……………..From romantic March to North African April. I always tried to make each month’s new offerings totally different….. April 07 was all about ETHNIC and ARTISAN style. This was fun to create, but very very challenging to make! Almost every piece was complicated! Starting with the LINEN/RAYON jacket and pant on the top row. I called this the “DJELLABA” jacket. Djellabas are long loose fitting unisex garments mostly worn in North Africa……..They could be very simple or very elaborate, and some had hoods. This is my take on a djellaba made into a jacket. ALL of the black bands have seams under them and then the bands were sewn on top to cover the seams….There were many pieces, front and back, to this garment and a LOT OF SEWING to make this garment. First all of the seams needed to be sewn together…then linen banding had to be made and applied to the jacket PRECISELY!!! You can see from the sketch all of the work that had to be done! Elaine was wringing her hands!!! She was constantly telling me we weren’t making “designer” clothes…but those were the only clothes I knew how to design! I pushed her to the limit, but she never broke. I knew she loved a challenge from the simple clothes she was making for others.The entire jacket was lined in a DTM very light weight cotton lawn to keep it as light as possible….The buttons were real Abalone shell DTM and used on the wrong side. The colors were NATURAL with BLACK, MOCHA with BLACK and SPICE with BLACK….all inspired by the colors of Morocco… LINEN, COTTON LAWN, and REAL SHELL BUTTONS plus all of the LABOR added up to one heck of a DESIGNER JACKET. I doubt any of the women who bought this really knew what they were getting, and all of the work that went into it…..I’m sure Elaine was happy when they were finally made and shipped. I’m also sure she was very proud of the final result. Maybe now you can understand a little better why I could not go on designing without my partner….A designer could be a “great designer”, but without the support of people like Elaine they are nothing……The pant was in the same linen blend and had an easy wider leg. Since it was in the linen and only had natural stretch we kept the trouser leg easy. It had a zip front, elastic at the sides of the waist band and pockets……The next LINEN /RAYON skirt was Elaine’s second big challenge!. It was inspired by the photo of Jac’s shoe below. It was an 8 panel Linen/Rayon A-line skirt. It had a side zipper and elastic on the sides of the waist band. Actually, this was more of a challenge for me than Elaine!…..I had to design the emb.. It was a combination of appliqued pieces, thread work and hand sewn sequins and beads. It was avail in WHEAT /BLACK/MULTI and SPICE/BLACK/MULTI….The large black sections were black cotton that were cut into these specific shapes and sewn onto each panel [the panels were made separately and then sewn together]. The linen/rayon with the cotton had a very ethnic authentic look. The nomads would often sew odd pieces of different cloth together in different patterns. It was frugal as well as beautifully artistic. Of course the more the creative the individual woman was the more beautiful the final result. Nomads made clothes as well as cushions and ottomans like this.. On top of the black cotton thread work and beading was added. I recently found this skirt in my warehouse, and it is even more beautiful than I remembered. There are separate photos of it to follow.. When I handed the art work into Rowena…she looked at it and looked at me, and had a look on her face that said “I’ll show it to Elaine and then run!”…She said “OK I’ll show it to Elaine”. Elaine called me crazy but sent it over to China anyway. They did a great job of reproducing my emb!!!..and we could afford it… “if you don’t ask, you don’t get!!!”……The “glory days”….. The tank in silk/nylon brought Elaine a sigh of relief!! One easy garment to make. It was avail in the WHEAT, POMEGRANATE and BLACK…..Next was the MIDI SKIRT in SILK CREPE de CHINE. It was approx. 27 inches long, a pull-on elastic waist with inseam pockets…. Now you would guess the stripes were printed…..you would be wrong. Each stripe was a separate piece sewn together! I LOVED these skirts they were so billowy and ethnic looking. All you needed was a simple tank and some fabulous jewelry! They were unlined and moved beautifully…..skirts to dance in……The little jacket next to the skirt was another relatively easy garment for Elaine to produce….however these simple little thing could give the biggest headaches! They had to be made perfectly because every little flaw screamed out! The jacket was in a beautiful silky blend of LINEN and RAYON. I used this fabric often. The jacket was short, unlined…had a flat shirt collar [no stand], side slits and 3/4 sleeves. It had one loop and button just under the collar. It came in three colors, BLACK, CURRY and COFFEE. These colors were all in the striped skirts, and the tanks coordinated with the two pieces…..It was a matter of mixing colors to create interesting looks……The next sweater was my nightmare not Elaine’s! It was a Moroccan inspired sweater in cotton/acrylic. It took me for ever to work out the design of the CHAIN STITCH and BEAD EMB. It was on the front…it was on the back and it was on the sleeves! It came in WHEAT, SPICE and MOCHA. It had a slight scoop neckline with a split, 3/4 sleeves and side slits. I very recently saw this sweater in spice on ebay and it looked like it was in beautiful condition. They had some beautiful pictures of the emb.. The only reason I can think of for selling it is they are just plain tired of wearing it after all these years, but what’s old for one person is BRAND NEW for someone else….and it was dirt cheap! It’s the type of sweater you would find in the Sundance catalog, or the Peruvian Catalog or even Soft Surroundings and maybe Johnny Was…….Catalogs that offer unusual pieces.
I LOVED this collection. I really had to restrain myself because I wanted both of those skirts, the cropped jacket, AND the sweater, but with 3 kids in college at the same time, there was no WAY I could justify THAT to the guy making the commute into DC every day from Annapolis, so I had to be very choosy and picked that wonderful silk skirt in the black multi, the curry jacket, and the spice sweater. I still have every piece, although I kind of wish that skirt had an elastic waist 14 yrs later. THEY look exactly the same, but that’s more than I can say with a straight face than I do.
Whoops. Not intentionally anonymous, lol.
What a fabulous skirt to wear to a Moroccan restaurant and kick back and enjoy all the cultural vibes !!!
Every grouping is absolutely stunning! I love looking at them! I used to sew my own clothes and also did embroidery. My mother felt it was essential for me to know how to do those things because that was what she and previous generations had done. Back then, it was more affordable to make clothes than to buy them. I very much appreciate that she taught me! I suspect that background may give me more insight (and appreciation) for what was required to make these gorgeous garments than if I had never had that experience. Too bad I was not tuned in during your earlier years at QVC! Thank you for your postings!
WOW !!! What a collection !
I agree, such a great designer collection and so enjoy these collections from the past and your stories and memories about their creation and everything involved, Louis. You make it so easy to visualize the pieces—and appreciate them. I have to admit, right now I am so longing for spring and things to become open, more and more people to be vaccinated and to be wearing the lovely Linea pieces hanging in my closet—how good that will be and how wonderful it will feel.
My thoughts and prayers go out to anyone in Texas affected by the historic winter storm there. They have suffered through some brutal conditions this week and it’s not over for them yet. It is so sad talking to people there and hear what has happened and what the conditions are there.
Oh, Louis!!!!!!! I love all the back stories involved with this collection. I keep going back to the jacket and looking to see what was involved in it’s final creation because of your description. It amazes me and makes me appreciate it even more. Most people only see the finished product and have no idea of how a design is brought to life. What a fantastic team you and Elaine were!
I am so enjoying your postings of collections previous to my time at QVC…………I missed so much! Cat