Vintage 70's Louise Perini Guatemalan Woven Jacket + Dress Ensemble

Gorgeous vintage late 70's Guatemalan ensemble by Louise Perini.  Really special pieces to wear together or separately.  Features handwoven Guatemalan ikat cotton in an earthy currant palette. Super draped caftan style jacket with contrast black + white woven yoke and genuine shearling trim.  Rose shaped bakelite button closures.  Fitted jumper style dress with rose shaped bakelite buttons down back and rear waist ties. 

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

The practice of "making" runs deep in my family.  My mother, father and grandparents on both sides came from Northern Italy and had to make or grow everything they used or wanted.  My dad seemed to know how to do and create just about anything.  When my mother came to New York in the mid-1920's she worked as a seamstress in the dress factories.  As a child, I watched as she designed and sewed all my clothes.  Later, we would collaborate on what she would make for me each season.  Eventually I began sewing up my own bits and pieces for fun, and finally by my first year of college I had taken on the whole task of designing and sewing my wardrobe.
In my junior year of college, I lost interest in my foreign language major.  I realized that I wanted to become a professional in apparel design.  I transferred to the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, where I studied all the arts involving textiles, draping, patternmaking, garment construction.  Following graduation I worked for a few manufacturers in the NY garment industry.  Then I moved to San Francisco, which lacked any major clothing industry, and had to recreate myself as an independent fashion consultant and custom clothing designer.  I had a marvelous time in the Bay Area, inspired by so many local artists working in numerous fabric and fiber mediums.
I've been creating things in fabric, yarn, paper and other fiber mediums ever since.  I'm continually excited by new platforms through which the creative and utilitarian possibilities of fiber and textile are perceived and expanded.