Clothing designer Liz Claiborne Inc. has purchased C & C; California Inc., a Los Feliz designer and wholesaler of colorful T-shirts, for an initial equity stake of $28 million, plus additional payments in 2007, 2008 and 2009 based on the company’s future earnings.

C & C; California posted roughly $21 million in revenue last year primarily to specialty retailers such as Ron Herman, Dari and Planet Blue in Los Angeles, and Scoop in New York. It also sells at department stores Barneys New York, Bloomingdale’s and Neiman Marcus.

Last year, the company’s co-founders, designers Claire Stansfield and Cheyann Benedict, got a boost of free advertising when they were featured in a Visa ad and later appeared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Liz Claiborne said it expects the purchase to add 3 cents per share to fiscal 2005 earnings. Sage Group Inc. acted as the investment banker on the deal.