios as to why this turn about had happened!? We had suspicions but no proof. We knew they were bringing in new “Designers”, and the on air time and money had to come from somewhere…..We guessed it was Linea, but we couldn’t be sure. All we new for sure was we were OUT. I posted on my website that Friday what had happened, and you ladies took over!!!!! By that next Weds. TPTB called for a “meeting”, and I agreed to meet, but not at QVC. We would meet at Elaine’s….my turf! You all know what happened! The uproar you all created shook them to the core. Nothing like this had ever happened, and they were shocked by the back lash….We met that following Thursday and I was back, but it was never the same. The buys became smaller, I had very few prime time shows, and then my time slot became 1:00pm. The TSVs stopped. It was evident to Elaine and me that they brought us back at a very diminished level, and just to appease the customers. You will notice how the fall line up was very small….Many of you noticed the difference and commented on the lack of TSVs and no evening hours…..but we were back, and we were back for another TEN YEARS!

……………………..The April 10 prime time show was stacked with exceptional pieces. Starting at the top is a cotton sateen stretch jacket and skirt, both in a wonderful graphic floral print. The jacket was short with a 3/4 sleeve. The lined jacket had very large black or green poker chip buttons sewn on with white thread. The jacket had princess seams that ended at the inset band pockets. The back had an invert pleat just to make it interesting! The short skirt had a simple back zip with an elastic back waist band…….The coordinating tank was in rayon jersey in Blue, Spring Green, Black and White. It had piped armholes and a scoop neckline. At the bottom of the scoop was shirring to add softness and give the tank a more feminine detail…..The bottom blouse at the far left was in cotton/nylon with a very wide sheer organza yoke. The yoke was then appliqued with narrow strips of the self cotton/nylon fabric. The shirt had a button placket front and short half raglan sleeves, A little shirt with lots and lots of exacting detail that needed to be sewn perfectly! It came in Black, White and Red. I believe the organza stayed white on all the colors……The next dress was  Jac’s uniform. Jac loved these Linen/Rayon blend woven dresses with the ORGANZA sheer inserts. It had inseam pockets and came in Pink Coral and Black………….The next jacket was in what I called the woven “LIFESAVER” jacquard. The fabric was Cotton and Poly. The circles were raised which gave the jacket texture and lots of interest. It had a funnel collar and a button front. The buttons were covered in the self fabric. All of the jackets in the White, Hot Pink and Blue had White facings in the collar down the fronts. and the turn back cuff to make it fresh looking……The jacket had body seams for a body skimming shape and was fully lined.. This jacket will never go out of style. and it will also look chic and sophisticated.