From Louis

……………Trimmings  were always an important aspect of every garment…..The quality of the trims whether they were buttons, buckles or different “findings” that I used on an article of clothing always had to be of very good quality….Sometimes it made all the difference in the total look of the garments…..These rhinestone covered rings were custom made for me by my jewelry licensee. The ring was slightly curved to conform to the body….The underside was smooth while the top was slightly bombe so they looked a little puffed….The top was completely paved in small rhinestones…The fabric I planned for was a weighty viscose crepe from Italy for most of the pieces…..From left to right…..A long sleeve open front tunic with the jeweled rings strategically placed. The tunic is worn over matching slim hip hugger cigarette pants….They were to have side invisible zippers…..Next is the jewel neck tunic with the open sides, again with the two jeweled rings strategically placed, and again worn with the cigarette pant….The dress has a fitted bandeau top, and shoulder straps attached to the dress with the two jeweled rings…..The pleated skirt of the dress was in a lighter weight viscose fabric……The jacket wrapped and at the waist where two jeweled rings held the wrap around belt…..The last piece at the left bottom was actually a two piece dress. The A-Line dress had a wide V neck line and a cap sleeve……The back had a v-neckline but opened revealing the separate skirt below. It was held together with two strategically place jeweled rings………I planned to also do these in color with matching jeweled rings.

…………………..The CELESTIAL GROUP is now COMPLETE……In the right column you have the Celestial earring with the Diamonique Stones, in Sterling Silver, and Sterling with 18 Karat Gold Plate…….J435494………Below the earring is the Celestial Ring in the two metal colors with the Diamonique stones avail. in all sizes…..J249081…….The ring without the stones is missing from the site for some unknown reason, but should be back soon!……To the far left is the Celestial Cuff in Sterling Silver only, and avail in just two sizes, the average and large. The small has sold out….J422016…..In the center is the BRAND NEW, and just posted……….CELESTIAL CUFF with the DIAMONIQUE STONES. It’s avail in the Sterling Silver , and the Sterling with the 18 Karat Gold Plate…..all with clear Diamonique stones…….It is avail, for now, in the three sizes…..Small……Average……Large…….J435488……….They all look FANTASIC stacked together, two or even three….with the stones and without….I love the mixed colors too!

…………………..As the weather heats up……SHEER clothing becomes more and more relevant…….The degree of sheerness someone is will or able to wear is up to the individual……Here are some sketches of sheer clothing from SUPER SHEER to just a hint of sheer.

………………I always loved to combine opaque fabrics with sheer fabrics……I created these types of clothes for all the companies I worked for including Anne Klein and QVC……From left to right……The long shirt jacket/dress had cotton poplin trims on cotton organza….She is wearing a pair of brief shorts under it…..The shirt next to it had the cotton poplin shirt collar, placket front, shirt cuffs, and two patch breast pockets strategically placed. This is worn trucked into a cotton Capri pant……Next to this is the same shirt….this time tucked into a circle skirt in cotton poplin with a wide cotton organza border………The next sketch, center top, is a shirt jacket with a cotton poplin or cotton twill top, with a cotton organza shirt tail bottom…….below that a stand collar shirt jacket with a cotton poplin top, and an organza bottom, and loose sleeves. There is a poplin draw string at the high hip and it has a shirt tail bottom……………All of these pieces which were sketched for a resort show in the late 80s……They could all be worn today.

……………….I was recently part of a panel discussion at the Fashion Institute of Technology…………One of the three of us on the panel was STEVEN STIPELMAN, an American FASHION ILLUSTRATOR…..I have known Steven for over 40 years, and was always in awe of his work…..This is just a tiny sampling…………….I’m sure you would agree………….He’s quite fantastic!