Designer

This is my final set of post cards from Paris, “The City Of Light”. The lights of New York are bright and the neon is harsh, night becomes day and it is always a little frenetic. Paris is the antithesis. Driving around Paris at night is somewhat of a fantasy. It seems candle lit, with chandeliers and beautiful street lamps everywhere. You almost expect “La Vie En Rose” to be playing in the air…..it’s very romantic. The restaurants are equally romantic whether they are beautifully decorated or look some what rundown where you know history took place. Allard, is such a place. Le tour Eiffel suggested we try this bistro type restaurant, which was on a very quiet street in a very quiet neighborhood of Paris. It is very small and quite old. You can imagine characters from “Les Mis”, plotting the revolution. The photo of the interior is right above Jac and I. When we arrived only one table was taken….by the time our bottle of wine arrived the place was full. You always know a restaurant is good when the patrons are all French……and it was delicious! Another restaurant we loved was “George V”….photo in the upper right. We were pretty much early birds due to jet lag and full itineraries for the next day……so the restaurant wasn’t full when we arrived………again, by the time we had our first sip of wine, the room was filled to capacity. Jac’s little Linea shrug came in very handy. She brought it in the black and violet and wore it over little dresses. One of the things that  left me speechless was our trip to the opera house of Paris….”L’Opera”……you know “Phantom of the Opera”. We both had passed it a zillion times on our trips to Paris, but neither of us had ever been in! It is extraordinary!! It is very dark inside so it really felt like night…..every chandelier and lamp was lit and you can see Jac descending one of the many staircases in the photo at the left bottom. The theater itself is a wonder. The gilt and the painted ceiling are amazing. You can imagine the men and women dressed in their best with all of their jewels…..sitting in the red damask boxes……….one more fantasy of Paris. At the end of each wonderful evening we returned to our lovely room, and as we entered we would always see the fresh rose in the bud vase…..attached to the wall next to our door……..photo in the upper right……which was a quick reminder of just how special Paris is……………Bon Soir, Paris!

I thought I’d post the picture of the Byzantine jewelry again since all of the new pieces [except the reorder of the cross and station necklace] are now avail. for purchasing on line. I can’t tell you how pleased I am with how each piece came out. When I started doing the jewelry for QVC, I was really dreading the idea that I was going to have to compromise with the design and quality to meet the desired price points, but I am pleased to say with a lot of HANDS ON and sacrifice …….on my and my manufacturers part, I have managed to get exactly what I wanted. Of course, the original large quilted beads and some of the others beads in the original  necklace were made out of Murano glass…….but that necklace was also$400 and that was 15 years ago. Believe me when I say , from looking at them, you can’t tell the difference.  I am very excited about the new Byzantine earrings….the three for one…… a button, a Baroque pearl drop and a matching color drop. If you get two colors…..even more combinations. Since the floral maxi sold out before I had a chance to present it this past Friday, I want you to know I had planned  multiples of the station and bead necklaces on each model along with the cross….it looked incredible! These pieces are also going to look incredible with all the new offerings I have around the bend for Fall. These beads on the new tweeds….yes you read that right…..TWEEDs….looks sensational! When Jac and I were in Paris she wore the whole Byzantine set with the earrings out to dinner. A lovely “French” woman sitting at the table next to us bent over to tell Jac what beautiful jewelry she was wearing. I have to say we were really taken off guard. Another evening, wearing the same jewelry. a very chic American lady form S. Carolina did the same thing….it was very gratifying…………don’t wait too long or you will be waiting even longer ….if you know what I mean…LOL

Continuing on our walking tour of Paris….Tues. was museum day…..first stop was the Louvre museum. Originally the Louvre was the palace of the kings…….I believe all the Louis’ lived there. It really takes more than one day to “do” the Louvre, but a few hours is really all one can bare. We got there early to beat the lines, but we weren’t the only ones with that idea. The glass pyramid, which is the entrance into the museum, designed by I.M.Pei, was very controversial when it first was being built.  There were basically two camps…..many were for going forward with the new and modern concept, but the purists felt it was a sacrilege to destroy the history of the palaces of the Kings. They felt it should have been left  as close to the original as possible, instead of plopping this glass “monstrosity” in front of such a magnificent building. I have to say, as beautiful as the glass pyramid is, I’m on the side of the purist. Of course the museum is known to have the famous Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa” and the “Venus de Milo,” as well as “Winged Victory”. You remember the scene in “Funny Face” with Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn… when she came down the staircase in a beautiful red gown and Fred A. plays the photographer, taking her pic with the Winged Victory behind her…..an iconic moment in film history. Afterwards, we needed a little refreshment, so we stopped at the famous “Angelina’s” on the Rue de Rivoli. It’s a charming “tea parlor” that was opened in 1903. There is a tiny picture, upper left, of Jac standing in front of Angelina’s with her bag of “goodies”. The picture of Jac at the window, with the gauze curtains, was taken in our beautiful Hotel  room. What made the experience even better, was the wonderful view we had of the back gardens and the roof tops of Paris. Paris has some of the most magnificent gardens in the world with allees of trees and fountains where ever you look. The park above is the “Luxemberg Gardens”……it was right out of an impressionist painting. As a matter of fact, many of Seurat’s paintings were of the gardens. The fountain area was especially crowded…… where children float their sail boats and move them around with long sticks……….. We had another great day in Paris…………..

From January through May I have taken you on a “fashion trip” and what a trip it was! I hope you enjoyed it! I know I had a great time showing my designs to all of you. Now, I invite you to take a photo trip with Jac and I through PARIS!!! We had a wonderful time. Jac and I have both been in Paris a zillion times, always for work, but NEVER at the same time! So this was a first for us….to be in Paris at the same time and NO WORK….. just PLEASURE. The minute we landed in Paris, arrived at the hotel…the “Lancaster”, we showered dressed and hit the streets. We walked and walked and walked…..for three days we walked Paris!……stopping briefly along the way, snapping pictures and telling each other stories and memories we had at these special little places. It was the BEST TIME. What you are seeing above are the photos we took on our walking tour…..”ohhhhh take a picture of that”……”give me the camera I have to take a picture of that”, was how the conversation went. There are many buildings you will recognize….the Eiffel Tower, the Madeline, the Sorbonne, Notre Dame, the Palace Royale, the Arc de Triumph, the Plaza Athenee [the hotel with the red awnings, where I stayed  many times]. We stopped….. had some lunch at the famous and infamous “Cafe de Flore”, which has been there  for over 100 years. At the Palace Royale there was a Helmut Newton exhibit……a VERY famous fashion photographer. The banner advertising the show was an ICONIC photo Newton took of the model, “Vibeke”, in a ground breaking suit by Yves St Laurent. The photo was taken in the wee hours of the morning on some Paris street. How do I know this??? Vibeke told me so. I know Vibeke and love her. I used her in a few shows…..runway wasn’t really her thing [she was quite shy doing runway], but she did them for me. Once, she broke her arm and was due to do one of my fall shows. She came to the studio with her arm in a sling and the cast! She was so sorry she couldn’t do the show and I said to her “why, are your legs broken?”. A BIG smile came to face and of course she did the show….broken arm and all. We worked out exactly what she would wear and I made special slings in the coordinating fabrics. Every time she came out onto the runway there was wild applause…..she stole the show! That was a wonderful memory for me and, I know….for her. Notice the picture of Jac in the Luxemburg Gardens, standing in front of the tallest Tulips I have ever seen! I was wondering why there were red streamers draped on the statues on the Arc de Triumph [photo lower left]. The next day…. Monday….was their Memorial Day and all of Paris was having a Vacation Day……..everything….parks, restaurants and the streets,  were packed with people….great fun. I have three sets of postcards from Paris…..I hope you have enjoyed our “first day” in Paris!………………Much Love, Louis

P.S. Don’t forget to look at Jac’s face book page….Jac Dell’Olio.  She has posted more photos that she took. She has written wonderful stories with each picture of her special memories of Paris.

Sneak Peek #8 is A224716. This is my draped jersey dress….the  “LANA” dress. Years ago I met Lana Turner at a cocktail party in NYC. She had just shot an ad for “What Becomes A Legend Most”….the  fur campaign. Peter Rogers, who was a friend, created the famous campaign through his agency. She was already in her late 60’s and she was perfectly dressed and her makeup was flawless……a STAR to the end. She always had incredible style and not the kind of style that is just created by the studios, though I am sure she learned much from the best Hollywood had to offer.

The colors of the dress are ………DEEP PEACOCK, a deep blue green….and…….VIOLET. This dress is PURE DESIGNER and has many special  details. I wanted to give the illusion of a DEEP V-Neck without showing anything so I added the MODESTY tank that is attached to the dress at the shoulder straps and the side seams…..so it is free from the pieces of fabric that create  the V. This is a very important detail. Usually the modesty piece would have been just stitched to the edge of the V, but that is the inexpensive way to do it and it doesn’t allow the front pieces to drape properly…..just a bit of trivia. There is a draped bodice which is great to hide any imperfections. In the back there are two sections of elastic that give the dress a wonderful fit without being constricting. The skirt is softly gathered….not too much volume, but just enough to hide and worrisome areas. There is an attached belt that you can WRAP and TIE many ways…… illustrated above. First bring the straps to the back….then around to the front and either tie in a BOW …or twist them once and bring them to the back again….TIE and TUCK the ends in…..very simple. There is also a back zipper….if you need it. The dress is approx 42 inches long. It is poly jersey so it is washable and again, PERFECT for TRAVEL. The REEF GREEN shrug in the photo above is worn over the DEEP PEACOCK dress. If you own the reef green shrug already that will give you an idea of how deep the color peacock is. The violet shrug is a different violet from the dress……..I like them together but I like mixing different colors. I know some wouldn’t get it….that’s OK too. This is a dress to be worn 12 months out of the year….day or night……..this is the last sneak peek for MAY!!! …..An IMPORTANT HEADS UP….this dress will be featured on Q Check with Shawn. I thought it was the printed maxi on Q Check, but I was wrong. The printed maxi will be on my 1pm show with Shawn………enjoy, much Love, Louis