Monthly Archives: November 2020

I have been told it will show up upon check out

The inseams for the faux suede pant are 30″ and 27″

………………….THE BLACK MOSS CREPE RUFFLE CARDIGAN, A391008, the matching MOSS CREPE TANK, A391009, and the MOSS CREPE ASYMMETRICALLY RUFFLED TIERED SKIRT, A391010 make for one fabulous end of year SURPRISE!……..When I thought about what I should do for December I had a choice….something very classic or something with a WOW factor…..a “WANT” not a need…..It’s obvious what I went with……………..There is a story behind this outfit………..I actually sketched this outfit three years ago………I sketched this while Jac was asleep in the Boston Mass. General Hospital. She was a sleep a lot of the time so I sat there and I sketched, and sketched and sketched to take my mind off of what was happening. For some reason I started a theme of ruffled separates. The fantasy and whimsy of them made me happy, and lightened my spirit for the moment. Other ruffle styles that I sketched in the hospital have shown up since then. One was the ruffle front jewel neck blouse with the flounce cuff. The floral print was decided much later. It came in red, green, sapphire blue and black…all with white. They were all sketched at the same time just used on different collections, and fabrics chosen accordingly. I know many of you own it and are enjoying it. It’s still avail, but almost completely gone………I digress……….These Moss Crepe samples were made and have been sitting in the office at Lai Apparel. I had them saved because I always loved and believed in them. They still look as fresh and relevant today as they did three years ago. I always imagined Jac wearing them in a very nonchalant way. I can still see her in my mind wearing this outfit with boots as casually as if she were wearing a tee shirt and jeans………………………………….The open front cardigan is approx. 29 inches at its’ longest length for the xxs. It has a curved bottom so the ruffles follow the curve without any corners to deal with…….The MOSS CREPE KNIT fabric makes these pieces SEASON-LESS. They are all light weight and unlined so they just flow, move and drape the way they should…….unencumbered…….This cardigan, however is all about the RUFFLES…..it is DRIPPING IN RUFFLES! They hang beautifully because the edges are LASER CUT!!! There is no hem to create bulk or to keep them from hanging and draping beautifully……There is something very FRENCH about this outfit, and reminds me very much of Sonia Rykiel who certainly had her way with a Ruffle….. What I always appreciated about her was she never made her ruffle styles cloyingly sweet…..they always had a womanly sophistication about them. They were never for little girls, but more for FEMME FATALES!…………If you don’t think of this cardigan as a very limited style to wear, and just think of it as a black cardigan…..then the possibilities of wearing it will open up to you!………Yes, wearing it with the matching tank and skirt is very dramatic and one heck of an outfit……perfect in the Moss Crepe for travel, but when you separate the pieces that is when you can start to appreciate just how versatile they can be…..Above, I have the cardigan with a white Moss Crepe scoop neck Tee or cotton tee and JEANS! Yes, jeans…..Why thrown on just any cardigan when you can add something feminine and fun. In the spring and summer wear white jeans or Ivory dress pants depending where you are going…..This winter add your new WK classic Ivory TN and the Black Faux Suede pant…At the extreme left I have the cardigan and tank with the TCF Pencil Skirt and the WK Midi Skirt which are perfect options to the ruffle tiered skirt….Maybe you have a sleeveless dress sitting in your closet that has been waiting for something wonderful to wear over it……See where I’m going with this………PANTS…..depending on the season…..all styles will work…..The SEQUIN PANT FOR SURE!…..Capri pants, crop slim and crop wide leg pants with sandals [again a very Sonia R. look], wedges and clogs are all perfect for warmer months. Slim pants, wide leg pants, trouser pants and even palazzo pants will all work…….even print pants like my crepe wider leg “Wood Block” print  would look wonderful………The key is to PLAY PLAY PLAY……How to wear this cardigan is only limited by your imagination!………………………………enjoy……………………….much Love………………………….Louis

……………..THE BLACK MOSS CREPE RUFFLE SKIRT………A391010, is a fabulous fun skirt to add to your Linea Wardrobe. Again, as the three piece outfit is is simply stunning. It has an edge to it that fashionistas will love…..Naturally being in all BLACK makes it perfect…….It will be avail. in one length only. From the bottom of the waist band it is approx. 34 inches long for the XXS, but we don’t grade the length on this type of skirt. If you need to shorten it there are three possibilities……One is to roll the elastic waist band of this pull-on skirt….two, have it shortened from the top, which is not a major alteration for any seamstress. or tailor……and the third is shorten approx. one inch from the bottom since the ruffle doesn’t come to the bottom….There are two ruffles, approx. five inches wide. The top ruffle is asymmetrical. It starts at the low hip and descends to the opposite side. The bottom ruffle goes straight across the bottom ending approx. one inch from the bottom hem. Again, the ruffles are laser cut so they drape and move beautifully………The way to think of this skirt is it’s a black midi skirt and that’s it…..Why? because this skirt can be worn with anything you would wear a plain black midi skirt with!…….Above, you can see just a few of the possibilities…….Starting at the left…..the black lurex sweater, the vintage white cotton wing collar shirt, the ivory blouse with the ruffle cuff, the white WK TN and the black blazer. For spring/summer….add a tank or tee and a sandal……a fabulous necklace like the Samburu…….Another fun way to wear the black skirt is with the black or pine TN and the black/pine tartan blazer………What I think really works for many of you is this is NOT an overly “ruffle-y” skirt. It’s actually a pretty basic, slightly A-Line, black Moss Crepe skirt, and easy for anyone to wear   I know if you try the skirt you will have lots of fun wearing it…….The coordinating tank, A391009 is a must have to match either the cardigan or skirt, and on its’ own. This is a cut and sewn knit fabric garment…….not a sweater. It has PRINCESS SEAMS front and back with a modest scoop neckline. It is approx. 24 inches long for the XXS……The neckline and armhole are finished with narrow facings which keeps it smooth and flat……….. I can tell you without reservations….the fit and workmanship is superb!!!!!…………………..enjoy…………..much Love……………………..Louis

…………………..THE MIDNIGHT NAVY MOSS CREPE RUFFLE CARDIGAN. A391008………I saved doing most of my navy pieces for later in the fall/winter season, because I knew I would be doing a lot of black early, and because navy is always a good segue into early spring………..The first look  at the extreme left came about as a result of PLAYING! and it turned out to be my most favorite, because it works and it’s very unexpected! It is the vintage white cotton wing collar shirt [the collar works perfectly!] with BOOT CUT distressed jeans…..I added the cobalt Trevi necklace and Roma earring combined with the Amalfi necklace and I think it’s a fabulous combination……To me it’s special because most would not think to put these pieces together, and the final result is very modern!…At the extreme right is the PEARL WRAP OVER BLOUSE with the Midnight cardigan and the MIDNIGHT BLUE SEQUIN PANT! This is a great cardigan to wear with the pant. For less dressy occasions I switched out the sequin pant for the faux suede navy pant. The navy ponte pencil skirt makes for a very sophisticated SOFT SUIT when paired with the wrap over blouse and the ruffle cardigan……For a more spring attitude I added RED accents either with a red skirt or ivory pants and white jeans……The cardigan over an ivory dress….or any simple solid dress…….can be a problem solver…………..Who knew how versatile a Midnight Blue Ruffle Cardigan could be…..all you have to do is PLAY…………………………enjoy………..much Love………………………Louis