Under the Eyes of Nuns: Loretta Caponi

Nine year old Loretta Caponi first learned how to sew and embroider under the watchful eyes of the nuns at the Sacred Heart convent in Florence.  

By the time she was fourteen, she was delivering her embroidered work to the wealthy families who were patrons of the church.

And after enduring the hardships of the second world war and employers who were almost Dickensian in their miserliness and abuse, Caponi saved enough money to open her shop on the swank Via de' Tornabuoni in Florence.

Soon her store was filled with royalty, rock stars and café society.  When she was asked to embroider a set of white bath towels for the newly wed Prince Charles and Princess Diana with the royal crest in red and blue, Caponi pooh-poohed the idea, saying that crowns and crests have always been tone-on-tone.  And I dare say, Prince Charles, certainly approved.  

I am a PJ kind of girl.  PJs or nothing : ) but there are certain times when a girl should not be in pajamas or naked.  She needs sensuous silk winding its way down her body, cut on the bias, with straps the width of angel's hair and fine pin tucks and beautiful lace.  She needs, in other words, a negligée - and not some shiny poly thing with scratchy lace. She needs something that the nuns would have been delighted with creating and then blushed to see worn.

So just in time for Valentine's Day...  please note as these are in pristine condition.

To purchase or for more information, please email info@rarevintage.com or phone 212.581.7273