Monthly Archives: June 2016

…………………….Bill Cunningham has sadly passed away, and we have all lost a very dear soul…………To say that Bill was the best at what he did would be a monumental understatement. If you don’t know who the “gentleman” was I would like for you to google him.  Bill was a photo journalist, but I think Bill would have thought that too fancy, and wouldn’t even like to be known as a photographer……just someone who simply liked clothes…. He rode on his very ordinary bicycle around NYC taking pictures of women, men, children, and occasionally animals…….dressed in interesting garb. He would then tell a story with these pictures every Sunday in the New York Times fashion section. His stories were limitless. One week it was about animal prints, another hats, another sunglasses, another coats, another tartan plaids…..what ever caught his eye…umbrellas, polka dots…whatever it was he made a photo record of it……Every Sunday I looked forward to see what Bill zeroed in on. Was it  something that us designers should take heed of, or were we a part of what Bill found exciting in the spur of the moment……….Bill was at every special event he could peddle on his bicycle to whether a major “Red Carpet” event, or the opening of a gallery in the Meat Packing District. There were no bounds to where he would go….uptown to Harlem…..downtown to the Battery…east and west…wherever he thought he might get his shot…his next story. You might bump into him in the most unlikely places, camera in hand, but most likely you would find him stationed on 5th Avenue near 57th Street….or up and down Madison Ave……Bill was a New York fixture, and most New Yorkers, who were aware of anything, knew who he was……..I’m sure he was happy as punch when digital cameras came out, and he didn’t have to carry rolls and rolls of film!………………………………………………….

……………..I have know Bill for 40 years, but he was a very private man. I never knew how old he was, but in all those years he barely changed. I doubt he gained or lost a pound. Sure he had a few more wrinkles, but his vitality never wavered. I was about 20 when I first met him, and he was about 20 years older……He was the kindest, sweetest, most humble man I have ever met in my life, and I don’t say that lightly…..Over the years he has taken many many picture of me, and of Jac. The one above was taken at a Met Fashion of the Year Gala. That was when they took place in Dec. and the museum was resplendent with Baroque Christmas decorations. As you can see it was snowing, and Bill caught me as I was exiting a limo. The smile on my face was for Bill…..I was always happy to see him….He signed the back,  wrote me a sweet note, and sent it to me…..It’s one of my most favorite pictures……Without fail, whenever we met on the street or any event, he would always say in a very endearing way, “How are you kid?”, and I would always reply, “I’m good Bill, how are you?”, “I’m great!”, and off he would go…I thought Bill would be around for ever……I would like to think that Bill is off looking for the next shot, and that someday I will bump into him again, and he will say, “how have you been Kid?”…………………….rest in peace dear Bill

…………………………..JAMES DELL’OLIO…………….my dad……………..The picture was taken in 1918……..He was born in Italy and came to this country as an infant……He was a lover of fine food, good wine and music. As a young child he learned to play the violin. A story he loved to tell was how he would skip violin classes and play craps with a priest behind the church!…..He was also an alter boy……Yes, an angel with horns!……He was known as the mayor, because he knew and spoke to everyone……….quite the opposite of my mother who was very private……He was also a comedian and was the life of EVERY party……….He loved music and every night, without fail, after dinner he would go down to the finished basement, which he was very proud of, and listened to music for an hour until my mother would join him. He had the largest collection of LP 78s records. He had over 1000 albums. Each one was categorized so if you wanted to hear a certain song or singer he knew just where to go. He listened to everything from Opera to Broadway shows. He introduced me to all the greats…..from Ella to Frank, and everyone in between…He loved all types of music and all singers from Elvis to Johnny Mathis to Maria Callas…..quite a mix…….Artists that the new generations have never heard of or listened to……singers with real voices….Besides music he introduced me to cordials…..He had a beautiful  hand made bar, and he would give me a small fancy glass with a raspberry cordial…….We would sit, sip and listen to music…….yum………………….As you can see he was a pretty snappy dresser, and always had his own style…….My Dad had a long life……..He retired from business when he was 55 [my oldest brother Mauro took over the reigns of his business]. He passed away at the age of 96. My mother was definitely the love of his life, and they were married for 70 years……… When she passed at the age of 96 he followed her two weeks later…………….Who could ask for anything more……………………………………Happy Father’s Day Dad………………..all my love……………………..Louie

………………………..TAUPE…………..is the second new color I am introducing in the WK SWING CARDIGAN, A267864……….It is a new neutral added to the cadre of Linea colors….There are many different shades of “taupe”, and not all taupe colors are the same, so don’t expect all taupes to match. Above, the WK classic TN, A72448 will also be avail in Taupe and it will MATCH the cardigan, because the yarn was dyed at the same time. There are also two Taupe pants in the photos above. To your extreme left and right is the reorder SUPER PONTE BOOT CUT PANT, A268216 in the new TAUPE………Now, as hard as I tried to get the colors to match exactly, working from stamp size lab dip swatches to approve, they do not. However, they work well enough for me to say…..YES….they look great together IMHO………..The “other” taupe pant in the center photos is the TAUPE LINEA LEISURE pull-on pant, A262070 for reg., and A262072 for petite. The color taupe is paler than the sweaters, but still look wonderful together. The cotton knit Leisure pant is a little more casual, and the Super Ponte is more dressy, but they can both be worn anywhere. The Taupe Ponte pant is a great basic that can be worn with everything!….So…there are three sneak peeks in these photos, the Taupe Swing Cardigan, the Taupe WK TN , and the Taupe Boot Cut pant….all timeless pieces to add to your Linea wardrobes………The GUNMETAL RIBBON RING NECKLACE, J331643, will be avail. in August……It makes a strong impression, but it’s light as a feather!………………………………enjoy………………………..much Love…………………….Louis

………………………RASPBERRY………………….has become a Linea favorite! The demand to bring it back was too strong to ignore. As you know I much prefer to bring in new colors and retire the old, but BLACK and RASPBERRY had to make a second appearance, and for the Raspberry a final round……Raspberry is a very special color….It’s not brown as some wines can be…It’s a juicy rich berry color with blue undertones……Later in the season the Heather Charcoal Grey will also be returning, again due to a large customer request……..so……..BLACK, RASPBERRY, TAUPE, and ALABASTER are offered now……later more surprises…….The RASPBERRY WK TANK, A237404, is still avail in most sizes. Last year I did the tank to coordinate with the swing cardigans in the Black, Marine Blue, Heather Charcoal Grey and the Raspberry…..they are all still avail. but when they sell out they will not be brought back…..so I strongly suggest if you want a matching under piece now is the time to purchase it………On the bottom is the BLACK WK MILANO KNIT SKIRT, A273880, I know there are some of you who feel the skirt is a little too short, and others, who are tall, were surprised how well it worked on them…..Remember, in the fall opaque tights or fancy tights are like makeup for the leg….they cover EVERYTHING. I will be showing the LINEA BODY BLACK PINSTRIPE TIGHTS, A260031 with this outfit…………..Hanging from her neck is the new TRAPEZE necklace in GOLD. This will be avail. in Sept……On her ear the Bold Hoop, also in Gold……The total look is UNCOMPLICATED and free of gimmicks……….That’s the Linea way of dressing…………………enjoy………………..much Love……………………….Louis

I was browsing the Linea site and saw that the Linea Body Capri Legging has a buy more save more offer of $3.00 until June 20th. If you own them you already know the superior quality. If you haven’t tried the Linea Body line yet…..you owe it to yourself to give it a try……………..enjoy………………………..much Love……………………………Louis