Keepsakes ~ La Perla

My first encounter with the essence of the La Perla brand happened during my Macy days when, on a business trip to Italy, my market rep, Gianna, took me to visit this company’s then family owned factory located in Bologna.  It is here where I witnessed firsthand the intricate and time consuming handwork required to perfectly position and delicately sew the exquisitely designed Leavers laces and embroidered tulle pieces that are the DNA of this luxury brand.  To watch these artisans at work is to appreciate an art form not present in mass production.  Later that evening, Gianna and I stopped at her studio apartment in Fiesole before dinner.  While waiting in this tiny, sparsely furnished flat, she opened her dresser where the top drawer was filled with La Perla panties and bras.  “I don’t mean to pry”, I asked her; but how do you afford such expensive intimates on your salary? “Ellen”, she said, “you don’t understand the European female psyche.  These are collectibles, like the earrings you purchased today.  Maybe they are underpinnings, but they reveal who I am and how I want to feel.”  This is a true story and it changed my perspective on Lingerie forever.

Last week while visiting the La Perla showroom in NYC, I had the privilege of re-living that memory. La Perla has been re-positioned several times since the family sold the business.  But now, in the hands of an Italian entrepreneur who relishes the brand’s roots, La Perla seems to be back, unabashedly, in its premiere space.  The coterie of collections: La Perla, La Perla Silver, Studio Basics, Swimwear and Mens, pretty much covers the gamut of the better Lingerie market.  Not everyone can afford to hang original art in their home, but to appreciate it is a different story.   There is something to be said about investing in quality especially when it is so beautiful and promises such a sense of self value.

“Quality Is Remembered Long After The Price Is Forgotten” ~ Ed Sabol