From Louis

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…………………Summer suits always start with a JACKET……from there the coordinating suit pieces can be almost anything……..Starting from left to right…..The 3/4 sleeve length, double breasted OPEN PORTRAIT COLLAR jacket over cigarette pants……..The two button black carved jacket with 3/4 length sleeves, a white contrast collar, lapel buttons and besom pockets worn with a white seamed pencil skirt………”The Dress and Jacket”…a fitted dress with an empire seam, white top with an open neckline and a black fitted bottom. It is drawn with a white cropped two button bolero jacket………….At the bottom right a stream line double breasted minimal jacket with bound button holes and welt seaming………Here are four very different summer suits that will always look modern and fresh and contemporary.

………………One of the most influential and inspiring actresses, for me, has always been Marlene Dietrich…………Nothing beats a beautifully tailored LINEN WHITE SUIT in the Spring. A STRONG SHOULDER and a carved waistline paired with languid trousers is IT!!….One of the linens I used was a blend with rayon which kept the linen softer and not ridged, which also helped with wrinkles….The small collar and peaked lapel with the flap pockets and slanted band breast pocket were all taken from a man’s blazer…Working buttons on the sleeve were a luxury detail. The fully lined blazer in a cotton batiste came with half lined pants to keep them cool, and flowy……The fine cotton pinstripe shirt had all of the menswear details including collar stays. The silk tie had a striped polka dot design…….The halter silk georgette polka dot top had a bra top and draped from the center front…..The puffed short puffed sleeve georgette blouse had a three streamer tie. The three streamers were long enough to tie in a generous bow…..The sweater vest over the blouse was at the high hip length, and had contrast banding….The georgette pleated skirt also had a black band at the bottom………….Travis Banton, one of the most famous Hollywood costume designers of the Golden Age of Hollywood, had a long collaboration with Dietrich and did most of her costumes.

………………………..Is there really a better combination than BLACK & WHITE?…..and if you add a color my choice will always be RED!……..Starting with the center sketch…….The RED stretch cotton crepe three button shaped jacket with a WING COLLAR and a cutaway bottom with flap pockets worn with a WING COLLAR stretch cotton fitted shirt. The pant is a black stretch cotton crepe slim pant……Next is a WING COLLAR cotton crepe zip front, halter jumpsuit. The princess seams go all the way down the legs, front and back for a perfect fit…….Next a short red stretch cotton crepe deep V-neck, halter dress with three seams front and back for a great fit. Over the dress is a white open front cardigan…….The three sketches at the right show….a black and white stripe short sleeve knit top without any armhole. On the bottom a bold red and black striped cotton/elastane  pull-on short skirt…..In the center a mitered V-neck, cap sleeve knit top with a stretch cotton crepe pant……..and to the extreme right….a one button stretch cotton crepe blazer with black banding worn over a bold stripe cotton/elastane tank, and a cotton stretch crepe tulip skirt…………..Remember, these croquis were done well over 30 years ago, but still look modern, relevant, and wearable today.

………………….WHITE CLOTHES are some of the most difficult to design and to manufacture……When a sample room or factory is making white clothes the rooms, and the machines have to be spotless. A little dirt or oil from a sewing machine can ruin a garment….When I was designing for QVC there were factories in China that REFUSED to make white clothes, because it was too much trouble. Those that did charged more $$$$$…..The selection of the right fabric for each design was also a challenge…..See through of certain garments was always a problem to manufacture, but many times a lining solved the problem….However, for unlined garments like the cotton poplin wrap trench jacket to the left, and the wrap georgette dress to the right….the insides had to be as clean finished as the outside……Sometimes the seam allowances were piped or turned back enough to be stitched to give the desired clean finish. Sometimes they were just marrow stitched which was not ideal for me……Sometimes price was the deciding factor……Sheer clothes like the georgette dress had French seams…..All of this extra work cost $$$$ which is the reason that sometimes a white garment costs more $$$$ than a color garment…..There is a white unitard under the dress which had its’ own set of manufacturing problems….If a style is sold in white and color, which many are, and a factory charges more for the white to be made, usually an average price is reached for the garments so two different priced don’t have to be assigned. Try and explain two different prices for the same garment to a customer!…..The stretch cotton Pea jacket in the center, and the matching skirt were fully lined, which for me wasn’t ideal, because the lining added weight and made the garments warmer to wear….Also, to make them correctly the lining should be stretch too, or it defeats the purpose of a stretch garment…If a stretch lining wasn’t avail or too costly sometimes extra ease was added to the lining to compensate…Sometimes to get around this problem I would line the front only, half line the back to cover the shoulder pads, and leave the sleeves unlined. I would pipe the exposed back seams and armhole for a clean finish…..It always amused me when certain women would complain that the jacket wasn’t fully lined! They misguidedly thought this was a cheaper way to make a garment…..What they didn’t realize was this was a much more expensive, time consuming way to finish the jackets. Putting a full lining in a jacket covered many sins, but an unlined garment, or partially lined garment  had to be clean finished on the inside, which was more labor intensive…..Plus, these half lined jackets were more COMFORTABE and cooler to wear in warmer weather…….Like I always say…….”KNOWLEDGE is a powerful thing!”