Yearly Archives: 2021

…………. April 08, Group A has another one of my all time FAVORITE jackets!…….The COTTON SATEEN 3 BUTTON BLAZER didn’t only have contrast cotton banding it also had the addition of zipper teeth! Elaine by now had given up complaining because she knew these jackets could be done, and still come in at a reasonable price. Cotton was at an all time low and the duty was also low. All you have to do is look at the sketch to see all of the details including the working button on the sleeve which had a wide enough facing that it could be unbuttoned and turned back! We also did a matching pair of zip front trousers with a 10 inch opening at the bottom. This is a pretty wide leg, but because it had a sharp pressed crease it never looked overwhelming…..This was and is a stupendous suit, and Angela wears it still and tells me every time she wears it she gets tons of compliments…..and why shouldn’t she……She has it in the IVORY/NAVY, but it also came in the reverse NAVY with IVORY TRIMS….. Where else do you see a jacket like this….NO WHERE! and you probably never will…..Yes, you will see banded blazers, but not with the addition of the GOLD ZIPPER TEETH that makes all the difference, and separates the men from the boys…..If I seem to be bragging about this jacket….I am….it’s that special to me….a true collector’s item…….To wear with the suit we did a scoop neck tank with an elbow length sleeve in what was to be called Whisper Knit……It was offered in the NAVY, IVORY and RED………We also offered a short pencil skirt in the ENR WK….”They” usually made me choose between a pant or skirt so to be able to offer both in one group was rare, but because one was knit and the pant was woven they agreed……..The tucked peasant shirt was in a RAYON CRINKLE GAUZE. It was opaque enough where the white wasn’t see through. This was a terrific vacation shirt. It had a small shirt collar and placket front. A dropped yoke band which gave the illusion of a dropped sleeve. At the tip of the yoke there were tiny pleats to give the sleeve fullness which ended with an elastic cuff. The front had stitched down tucks that gave the shirt a lot of fabric and flow. The back had a full yoke and pleats across the center…..This was a fun shirt and a great beach cover up…..It came in WHITE, LEMON and TURQUOISE. The bottom shell top was again in the Linen/Rayon blend and was a crop Sabrina top with a wide funnel collar. It also had shallow Princess seam and small bust darts. This sleeveless top was another of Jac’s favorites that she wore with Capri pants. Jac thought it looked very Laura Petri from the Dick Van Dyke show!………..The next peasant jacket was actually a short version of a dress…only the jacket was in 100% Tencel, which was much softer and had more drape than the cotton sateen of the dress. The colors were WHITE, BRITE BLUE and BLACK….If the truth be told it was very similar to a YSL jacket…There was also an easy crop pull on pant to match..He was one of my favorite if not my favorite designers of all time……so he deserved a little homage!

……………………..April Group A had a few additional pieces……First the silk Shantung button from shirt/jacket with the contrast details. The under collar, the stand, the roll-up sleeve and tab and the hem facing up to the side slits were all in a contrast color……It came in Chocolate with Turquoise, Purple with Red, and black with Brite Blue. These were just easy pieces to wear and easy to mix into your wardrobes….. I was playing with tucks and pleats in different ways and the next tunic shirt in georgette had a series of pleats down the front….but….instead of sewing them all down there were horizontal stitches sewn across the pleats in strategic places. Part way down the sleeve there was a horizontal seam and form there the rest of the sleeve was open pleats. The tunic blouse came in three very romantic colors…..They were all toned down with a grey tint…..Sky Blue. Violet which was more like a pale lavender, and Grey……These blouses looked great worn very casually over jeans for a more Bohemian look

…………The April Group B had some sweet feminine things as well as some Linea signature tailored pieces………Starting at the top left is a chiffon and georgette double layer wide V-neck tank. I think this was one of Jac’s favorite pieces. The sketch shows the georgette tank tucked into white pants with just the chiffon floating on top of the pant giving it a very ethereal look. It was avail in black, white and green. The black and white still hang in Jac’s closet…..Typical of Jac….she didn’t take the green sample!….The next top and skirt went together or could easily be worn as separates, which is the way I think most wore them. The tiny FLORAL print was slightly blurred so some flowers stood out and some faded away giving the georgette an antique look. It came in YELLOW/BLACK and WHITE or GREEN/BLACK and WHITE….The top was a 32″ tunic in Crinkle georgette…like the Boho skirts. It had a shirt collar, that created a V neckline and it buttoned lower down. The sleeves were a longer 3/4 length and flared. The body of the blouse had  godets…two in the front and three in the back which created this incredible flowing movement. The entire tunic, godets and all were piped in black CDC…..Talk about ETHEREAL…this top had it in spades! It just moved so beautifully and fluttered in a breeze. The pull-on skirt, which ended up at a 26 ” length, had EIGHT GODETS all piped in black….even the bottom was piped in black. We could do this because the length of the skirt was pretty universal….The double layer georgette/chiffon tank looked great with this skirt, and the top looked great with leggings or slim ankle pants.. It took a taller very confident woman to wear the two pieces together, but for those who could it really looked incredible!…..The jacket at the upper right had a military/safari vibe. It was in a faux Linen type weave. It was a sort of a crop jacket like the original WINDOW PANE jacket. This little jacket had lots of details. Other than the obvious pockets with button flaps and roll up sleeves with tabs, and epaulets….The under collar, the underside of the epaulets the underside of the pocket flap, the roll up cuff and tab, and the front facing were ALL IN A CONTRAST COLOR being BLACK. The colors were OLIVE/BLACK and CADET BLUE/BLACK…….The suit below had some “dress maker” touches that removed it from being so tailored. It had a roll up sleeve and tab, and 2 patch pockets and button flaps It also had Princess seams which gave it a gentle shape that followed the lines of the body and side slits……but….it was the open PORTRAIT COLLAR that gave it its’ special feminine touch. It was a short jacket at 25 inches. The fabric was also special. It was a TENCIL/LINEN blend and was quite unusual. It looked and felt expensive. There was also a matching skirt……The colors were also special………PLUM…….GRAPE and BARK. They were all muted but the Grape and Bark were the darkest. They were unusual for this time of year but they reeked of “CITY CHIC”…….Next is the PEASANT DRESS that was in a “glazed” cotton/poly. It had a separate fabric FRAMED neckline approx 1  1/2 inches wide, and a button placket front also 1 1/2 inches. It had full raglan sleeves that were 3/4 length and were shirred into a double button cuff. It had slanted set in band pockets, and it had an optional self fabric belt. The dress looked great belted or unbelted for more of a chemise look……..The “Trench Jacket” to the far left was in  the same fabric as the peasant dress….a stretch satin cotton. It had many trench details plus a top pocket and slanted band pockets. It was fit to look good with or without the tie belt………The colors were AQUA a fabulous DEEP TAUPE we called STONE, and WHITE which in the polished cotton looked FABULOUS!

………………March 08 really said SPRING IS HERE……Starting at the bottom left a true Spring Blazer. It had all of the Linea hallmarks of a true blazer, but to change it up a little it had 3/4 sleeves with FRENCH CUFFS……and LARGE POKER CHIP BUTTONS in contrast colors…….so the ivory had Black and the Black blazer had Ivory buttons….To give the jacket some exaggeration the pocket flaps were larger than normal and the French cuffs were also larger……..,even the top stitching was 1/2 to 3/4 “…… The jacket had a wonderful shape due to the body seams, and it had a strong shoulder. The fabric was in a wonderful smooth stretch woven gaberdine. The pockets were in the seams…..The next blouse [at the bottom left], had a scoop neckline, but not very deep, and a 3/4 sleeve with a very narrow single button band cuff. The neckline, hem and side slits plus the cuff were bordered with narrow bands in black CDC…….The tiny “Art Nouveaux” design that you see in the lower picture that looks like small dots were actually baby black SEQUINS, all hand sewn….down the fronts and both sleeves…..The blouse had a nice little glimmer, but not so much that it only looked like an evening blouse. It and looked fun with black jeans and all kinds of pants and skirts like the georgette pleated skirt at the upper right or a summer Boho……The next jacket was in suede and came in red and navy….they were too chicken to order the yellow which was my favorite…….cleaning issues was the reason………The next A-line jacket was in silk Shantung. I think the sketch says it all…It had 3/4 sleeves and self fabric covered buttons…..The diagonal seaming on this jacket was very interesting. The pockets were in the seams…..it came in that beautiful pale SHELL PINK…..The blouse at the top left was in Silk Crepe De Chine and was in a charming two color tiny leaf pattern. It came in Ivory/Black, Red/Black [not shown] and Blue/Black….What made this peasant type blouse interesting and fresh was the corded self fabric over lapping scallops that were pre-made on a tape, and then sewn into the neckline and the bottom of the cuff. You can see a trial that was sent of the scallop in black CDC for approval. The actual scallop trim was done in the matching print…….The Tennis type v-neck cardigan with short sleeves had TONAL contrast trims. It was in the rayon/nylon blend [WK] and had DTM buttons….What was interesting about this little cardigan was the front was all fake. It looked like it opened and the buttons worked through button holes, but it was sewn closed where the bands attached to the body. There was no chance of gaping and this really wasn’t the type of cardigan to wear open. The colors were Pink/Deep Pink/, Ivory/Black and Blue/Deep Blue. It looked great over the poly CDC knife pleated skirt with the drop yoke. The skirt came in Ivory and Black and worked with everything. It would still be a great skirt today!

………………………..Ladies I just noticed that this cotton blend EYELET SKIRT is on SALE!!!!! It truly is a beauty. The eyelet fabric is exceptional and so much richer than anything else you will find. I was thrilled when I found this fabric…..and the colors……….WHITE…………….BLACK …………SAPPHIRE BLUE……………….how can you go wrong………..For my Southern ladies it’s a MUST HAVE, and for my Northern Ladies it is something you will wear every Spring and Summer…and the black and blue can be worn into the fall with a change of top like a Black WK and black boots…..QVC NEVER gave this skirt a proper showing….They put it on some late over night show that so many missed……Don’t let this beauty slip through your fingers….There are no more where this came from!!!! Don’t have regrets later……………………..much Love…………Louis