From Louis

Cathy and Karen are here and we are ready to present a Face Book Live show…..the first of 2022. Lots of SALES and FREE SHIPPING and HANDLING…..Hope to “see” you all there!

……………..I’m not sure of the actual year, but this spread of  6 or 7 pages ran in Vogue in the late 80s. The opening double page spread featured Jac and myself walking across the street in the Fashion district somewhere on 7th Ave…..The complete title actually read…..”LOUIS THE FIRST” across the two pages………..The inspiration for this show came from a trip Jac and I had taken in Pompeii. I was working at Andrea Pfister’s villa in Positano on the shoe collection , and Jac was there with me. We decided to take a day trip before the work began, and we went to see Pompeii which was only about one hour and a half away depending on traffic….The colors and the mosaics were fantastic……It was all very inspiring…. Jac is wearing a terracotta suede sleeveless dress and suede topper coat. There was a group of Fortuny-esque pleated dresses, and lace dresses that matched suede coats and elongated blazers. The photo shows two models walking the show. Tatiana, on the left, is wearing a Stone suede jacket and long suede vest over tonal suede pants. Anna Bayle to her right is wearing a Silk Cadet suit in that beautiful Alabaster color. The presentation was shown in the round, and bleaches and chairs were set in a circle. The walls and the entrance had frescos, mosaics, and columns to emulate the ruins of Pompeii. The company that made them often did stage sets for me, and these were perfect to set the mood, and theme of the collection……They did an outstanding job…..It was a shame to throw it all away. I did keep the painted arch that was above the entrance to the show room……..Multi page “spreads” in Vogue didn’t come that often for anyone, so this was a real treat, and honor. They really loved the collection, and thought it deserved this kind of coverage..

…………………..Here are some photos taken at the show for my Pompeii Collection. There were incredible frescos on the walls surrounding the show room, columns in a state of ruin, and even a hand made mosaic on the floor as the models enter the showroom….Above the entrance door to the showroom, where the models would come in, the set designer built a FRIEZE……It looked like real stone, and in its’ center was a fresco…..I kept this piece and brought it home…..We showed the collection in the “round” in the showroom…..meaning bleachers and chairs were set up in a circle so the models would enter through the painted faux stone archway, and saunter around……The colors of the collection all were inspired by what I had seen in Pompeii….Stone, Alabaster, Terracotta, Pale Dusty Rose, Straw, Blue Grey, Grey, Camel and Tan. I showed basically with matching suede flats with a halter strap, and some very bare tiny strappy snake heels….The snake had a brushed suede finish……It looks just as modern and wearable today as it did in the late 80s…..The only thing I would change is to reduce the shoulder pads a bit…If you look closely Jac is leaning against the column in the back of the photo at the right. That’s beautiful Dalma up front showing an unlined open front suede coat over a matching color lace dress in Pale Dusty Rose….Jac was next wearing the same coat and lace dress in Alabaster…….Other models you may recognize are Linda [second in from upper left], Tatiana [bottom left, and Cindy [top left and third in from bottom left]……..It was a beautiful concise show with a strong, though serene, point of view. It was a big hit with the editors, and retailors…..and later with the customers!

……………This Sunday I had an impromptu visit!!!!! I’m clearing out my storage facility and sizing down, but I have two pieces of furniture I want to give to someone deserving?!…..so I asked Angela and Chantal if they wanted first dibs [I had already asked my family]…..but they had to come right away because I really wanted to close this storage room……So….Sunday they came. I even gave Sammy a bath so she would be at her best!……Before we went over to the storage facility I prepared a little snack…..just cheeses, guacamole, salsa, carrots, celery and dip [that I made], salami. radishes [I always love to have cold fresh radishes], bread sticks, cheese sticks and assorted crackers. I also had my Ginger cookies and strawberries and chocolate, salted caramel squares……Wine of course! Then off to the storage room and then back home. The girls brought me some CHRISTMAS PRESENTS…..Three types of Girl Scout cookies a “Philadelphia” Christmas ornament, a beautiful umbrella with a silver Lion head. a beautiful manicure set [every well groomed man should have one], a pair of birkenstock clogs for men with a camo bottom….and even Sammy got a toy!…………Afterwards we went to an early dinner at a restaurant called “The Restaurant” in Rowaytan Ct. It’s right on the water, and we had a great table by the window…….Then home to sit by the fireplace, have more wine and talk! They had to leave early because Chantal had a show to do at QVC. It was brief….but lots of fun!!!