Eva Longoria fulfills dream as first clothing line hits The Limited
From basic pillows, actress’ versatility grew
The fitted cotton dresses and button-down shirts in Eva Longoria’s first clothing collection, which launched this month at The Limited, are a far cry from the pillows that helped teach her the basics of sewing. As they do for many getting the hang of a sewing machine, patterns with straight lines marked her entry into the world of fashion design.
“Anything round was a challenge,” she jokes, telling us the back story to her dream of creating a clothing line. “I started learning pattern cutting and textiles with free patterns and discount materials from fabric stores, and I would practice with those.”
Longoria, 41, progressed to Halloween costumes and some basic dresses for her girlfriends before slipping a few cocktail dresses of her own creation into her red-carpet wardrobe, taking pride in onlookers and photographers being none the wiser.
She still won’t divulge which of her own creations have made it out in the spotlight. “They were wearing-worthy, so I was proud of them,” she says.
“I love old McCall’s. There are so many great patterns. Simplicity is a good one. I worked off a lot of these simple, classic things, then I’d make a princess sleeve instead of a normal sleeve, or in a different fabric.”
In the past few years, she says she finally had the time to dedicate to designing and found a partner in The Limited.
The brand has been a longtime go-to for women in need of standard office basics at prices that are similarly equitable. The brand worked with Kerry Wash- ington last year on a Scandalthemed collection of workwear basics, which also are the focus of Longoria’s line. Celebrities’ personal styles can often get muddled in these ubiquitous partnerships — it’s hard to translate the luxurious fabric and attention to detail put into items by designers such as Naeem Khan and Carolina Herrera, labels favored by Longoria, into massproduced items. Though the
Desperate Housewives star says the basics of her own closet shine through.
“My daily uniform is jeans and a blazer,” she says, noting the stretchy jeans in her collection follow a strong, personally held conviction: “I think jeans should act like Spanx, suck everything in and hold everything up yet be comfortable, so you can sit all day.”
There are several dresses she calls “onesies,” for women who want to “step into one garment and go.”
“It’s just a complete outfit on its own, doesn’t take a lot of coordinating,” she says.
Those no-thought dresses may be the most attractive to customers looking for a reliable work outfit.
The $160 price tag may trip up some regular shoppers; most other dresses on the retailer’s website hover below $100.
The cheeky wine-centric graphic tees also carry a steep price tag. Will customers pay $50 for a black cap sleeve top with #winegoals printed on the front? (For context, logo tees from Beyoncé’s Ivy Park collection for Top Shop and Nordstrom run about $26.)
Sizes range from XS-XXL and 0-18 in jeans.
Though no plus sizes are on the horizon, she has plans for a petite line “for us vertically challenged women.”
“My daily uniform is jeans and a blazer. I think jeans should act like Spanx, suck everything in and hold everything up yet be comfortable, so you can sit all day.” Eva Longoria