From Louis

…………………Using different rib knits as a detail , and part of a garment was always something I liked to design for many reasons…..Firstly, I liked the look of mixing rib knit with many different fabrics and styles. The STRETCH FACTOR of the knit always made any garment comfortable to wear, because the stretch of the knit gave unrestricted movement. Lastly, due to the stretch knit ir always fit the body beautifully…..From left to right……The leather three button jacket with rib knit sleeves worn over a rib knit skirt. I always tried to add a little lycra to the knit so the knit would always keep its’ shape……Next is the leather button front dress with the rib knit back, and the self leather belt…..At the upper right is a dress with a rib knit, short sleeve top with a jewel neckline and a swing georgette skirt…..At the bottom right is a zip front leather jacket with rib knit sleeves and a rib knit bottom. It too had a matching leather belt……….When I did my Linea for QVC collection I continued designing garments with rib knit trims. I used leather, suede and boiled wool often with the rib knit……….It was always successful!

…………………….HAPPY PASSOVER to all my friends of the Jewish faith!

………………….Some of my FAVORITE pieces from my Linea Jewelry collection on my Linea site on QVC are the FREE FORM CROSS….and FREE FORM DANGLE EARRING…….both with prong set CUSHION CUT, EMERALD SHAPE DIAMONIQUE STONES……..The STERLING SILVER cross……J429083, and the STERLING SILVER earring……J429087, are avail with WHITE [CLEAR] stones or beautiful BLUE stones……The 18 KARAT GOLD PLATE CROSS…..J429085, and GOLD PLATE EARRING….J429089, come with the WHITE [CLEAR] stones or the COGNAC stones….HOWEVER, the cross is sold out in the gold with white stone…….All these FREE FORM pieces are beautifully MADE IN ITALY!

……………….It’s the DETAILS of each garment that separates it from all others……That could be the cut of the garment, or the embellishments….such as the embroidery used, the special buttons, and different findings like grommets and even the tips on a drawstring can make all the difference!……The QUALITY can make or break a garment…..A beautiful fabric for a dress or jacket can easily be overlooked if the first thing a client sees are cheap buttons!…..For the clothes sketched here the jewel buttons were all custom made the diamond straps were embroidered….Sheer details made a simple slip dress special…as was the lace dress with re-embroidered tiny crystals…….It’s ALL IN THE DETAILS!

……………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.