PALM BEACH SANDALS

Summer is here.....90 degree days, bathing suits, frozen custards and your favorite Palm Beach Sandals.

We have lots of colors in our shop and a whole ring of leather colors to choose from so you can design your own !

These sandals have been a Palm Beach staple for over 50 years. Originally these were designed and made by Eva and Benny Bonanno, cobblers who worked for Luigi Pucillo the owner of a shoe repair shop on the Island, for none other than Jackie Kennedy !  Jackie had purchased a similar pair on a trip to Capri and wanted a few new pairs made while here in Palm Beach.  A few well-published photographs later and everyone wanted the "Luigi" sandals that Jackie was wearing.

In 1963 Eva and Benny Bonanno opened their own shoe repair on Clematis Street in downtown West Palm Beach. They continued to make the "Luigi's" which eventually became known as "Bonanno's" after their son, Stephen, took over the business in 1980 and had his name stamped on the footbed of the sandals.

Currently the company , now under the name "Palm Beach Sandal Company", is owned by Stephen Bonanno's ex-wife who, as part of her divorce settlement, was given the original Bonanno factory, machines and original patterns and dyes.

Here at the Boutique, we have stock of some Bonanno sandals, Palm Beach Sandals (which is the company we currently order from) and, just to further confuse you, Jack Rogers Sandals.

Jack Rogers is a Miami-based company that capitalized on the "Luigi" frenzy by producing their own version of the classic Palm Beach sandal. Jack really helped to spread the popularity of the style throughout the country and was a whiz at marketing. Today, many people refer to these sandals as "Jack Rogers" despite the fact that he is not the original creator of the style. We carry stock of Jack's for these (uninformed) customers, but once we educate them, we usually have an immediate convert because Jack Rogers are not all leather, are painted rather than dyed and , despite the USA stamped on the footbed, are NOT made in the United States.

Palm Beachers so love their Palm Beach Sandals that the Boutique painted a picture of one and had our inimitable embroidery house stitch them in various colors onto simple white linen hemstitch towels. They were a big hit !!!!

So check out your closet and decide what is the best color for you and give us a ring, an
e-mail or a snail-mail and let us help you "get your sandal on" !!  Your tootsies will thank you.

XOXOXOX
LETA

OUR BOOK IS HERE ! !

Finally, the long awaited and much anticipated book "Traditional Interiors" is available for pre-order at Amazon.com. This is an exciting moment for us and for all of you that were anxious to see more of our work. After our wonderful inclusion in Farrow and Ball's book, "The Art of Colour", we were invited to showcase more of our Design jobs in an exclusive tome.

This book is written by the same talented author that penned "The Art of Colour", 
Brian D. Coleman. His love of historic architecture and decor is evident in his detailed descriptions of my treasured works. 

This time, famed interiors photographer, Erik Kvalsvik, has teamed with him to capture the beauty of the fabrics, the wall coverings and all the design details that come together to create wonderful, comforting and timeless homes for our clients.

Come November, ( Monday, November 30th at 2:30 to be exact ) I will be giving a Lecture and Book signing at the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach. I'm so looking forward to this and I would love you to come.


XOXOXOX,
LETA

RIVA D'ARNO

Established in Florence in 1981, the Riva d'Arno atelier creates exclusive, high-quality linens for the home.

This month our display bed is made with a combination of Riva d'Arno, D. Porthault and Noël of Paris linens. We chose a beautiful machine-embroidered sateen cut-edge design in the palest of pinks from Riva d'Arno and accented it with a Geranium boudoir sham from Noël of Paris and the ever-popular Violette duvet cover from D. Porthault.

All of Riva d'Arno's designs can be machine-embroidered or hand-embroidered. We selected several designs of bedlinens....

...and several embroidered towel designs for the Boutique. You can customized these items by choosing different base colors for the linens and toweling and by choosing the embroidery thread color of your choice. 

Terrycloth Towel Colors

 The embroidered bedlinens can be created on Sateen cotton (Egyptian, long-staple cotton, of course) or a very fine Linen.

Fine Linen Colors

Cotton Sateen Colors

Riva d'Arno specializes in appliqué and cutwork and offers wonderful and unique monogramming.

Stop in the Boutique to see even more that this gem of a company has to offer.


XOXOXO
LETA

SALE !!!

It's that time of year again....Sale Time ! We have so many cute children's dresses, pants, tops, shorts etc. at half-off that you simply must take a peek. Call /or email Betty (561) 655-7367, betty@lafinpb.com for particulars and she will be happy to email you some snaps of the available items in the size you are looking for.

La Stupenderia's Silk Party Dress

Lined Seersucker Jacket

This year, we have a lot of sizes 6,7,8 and 10, simply (and sadly) because we are phasing out bigger kids' clothes. We can still custom-order any of our beautiful Baroni, Anichini and Patricia Smith styles for your older child, but we just don't get enough off-the-rack sales of these sizes to warrant carrying stock.

Assorted Boy's Pants and Shorts

Children want what their friends are wearing and are swayed by the (do we dare say it?) poor taste of whatever current trend is de rigueur ....spangles, tutus, rhinestones etc. It is up to mother to impart a modicum of taste on little George or Emma before letting him or her fly solo on the roller coaster of fashion trends. I cannot tell you how many mothers ask their 2 and 3 year olds if they would wear a particular outfit before they purchase it.

Pink Seersucker Sailor Outfit by Patricia Smith

We are on a mission to educate mothers to take back their right to dress their children in proper, sensible and beautiful clothes and as they grow older, to educate them in their choices so they may enjoy the finer sartorial things in life (and don't show up to an Opera in a leotard with a feather boa as a skirt/belt....yes, this was an actual outfit seen at Lincoln Center!!)

Pink Damask Dress by La Stupenderia

So take our advise and pick up a few wardrobe basics for your little one while they are on sale, and get them started on their new classic clothing collection.

XOXOXO
LETA