Designer

I may not be bringing you COLORFUL EASTER EGGS on this Easter Sunday, but what I am bringing you is a very colorful IKAT PRINT TOP and SKIRT. As you all know I am a great admirer of all cultures and the artisan work each culture brings to enrich our lives. IKATS, which were originally woven patterns, have through the ages been interpreted in many ways and for many uses…..home furnishings and apparel are two of the most popular. Anything with an ethnic origin is timeless, and as far as I’m concerned, is always in style! …..The print I bring you today was designed by me……. It is a combination of authentic  patterns that I worked into one. Then came the fun of choosing and combining  the colors to make a rich tapestry.

A233188, is THE IKAT TOP. It is approx. 26 inches long for the XS, and has a PIPED BALLET NECKLINE. The sleeves are 3/4 length to show off lots of bangle bracelets. There are side slits too. The fabric is my FAUX CREPE DE CHINE. It is the same fabric as A231146, the DIGITAL PRINT TUNIC. The cloth feels just like a real silk crepe de Chine……it is LIGHT AS A FEATHER. The top has a relaxed fit, but because there is no stretch to this fabric I would suggest ordering your normal size…..do not size down, or it may be small across the back and shoulders. Do not size up or it will be to big and boxy. Remember, it is a light flowing top and should be easy and relaxed…………….it is not meant to be shaped!!!……it is similar to the PEBBLE CREPE TUNIC that everyone loves. If you wish….you can easily belt it with a novelty or classic belt at the waist or hip to give it a bohemian flare.

You MUST PAY ATTENTION to the names that were given to the different color combinations, of which there are three. It can become confusing, I know I was.  The combination above is called……….”BLUE”……. I remember it by all of the…. AQUA…. in the print. The colors in the print are….Berry Red…..Juniper Green…..Nectarine……..Lime…….Tobacco……. Sand….Bright Blue…….and the Aqua.

THE IKAT PRINT SKIRT is A233189. It is approx. 32 1/2 inches long. The volume in the skirt is controlled, so it isn’t too big….. nor is it skimpy. It is a pull-on skirt with a full elastic back. The front has a flat, stitched down, box pleated  wide panel with a stitched down pleat on either side. This enables me to give the desired amount of fullness at the bottom, while keeping the top flat……..There are also elastic gores on each side on the front of the waist band. ………..This skirt has POCKETS!!!!!!…………..be sure to look for them because they are in the side seams. The skirt is fully LINED in a very light weight GEORGETTE……..it adds very little weight, but gives you a little added protection.

As you can see from the photo above, the skirt works beautifully with the Whisper Knit, AQUA short sleeve, scoop neck , A233952, and looks wonderful with the classic cardigan, A233940, in LIME tied around the neck for that added splash of color. Nectarine and Tobacco work equally as well…..the Nectarine V-neck sleeveless tank with the Tobacco Shrug will look fabulous together…..Many of you also own CLARET from a few years ago, which also works beautifully with this print……………….With the top I have paired A233191, my NEW FEATHER JERSEY DRAPED PANT, in BERRY. This is the first piece of my “FEATHER JERSEY” group. It will be avail later this month. You will find lots of things in your closet to wear with this top….one is the Faux Herringbone pant in the STONE color, A226258, which is an unexpected combination …..but a marvelous one!

You will also have great fun accessorizing these pieces……………J278127, the two color bead earring [in the photo to the upper left], and J270116, the multi color drop earring [photo in the upper right], are just two  suggestions of earrings that work PERFECTLY with these prints. The J278125 and the J271862, are two necklaces that coordinated with the prints without looking MATCHY!……….just CREATIVE!……………………………..

……………….scroll down for more photos of more color combinations!!………..enjoy……..much Love……………..Louis

April Sneak Peek #4 & # 5, again, is the IKAT PRINT TOP, A233188 and SKIRT, A233189 in the ………..PINK COMBINATION. The details of these pieces are given in the #4 & #5 sneak peek. The colors in this new “Pink” combination are………..RASPBERRY………ORANGE……….WALNUT……………TOBACCO……..ROYAL BLUE……IVORY…..HOT PINK…….and…..LAVENDER……. I have paired the top with two WALNUT BOTTOMS….. The first being the same DRAPED  FEATHER JERSEY KNIT PANT, A233191, as the Berry pant in Sneak Peek 4 & 5………..and my new CAPRI, COTTON/SPAN LEGGING A233186, which will be avail in white and black also. This will be featured on the April 3rd show………BUT……as a SHOW & MENTION ONLY…..this means it will not get ant selling time….just a brief mention…..I will have it on the models for you to see…..SO BE ON THE LOOK OUT!!! The skirt is paired with the HOT PINK SLEEVELESS MOCK NECK, A233947, and the classic HOT PINK CARDIGAN, A233940…….the ESPRESSO CRINKLE GEORGETTE SAFARI SHIRT also looks great with this skirt. For those of you who can, and I realize that not all of you can….wear the top and skirt together as a two piece dress…..it works best with the top worn out and belted……what a fabulous way to look in CABOS!!!!…………………The picture in the lower left shows the front construction of the skirt….with the panel and stitched down pleats……………Wrapped around her neck are two of the J278125, necklaces in the brass color combination…..I think they are great together.

Scroll down for the third and final color combination!………………….enjoy……..much Love……………..Louis

April Sneak Peek #4 & # 5,  is the IKAT PRINT TOP, A233188, and the IKAT PRINT SKIRT, A233189, in the third color combination…………….PURPLE……….. Why purple….I’m not sure..,..the predominate color is OLIVE….so if you want the OLIVE combo…order PURPLE…..I told you it was a little confusing!!! Out of the three combinations, the  PURPLE ,[Olive], has the earthiest colors. I would not say it is muted, but a bit more neutral. The colors are……….OLIVE……PURPLE…………….CHARTREUSE……………PEACOCK GREEN………..KHAKI……….PUMPKIN ………WALNUT ….&……LIGHT BEIGE……….In the photos above, I have the skirt paired with the PALE OLIVE FLECKED SHELL, A224278, and over the shell…….either the PALE OLIVE FAUX HERRINGBONE BLAZER, A226258 or the A214117 ESPRESSO SAFARI SHIRT……two totally different attitudes and looks. Another totally different way to wear the skirt is with the TOBACCO TANK, A232345, and the TOBACCO SHRUG, A232520,……. and again, the matching print top……..for a two piece dress look…………With the top I have the new FEATHER JERSEY DRAPED  PANT in the Olive ……the WALNUT WORKS TOO. Naturally, the PALE OLIVE HERRINGBONE pant, A226258, works also. The vintage LINEA TOBACCO COTTON SATEEN crop pant, A199262, also looks great with this top…..NEVER give those away….they always seem to work back with something new!……………..The J278125 bead and hammered ring necklace and companion earring, J278127 look great combined with the J271862 necklaces. They are listed as BLACK?????there is no black whatsoever in the necklace, and Bronze they are both perfection with this color IKAT print………..The new AMBER and OLIVE necklaces and earrings shown with the Tobacco sweater set and the Pale Olive blazer and shell will also be avail on the 3rd of April…….OLO [On Line Only]. I will have separate sneak peeks on the 4 pieces that will be avail.

I sincerely hope you like my new IKAT PRINTS…….they were a joy to work on, and I am very pleased with the final result……………….enjoy…………….much Love………………….Louis

April Sneak Peek #3, as you can see…….. is my new ENAMELED LINK WATCH, J277885……. Many years ago, on one of my numerous business trips to Florence, Italy, I was walking to work and passed a Gucci store……this was in the late 70s early 80s. My eye was immediately attracted to these fabulous ENAMELED LINK WATCHES. I thought they were wonderful. That memory was stored away in one of the little boxes in my brain, and it has taken all of these years for me to do MY VERSION of that beautiful watch…..I hope you agree!, The CASE of the watch is approx. 1 inch wide and the ENAMELED LINKS are a little shy of 3/4 of an inch in width. You can take a ruler to you picture to get an more accurate feeling of the size. It’s not BIG, but it’s BEAUTIFUL. The perfect watch to wear with my gold chain bracelet that is still avail…..and by the way if anything should happen to the plating of that chain bracelet, my manufacturer will re-plate it!…………..Gold or Silver bangles are also a good mix with this watch. The colors are…………………..WHITE/GOLD…………..BLUE/SILVER ……………….CORAL/GOLD………………..

The blue enamel is actually my LIMOGES BLUE, and the CORAL, as you can see, is my NECTARINE. The watch is adjustable with removable links. I know you will attract many eyes to your watch….the same way I was attracted to that Gucci watch …..many years ago……………………..enjoy…………much Love………………Louis

April Sneak Peek #1 is the PONTE KNIT BLAZER, A233182. In a world of jackets why this one? As you know, out of every type and kind of garment, JACKETS are my first love…..so I am always thinking of ways to come up with something new, something you may not already have in your closet. Jac and I love wearing any kind of sweat shirt or sweat jacket in our leisure time………..it’s totally about comfort! ……..This jacket is a HYBRID……….I have married a sweat shirt with  a blazer and VIOLA. What does this actually mean?…… First, this jacket is TOTALLY UNLINED and TOTALLY UN-CONSTRUCTED , as a sweat shirt would be for a RELAXED, SLOUCHY, CASUAL look and FEEL. There are also patch pockets with  bands set in, similar to the  Kangaroo pockets you would find on a sweat shirt……. To give it the look of a blazer it has a notch collar and lapel. The jacket is approx. 26 inches long in the front, and shorter in the back to give it a slouchier look. The sleeves are 3/4 length to keep it nice and cool and there are snap out shoulder pads….if you want them. This is like putting on your favorite, most comfortable cardigan. I have kept the tailoring to an absolute minimum. This IS THE JACKET you will wear with your jeans and a T shirt……it’s a no fuss garment and you will hardly know you have anything on. The fabric is the same Ponte Knit as my TSV jacket with the peplum. The colors for this jacket are…………BLACK……LIMOGES BLUE ……..NECTARINE………….WHITE……………The nectarine is NOT a MATCH to the nectarine WK. In the photos above the nectarine cardigan looks very close in color to the jacket, but they are different. I wouldn’t want you to wear nectarine from head to toe anyway. It’s best broken up with white and navy [as photo above], and of course JEANS. What is wonderful about this jacket is…it is very casual, but you can also wear it to the office , lunch, or dinner with just a change of bottoms and accessories.

A233183, is the Ponte knit drawstring skirt. It also comes in the same colors………….BLACK………….LIMOGES BLUE……….NECTARINE……..WHITE…………White is the only color that is LINED. The skirt is approx. 22 1/2 inches long to 23 1/2 inches…..depending where you wear it on your body. The flexibility of the drawstring allows you to wear it a little more relaxed and further down on the waist or high hip…. if you want it to be  a little longer. There are two gold grommets where the drawstring comes out of the waist band………… This skirt has great pockets! …………….The skirt looks perfect with the “SWEAT BLAZER” or equally great on its’ own with  one of the new Whisper Knit sweater sets…………………… It really is all about comfort and fun………………………….scroll down for more pics!………………………enjoy…………….much Love…………….Louis