Sneak Peek #4 is my Monday morning treat! This is the year of the MAXI dress, or better, the YEAR OF THE DRESS, and I have a few coming this season. There will be dresses in all lengths, shapes, solids and prints…..from a faux shantung SAFARI DRESS, gorgeous…… a georgette short CAFTAN dress, easy and breezy……..a maxi cotton/span jersey, A-Line, tank dress [also a matching shrug will be avail in the WK], and a wonderful poly/span, [same fabric as all of my t-shirts], ethnic border print maxi.
The above dress in the photos is my first dress offering of the season and will be on my March 31st show, Sat. morning with Leah Williams. The style number is A222262. First the fabric…..it is 95% poly and 5% span………Okay, I can hear some of you MOANING now. If I have said it once….I have said it 1000 times, this is not the polyester of the 60s and leisure suits!!!! Polyester has come a long long way. When I first saw this fabric I thought it was a VERY FINE blend of linen and rayon. It is super LIGHT WEIGHT and has a very slight variegation to the knit which led me to believe there was linen in it. It is truly a brand new beautiful fabric and very unique………you will not be HOT in this dress! The print is my homage to “The Descendants”……..it certainly has an Hawaiian flare to it…….certainly ethnic. Each coloration starts with a very light natural background…….almost tea dipped and then quickly washed in cold water ….leaving behind a trace of color. The colors are NATURAL/BLACK, NATURAL/ORCHID and NATURAL/CHARTREUSE…….they are all wonderful. The dress has an elastic at the neckline so it can be worn many different ways…..of the shoulder, off one shoulder or on the shoulders creating a , not too low, scoop neckline…..appropriate for summer weather. There is a seam under the bust….it is lower than an empire seam, but it is definitely above the waist which gives the skirt a LONGER LEANER look. Above the seam there is a little shirring to give a better fit for the bust. Below the seam [as you can see in the chartreuse picture to the extreme left], there is a section of flat pleats which gives the skirt VOLUME with out bulk! ……LADIES there are POCKETS!!!!!in the seams. I love this fabric because it has a wonderful DRAPE and FLOW and I am sure you will agree with me on that……this IS a matter of trust. As you can see from the photos I had a fun time with accessories. DO NOT BE AFRAID OF COLOR!!!! That is what makes you YOU and gives you your individual style. The dress is fabulous just worn loosely, but it also looks great belted, again giving YOU your own style. This is the perfect travel dress….roll it, pack it and go….wash and wear. It is perfect for any occasion…or no occasion at all. Get ready to own pure comfort………………………………………..much Love, Louis
Dear Louis,
No photos needed yet, but might we know if any of the upcoming mentioned WK shrugs will coordinate with this beautiful dress?
Thanks,
Cathy in PA
The only color that will match the dresses is black. The other colors will contrast and would have to be pulled together with accessories. For instance the chartreuse dress would work with the “reef green” shrug, which is a kind of deep turq/teal….so you would have to wear accessories to pull the two colors together…….
Louis,
Thanks; I also saw your other response to a similar question; it’s so wonderful that you help us; I’m especially BAD at that “tonal mixing” thing … So, I’m thinking the Chartreuse dress (it’s my favorite!), the “reef green” shrug, and a lot of … maybe ALL … my Carico Lake turquoise jewelry, which has all the shades of teals, blues, greens and browns to pull it all together! That Carico Lake turquoise is absolutely perfect with my new Olive Butterfly Wing Cardigan too; it’s like the 2 were made for each other.
Thanks again, Cathy in PA
Sounds perfect to me!
I’m with Cathy on the mixing of colors…I have always done the monochromatic thing in years past. I was thinking the same… chartruse dress, reef green shrug and turq jewelry. Black, of course, being the fail safe choice. Thanks Louis for giving us the confidence in our choices and helping us step out of our comfort zones.
Dear Sherry……it takes courage to wear colors that really don’t coordinate in the normal sense, but it can become very liberating and fun. When you can bring other elements, like jewelry, scarves or even different color sunglasses….dressing will be a lot more fun….Louis
CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE !!!!!!!!!
Dear Louis,
If one is a small in tops and a medium in bottoms, which size would you recommend for this dress?
I would recommend the small. You want to make sure the top fits properly. The bottom has enough fullness to accommodate a medium.
Thank you for the quick reply.
Oooooo! Gimme! And throw in that black belt along with the beads. So sharp! I appreciate the details you bring to your designs and styling. I agree with Cathy in PA, I love the flat pleats, front and back.
I have to have it. Love the green and black!
This is so lovely, but how will it look on a large size – 16? I’m worried I’ll look like a giant flower, LOL. Looks so pretty…I hope we have Maria model this. Just beautiful. I have nothing like this and I’d like to try it as an alternative to capris in the Summer. Pretty hot and humid in Chicago.
Since this is scheduled for Sat. morning with Leah Williams….Maria isn’t booked for that show……I don’t think you would look like a giant flower since it is some what of an abstract print and only 2 colors. It is more about your own comfort level. You could get tons of compliments wearing it, but if you’re not comfortable in it, the compliments won’t matter….so will you be comfortable wearing a print is more the question……..regards, Louis
Well I have thought about it, I think I will go outside my solid colors and get this beautiful dress. I looked at the fitting and I feel good about it.:) thank you.:)
I’m in for the black one!!!! Beautiful! By the way, Louis, I just received the chambray blue boho skirt!!!! It’s the prettiest blue I’ve ever seen!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
I will definitely be getting the black!
Stunning!
I love the way this dress looks. I am really looking forward to the summer now!
LOUIS are any of your new dresses have sleeves? My arms need to be covered and I love dresses for spring and summer.
Dear Sharon,
I do have two dresses with sleeves…..the safari dress and the caftan dress….both are short. I do have a little crop elbow length sweater shrug that will work over the cotton jersey tank dress as well as any sleeveless top ….like a tank…..to give your wardrobe more flexibility.
It’s the maxi of my dreams! I wish it was coming a little earlier. I’m leaving for Kauai on April 7–since I still don’t have the items I ordered from Feb. 24, you see my dilemma. We’re going to the exact place The Descendants was filmed on Kauai. Might have to spring for the express shipping. Orchid and black for me!
crdlb
Needless to say these dresses would be perfect for Kauai……I can’t believe you haven’t received items you ordered on the 24th……that really is terrible.
I’m hoping for them to come today. Can’t wait to try out my woodblock print tops! In the meantime, the sneak peeks are giving me my much needed Linea fix!
Haven’t seen a peek that I did not like.
What an exciting design! I love everything about it. I’m not too sure how it will work with my particular body type, but I’ll give it a try.
Question, please…I know that hemming is in my future. Where should a maxi dress hit? I’ll be wearing a 1 1/2 in heel or shorter. Thanks for your time.
p.s. this will be my first maxi dress…yippee!!!
Dear Sherry. if you were wearing a pancake flat sandal the dress should hit the top of your foot, but not hit the floor….so….as long as you are comfortable with…………….Louis
Thanks so much.
Gorgeous .. just exactly what I have been looking for will be taking you (all of your fashions!!) on vacation with me .. I am sure we will have a fabulous time..going to Hawaii late in April !!!
PS Louis where can I get those fabulous necklaces you show with this dress? I have looked and can’t find anything similar
🙂 thx
Louis, you had me at POCKETS!
Love the “non-floral” floral print. This dress looks effortless, breezy and so wearable. Anxious to see the short caftan dress, too!
LOVE your sneak peeks-they’re the best!
Dear Louis,
What a beautiful dress; the colors are luscious! I triple clicked the photo and started studying those details … you can see the texture of the fabric on the green dress lower left, and NOBODY does that flat pleating; so so so very flattering! Hemming is easy, but I’ll have to wait for the “click here” measurements to see where the waist seam will come for me, sigh, but I do have 2 questions meanwhile …:
What is the back detail? Is it a straight seam, a curve, or are there matching flat pleats in back for a bit of ease?
Is there a plus sized sample hidden somewhere I can take for a test swirl around the Philadelphia Flower Show this weekend; the theme is “Islands of Aloha Hawaii” LOL ?!? Just teasing of course, but I can say I watched the black tie preview party last night on our local TV, and this dress looks better than the gowns those ladies were wearing … Can’t wait to see Jac in this; tell her to step out front this time, NO MATTER what the little marks on the floor say :))))
THANKS! Cathy in PA
Dear Cathy….the back is exactly like the front with a horizontal seam and a center section of flat pleats so the entire dress has a lovely flow when you walk and is not constricting in any way. I will send Jac your message. Since there are only three colors in the dress….there won’t be as many models out there to confuse the producers.
Oh, Louis, I was so hoping you’d say that; those flat pleats are divine, and flattering on everyone; a favorite of mine and hard to find! Now I have to pray the location of the waist seam works for me …
If counting to 4 is “confusing” to producers, perhaps they should go back to school … and take that particular camera person along with them. With hour shows in March though, all will be well. Thanks for the answers!
Cathy in PA
P.S. The preview of the “Islands of Aloha” Philadelphia Flower Show was astounding; tropical prints and orchids like this everywhere; if you and Jac are looking for a treat, it promises to be one of the best shows in years.
WOW, these are wonderful. You’re right, of course, who needs a high/low skirt when you can look like this. Thank you for bringing your designs to us and for this blog, so that we may talk to you in a one-on-one manner. Now which color..which color?
Perfection!
Wow! All I need to say. Love the green!
Louis, these maxi dresses are soooo pretty…the print, the fabric and the colors…and my necklaces from JCarcanagues will work perfectly…what I love is your designs are your ideas…not a replica from Jac’s closet!
Wow!! I log onto the computer and see this fabulous dress!! The print looks similar to the woodblock print. One question: What is the length of this dress? Will us vertically challenged Lineaputians have to shorten it a bit? Thanks for your quick responses.
Have a great week!
Regards,
Chris
Not sure of the exact length but it is long enough for my dear “Lineaputians” to have to shorten it…..but it’s an easy one and well worth it.