GIVE ME LIBERTY

In 1875, Arthur Lasenby Liberty borrowed some money to buy one half of 218a Regent Street in London with the dream of opening a shopping emporium with the flair of an Eastern market. His vision was so successful and his collection of fabrics and art objects so popular than within eighteen months the loan had been repaid and plans were in play to purchase the second half of the building and even expand into other properties on the street. Carpets and furniture were added to the mix and celebrated artists of the day were commissioned to design fabrics for the ever expanding brand.

The most celebrated of Liberty's fabrics was, and is, Tana Lawn. It is an ultra-fine, long-staple cotton made without the use of chemicals or allergens and named after Lake Tana in East Africa where the original cotton used in its production was grown.

There are over 43,000 Tana Lawn patterns today and 120 new designs released each year. I think I love every one of them. Because of the silky feel, crisp prints and lightweight charm of this fabric, it has always been perfect for children's clothing. In fact, every time I am lured to order a dress with an adorable Liberty-looking design, I am disappointed when it arrives and I feel the coarser and heavier weave of a less refined cotton. That is why I say, "Give me Liberty !!"

Currently, we have several dresses in Liberty fabrics. Some are smocked and some have a pleated waist.

One of the smocked dresses has a dainty lace collar...

Marquise de LaBorde supplies us with Liberty-trimmed hooded towels,

Terry-lined bibs,

and onesies with Liberty collars
.

We have a super cute romper with matching booties that Paticia Smith of London whipped up for us this year.

Very recently, we had one of our lovely clients order custom rompers in 12 different Liberty fabrics.   

She was so please with the ones we had made for her granddaughter last year, that she is now ordering more in size 2 and 3. We are making them with white pique collars and cuffs. Some will be exactly the same as the Ric Rac trimmed version she had before....

And some will have a simpler wavy collar.

Half of them will have the pleated bodice of the sample romper and the other half will be smocked. Oh, I can't wait to see them !!

We will also be having some rompers, shorts and Liberty-trimmed blouses made for our seasonal stock. For this project, two brand new designs, "Queue for the Zoo" and "Gallymoggers" (from Alice in Wonderland) were chosen. Put your order in now as the fabric supply is limited.

Many styles of dresses, shorts, shirts, bloomers and rompers can be made-to-order in Liberty fabric. Up until now, we have only ordered children's clothing in Liberty, but this year we are also taking a leap into women's blouses. Remember the old McMullen blouses that we wore back in the day (50's and 60's)?? Well, we have sent in an order for a few of these to be made  in Liberty florals and if they are as cute as I expect them to be, we will be ready to take your orders too !

Liberty has found its way into our Home Furnishing Department as well. We have made Liberty-trimmed shams and sheets and bed coverlet . We have appliquéd monograms in Liberty and this year, plan to order a Liberty Duvet and Euro Shams that will coordinate with your Porthault bedlinens !! You will think you died and went to heaven.

   

This summer I will be picking out some Liberty designs to trim adorable wavy edged linen napkins by Julian Mejia. They will be in stock by October, but not to worry, if you need them sooner, just pick a color you might like and Betty will email you pictures of print choices that might be perfect for you.

 

In stock now, dinner napkins in Liberty blue pattern

A modern look...Liberty trimmed napkin

This style napkin will be trimmed in Liberty

I'm hoping that by next season, I will hear many more of you shouting from the rooftops, "Give ME Liberty !!"

XOXOX
LETA

Betty@lafinpb.com
561-655-7367