………..Another Anniversary! Eight Years!!!…….May 08 had a wonderful mix of individual pieces……..Starting at the top left was a 100% COTTON embroidered EYELET shirt. My sketch shows a short puff sleeve, but the sketch shows a longer 3/4 sleeve…….so I would guess the longer sleeve won out. It had a solid cotton collar, front button placket and cuff. According to the sketch the shirt had a V neckline that started buttoning part of the way down. I don’t remember if we kept that detail or made it a classic button front? The fabric was exceptional with lots of dimension from the emb….The colors were WHITE and BLACK. This was a wonderful Spring/Summer shirt…..The next 32 inch long, button front skirt had a back elastic. It was a SWING skirt…..great with summer sandals, wedges and espadrilles…..The fabric was a marvelous RAYON/NYLON blend and had a slight texture to it, but it was the iridescence of the nylon that made it new and fresh. Iridescent fabrics were a huge trend at the time, but I thought this was a timeless skirt and could be worn today, and look just as relevant and modern…The colors were ESPRESSO, INDIGO and CHINO. The next DRESS was also in an iridescent fabric….in a blend of poly/rayon/span. It was very light weight and very fluid. The rayon gave it a beautiful drape.. The colors were GRAPE, and PEWTER. The dress had a Safari look with the dropped yoke, short sleeve and breast pockets with flaps. It had a single tier at the bottom, and came with an optional self tie belt, but it had a wonderful easy look unbelted……..The two tops at the lower right were also in the iridescent Rayon/Nylon blend as the long skirt. They were both A-Line swing bodies, but not too much….just enough to keep them away from the body so they were nice and cool. The first sleeveless top had a cut in shoulder and an open neckline with a notched in V. There was a seam down the front which had a 1/2 inch top stitch detail. It had band pockets….It came in TURQUOISE, CHINO and ESPRESSO……The second sleeveless tunic had a fabulous COWL NECK. The sketch says it had band pockets, but they were erased so they may have been eliminated because the top came in WHITE, INDIGO and BRITE BLUE…….These were two of Jac’s favorite summer tops, and she always took them on trips. She wore them with leggings, and sandals, and some times with a very short cotton pencil skirt.. They were perfect for dinners in the Caribbean. The next shirt was Classic Louis…..It was in a cotton stretch shirting….It had an authentic trench coat collar and trench flap. It had body darts and a curved bottom. The sleeves were 3/4 length and had French cuffs. It even had epaulets! This was the kind of shirt you could wear with everything!……The next two pieces to the left were very ethereal…..The shirt and skirt were in poly chiffon and the very narrow banding was in poly charmeuse. These two pieces I would have to put in the headache category! Sewing those 3/8ths inch bands all over the constantly shifting georgette had to be sewn by very exacting patient workers. The shirt was on the short side. It had a small shirt collar and stand….a button front with a curved bottom. It had a yoke front and back and body seams front and back. The sleeve had some shirring in the cap to give it a vintage look……and it was banded ALL OVER as you can see in the sketch…….The georgette skirt had the same banding. It was a 33 inch long 8 gored pull-on skirt. Both pieces came in Black on Black and Off White with Black.
It took me a while to remember the skirts I wore just like this one. In the sketch it looks unassuming, but on the body it’s a knockout. This is the FOUR GORE skirt and I had many like this with beautiful
buttons down the front in wool gaberdine and wool twill in fall shades of gold and British tan, wine, black and brown. Some had zippers in the back in order to get into the skirt, with pleats in the front that were stitched down on each side.
But I also had a few that were silk charmeuse and cut on the bias and that when this skirt shines. You wrote
on the sketch that this was to be on the straight grain
which shows you know there’s another option. And then, just because this is a 4-gore skirt doesn’t mean it can’t mimick a circle skirt! It depends on how FULL the gores are. Louis you must have seen lots of designs like this in CHIFFONS when you worked for Norman Norell (sp?). I just can only imagine, the draped wonders turned out by Mdm. Vionet I just don’t know of a more elegant skirt style than this.
OMG, Louis, I forgot to tell you that the summer skirt
I wore was just like this however, instead of the button
being center front, it reached over to the side and that’s
why it was called a wrap skirt. You didn’t want to wear it on a windy day but if you did, there was a BODYSUIT
UNDER IT ALL !!! I’m sure, this is where DVF’s famous
Wrap dress came from. Because you could get a perfect fit just by moving the button! Or tightening the belt.
Louis, such a joy to look at your past collections for QVC. The work that went into each collection is so evident. I have glad feelings for pieces that I purchased and still have and wear, regrets for pieces that I let go, and recriminations for pieces I never purchased! Your volume of BEAUTIFUL work is astounding. Thank you for your 20 years!!! (QVC clothing will never be the same)
Louis, Have been enjoying your posts of your wonderful collections – they are all so beautiful – your designs are timeless.
Seka.