STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

My SIL has been with Levis for the last 7 years. I always forget to ask her for her permission to post about her, but at last I did it. She left Levis two months ago and is now about to bring out her new line of cashmere knitwear.

Some of you may remember Slates® Janet Howard®, which was the women's bridge line brought out by Levis in 2000. After Levis decided to concentrate on it’s traditional product, Janet stayed with the company to become Creative Director for Dockers. She's now decided she wants to go back to her true love: designing women's clothing.

From a Levis 2000 Press Release:

"Janet Howard has been recognized throughout the fashion community for her expertise in trend forecasting and design innovation, winning the 1997 Designer of the Year award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Prior to joining Slates®, Janet designed for Bisou Bisou, and created two of her own contemporary women's collections, "Misc. by Janet Howard" and "Janet Howard," both of which received critical acclaim."

Janet has also designed for Guess and Bebe. She showed her line in the NYC fashion shows--I'd have to ask her which years.

Last week DH and I visited with Janet in SF and she showed us her samples. They are gorgeous. I love her color palette, but then I have always liked just about everything Janet has designed.

When I have more information to share, I will post it, and soon I hope I can post some photos of her pieces (preferably with me or Janet modeling them.) If all goes well, her fall line will be available at the end of next summer.

Besides being tremendously talented, Janet is a great, fun person to be with. We don't get to see her often enough (she is DH's younger sister) because she is so busy traveling all over the world--especially to Europe and Asia.

I'll probably have more to tell you in a week or two.