All About Irma

I should like to rise and go where the golden apples grow…

Childhood impressions. I was born in the beautiful mountains of Austria, near the Suisse and Italian borders. My parents owned and operated a Bed and Breakfast for nature loving tourists. From early childhood on, I was impressed by the changing of the seasons, the clouds in the sky, the protecting mountains and forests, the colors of wild flowers, the smell of the earth, and the sound of the church bells. At times, the idyllic calm of life was broken by thunder storms with deluges inundating our village. Overcoming my fears, and helping my parents fight the elements during these storms contributed to reinforcing my sense impressions. As I was growing up, I proudly entertained the tourists staying at my parents' home, showing off the colorful outfits I had designed, and that my mom had sewn and knit for me. When I was not on the “runway”, I browsed through fashion catalogues, and dreamt of exotic people and distant places.

Singing the traveling song. As soon as I was 17, I started realizing my dreams of travels and adventures. I explored the Caribbean Islands on a fishing boat, and the Moroccan Sahara on a camel back. I followed Odyssey’s voyage from Turkey, to the Greek Islands and visited other European countries from Denmark to Spain. Two forming years in Paris sharpened my eyes, and refined my taste for the better things in life. My trip around the globe brought me to Los Angeles where I obtained a job at the Austrian Tourist Office, guiding Europe-bound American tourists with my geographical knowledge and picturesque memories.

Realizing the American Dream. I was blessed. One month after my arrival to Los Angeles, my trip around the world was changed into the voyage of life. While visiting a colleague in Beverly Hills, I met my prince charming. We fell in love, got married, made a beautiful home, and raised two wonderful boys… But telling this story is a book by itself.

The birth of a fashion house. As the kids were leaving the nest for college, and a voyage of their own, I started dreaming about my next journey. Where shall I go next? The answer emerged distinctively from the point where my dreams met reality. When I pushed the stroller, played the soccer mom, attended school events, or played the hostess for guests, and clients, I was always showered with lots of compliments for the clothes I was wearing, whether I had designed them or selected them from other designers. My husband’s entrepreneurship and his passion for Women and Art, made the choice unavoidable. Thus was born Irma La Dolce.

Company mission. Irma La Dolce’s commitment is to find original ways of integrating colors, shapes, and materials from various cultures and across space and time to make the world a more beautiful place, one window, one dress, one woman at a time.