Red, white and black

Black and dark-grey stripped top: Target

Skirt: from a  neighbourhood sale, likely vintage

Shoes: Payless

Sunglasses: Ulta

Pink pearl necklace: gift from my grandmother

Bracelets: Oriental costume boutique in Georgetown (it closed since then)

I am tempted never to take any weather alert seriously anymore. I spent the whole night awake, because I was afraid to be sleeping when something bad would happen (like a huge tree falling on the house). Nothing happened, and I am feeling furious at the media and local authorities for fueling terror. Worse, it's like crying wolf. There has been so many "serious" alerts and every time, nothing nearly as bad happens. (Disclaimer: if you're gonna go swim during a hurricane, YES, you're gonna die. Point.) The worst part is, some day, something VERY serious will happen, and the fact that no one will take it seriously is gonna be catastrophic.

On a brighter tone, I'm fine, and I've got my power, and my baby cousins are back in DC after being away for weeks! So I've decided to do my first outfit post! Yaaay! 

The idea in this outfit is to create the retro, 1950s housewife look (with a little Bree Van de Kamp kick, can't help it!): a flower-patterned high-waist skirt with a loose top tucked in it,  and of course, the high-heel slingbacks and pearl necklace. Having a tiny waist and wide hips, this era's silhouettes fit me the best. And the colour theme is perfect: I love wearing red and black. I'm not too much of a "fushia and bright yellow and lime green" kind of girl. 

As to the skirt, there's a bit of a story behind it. One morning as I was jogging, I stopped in front of a yard sale, because this skirt (out of so many other things, including an 80s two-piece formal ensemble) caught my attention. I had no money on me (it's real exercise, not shopping!), so I told the lady to hold it for me (usually, in a yard sale, all the decent stuff goes first), ran faster than I ever had back home, grabbed a wallet and got back to buy it. Its price was so ridiculously low that I don't dare put it up here. And according to the neighbour, her mum had it for decades. So it was possibly a good vintage piece. I also got some nice chunky retro jewelry, and one or two children books for my little cousins, so they get to practice their English (they're francophone). 

The pictures aren't the best, and it's because I'm still dabbling. I am using a small (fushia) digital camera on a tripod, because obviously it is too early to invest in the pro material. I am far from being an expert in photography and  photo editing, although I think I am getting better at it (my first facebook albums prove it, and I can't believe I've actually taken those pictures). I am better at scenery than portraits, because i love taking pictures of places I explore (or re-explore). And running back and forth for the self-timer while trying to get the good pose (tuck the tummy, watch the expression, shoulders back) is rather hard. 

Here's a blooper: Julie's sitting on the couch and raising a finger while I'm trying to strike the pose without falling over. 

Later, I took the girls to Wildwood Shopping Center, a strip mall by my place with the most charming boutiques, restaurants and shops, and one of my favourite hangout places. I had a Passion Tea from Starbucks, while the girls ate M&Ms.

That's all for now!

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Butterfly and Hurricane

It is almost 2:00 AM and my power is going on and off. I can hear very heavy rain and tree branches periodically hit my window. We have been preparing for Hurricane Irene for the past two days, and although weather alerts in the Washington DC area tend to be very exaggerated (shelves at the grocery store already empty when only three inches of snow are expected), this one seems quite serious. Hopefully it'll be over without any serious damage. In the meanwhile, I am sitting in my bed, sipping hot chocolate and watching Desperate Housewives while listening to thunder.
Unfortunately, preparing for the hurricane, which meant among others a whole day of driving through five different areas (Bethesda, Rockville, Potomac,  North-West DC and Silver-Spring), going from a Target/CVS/Safeway/Giant to another to find empty shelves and no more flashlights or batteries, left me no time to prepare outfit photos. Besides, the mood is rather gloomy around here, with pre-apocalyptic scenes and general panic, for me to be inspired to dress up nicely.

I've been running around in a white summer dress and black high-heeled sandals (elegance oblige), leaving my hair as it is, naturally wavy, because the weather was much too humid. For some reason, I can't just do like "normal" people and wear sweatpants and sneakers.
If I did, I would feel oddly out of place, like one of these dreams when you realize in utter terror that you showed up in class wearing only underwear. Although, perhaps, if you've got the "diva" mind like me, you might save yourself from shame a little by making your subconscious mind dress you in a beautiful silk and lace deshabillé, perhaps like the ones pictured below, from this vintage website to which I'm addicted.

Dressing gown, nightdress. 

Funnily enough, I seem to have outgrown the anxiety of being in a hurricane. Yesterday, as I was roaming through the aisles at Target, I felt dizzy with panic, all of the sudden not knowing what sort of foods I should get if we lost power and had no fridge. I tried to call a friend, but there was no signal. I had to breathe deeply so I wouldn't give in to panic. Not in public, I thought. Remain composed, like a lady. Very Bree Van de Kamp, one may say.

However, at this very moment, when they're saying the hurricane's supposed to hit at its worse, I just got my hair done (root touch-up) and straightened it (because it looks longer! haha), and even though I've got the flashlight right at my reach, I am now feeling in a mood light enough to blog and research at-home keratin treatments.
I managed to crack up a laugh earlier tonight when I was using a big kitchen knife to cut an onion for a stir-fry (I LOVE cooking!). People tease me a lot about my clumsiness and the fact that I become a public danger when I'm handling a hot drink, and my Ipod, on shuffle, ironically played "Con Onor Muore", the final scene of Puccini's opera Madam Butterfly (the part where the eponymous principal character is holding a large knife and, well... I won't spoil it for you). I've always had difficulty with onions (teary eyes don't help!) and there's a history of me with a knife that slips out of my hand... I've been lucky, always lucky, to generally avoid dangerous accidents or serious injuries, but there was maybe a veeery obscure reason for why my mother always preferred that I use plastic knives when I cook.


Hoping that Irene won't deprive me from the brightness, (I am the kind of person who needs a LOT of light, otherwise, hello, seasonal depression!), I say, to better times!

Lust, un peu, beaucoup

I've prepared a " little" (iiickle, really) wishlist (because I can be whiny, diva-esque and demanding) because a girl likes to dream.... or not just dream: after all, Christmas in in three months or so, and my birthday a bit later (hint, hint, Mummy dearest! haha!). I wanted to post something (you know this feeling when you're opening a new blog and you just want to give up after the first post... Well, here's the second, beats it!) but I won't have the proper lighting and equipment for outfit photos until tomorrow. So, since this is a wishlist, I'll let Mademoiselle (the Diva-in-me alter-ego) present it!

Photos, property of their respective owners: Owl earrings, red coat, fur handbag, bell hat, Balenciaga ballgown, wine, dog, cat, nail polish. Montage made by me. 

Mademoiselle wants... a red coat, because she wants some colour in her life, a fur handbag, because it's classy and elegant, a bell hat, obviously for the 1960s retro look. She'd love owl earrings because she's a fan of the Harry Potter books and movies and she'd like to pay a tribute to Hedwig. Mademoiselle should remember getting these earrings as soon as she hits the mall...

Mademoiselle dreams to find a vintage Balanciaga ballgown (or Alix Grès... they're both as amazing... And wouldn't say no to Chanel either...), and would love to cuddle with a long-haired chihuahua and a Persian cat, and savour some Côte-de-Provence rosé wine (unfortunately, she can't because of silly religiously fanatic puritan laws that are the reason for irresponsible drinking she's been younger, but she's not that old... yet) while listening to Maria Callas' La Traviata, her favourite opera. 

And Mademoiselle would love to colour her nails with the Rescue Beauty Lounge: The Tudors nail polish in Katherine Howard, since she loves this show and Katherine and Anne Boleyn are her favourite queens, but it'll be very hard to find this limited edition nail polish. 

Loads of Love, 

Mademoiselle {S}

Let them eat macarons!

I hate writing introductory articles for blogs. So I've decided with my own original idea to give a few basic info about myself. My family always said I was the reincarnation of Marie-Antoinette, or a French noblewoman who got her head chopped off during the Revolution. Perhaps I got too used to the Versailles lifestyle that it rubbed off on me in this current life.

Well, too bad.

I like trying many things and after seeing such amazing fashion blogs on the Internet (you'll find a lot of them in my Honour List page, and I advise you to follow them), I've decided to make my own. After all, I must admit, how frivolous it may sound, I love fashion (as my walk-in closet may say itself).