le opera

oh what oh what shall i wear to see
The Phantom of the Opera.....
oh woe is me.

tgif.

~mme.

you're a peach

i know it's thursday (not my day) - but i couldn't resist playing around with picasa. think either is good enough to use for our new avitar picture for this blog?

you are in the studio...i am at my keys...all is right with the world.
crm

Dear L.A.M.B, you've captured my heart.

Sometimes, a girl needs to be surrounded by beauty.

She knows she cannot possibly buy one single thing because she is in savings mode, but she needs to see patent, smell leather, hear live piano, and take a deep breath for herself.

So she goes to Nordstrom's. Not just any Nordstroms...THE Nordy's - THE flagship store. Even just browsing is like a spa experience - soft lights, easy smells, happy sales-people.

As soon as she heaves open the big glass door separating herself from the hurried, map-laden tourists of downtown, she finds the breath she was looking for all day. She makes a bee-line for the shoes.

Many times, she wells up tears - shoes can do this to her. Shoes represent the essence of a woman she has worked ferociously at trying to recapture within her. A woman full of fancy, whimsy, playfulness - a chameleon. A woman smart, serious (but not too serious), full of laughter and martinis. A woman daring, sexual, evocative. A woman pink, purple, green. A woman created to portray all that is beautiful in the divine, all that is sinuous and sinister, all that is pretty for pretty's sake.

As the grand piano sings tunes of the 20's, she wanders to the couture section...and there it is.

Ladies and Gents, I give you...

The LAMB Patent Leather Ankle Rosemary Boot. Heaven, thy name is boot.

this was the beauty she needed today - to remember herself.

self, you are one gorgeous autumn.
~mme.

"I'll have another..."

In my notebook, I have a ritual...every pre-fall (yet another reason I continue to cling to my hugeific purse) I write down the list of things fall is demanding I own, aka, reasons to save...

I call it the Refraining from the Second Cocktail List.

I finally opened my doubly-thick fall Bazaar issue (with Tyra Banks on cover, and while I initially jolted with annoyance, I remember that I love it when she models and hate it when she talks) and what fabulous goodness awaited me...and as I flipped voraciously through Dior, D&G, and Versace, I made the list.

THE LIST.

And actually it's a lot more practical than last year's list which I think actually included 5 pair of shoes, 2 bags, 4 skirts, 3 slacks, 2 hats, 2 pair gloves, 5 pair tights/fishnets, 1 purse, 1 hat. I think I acquired the pants, tights, and purse. I set my sites to soaring when it comes to shopping lists. And that's the thing about lists, you can make them and they don't cost anything! :)

So you want it? Okay - here goes - this is very sacred so my palms are a bit sweaty (I have this fear of being duplicated, so I think everyone is going to show up with these items except me!):

1. White T-Shirt (nice one, of course)
2. Black belt
3. Gloves - leather, elbow high, black
4. Gloves, leather, wrist high, olive
5. Purse (black and/or camel)
6. Black tight turtleneck (mine is missing)
7. Brown tweed skirt
8. Hats
9. Hat Rack
10. New Kitchen
11. Lap top
12. Christmas Presents

Okay so maybe 9-12 are my other reasons to save and not necessarily my fall fashion list, but you get the picture.

So I am counting on you to give me that sassy eye when I look casually gesture at my waiter and utter perhaps the easiest phrase on earth, "I'll have another."

~mme.
p.s. need i even ask everyone to share their list? do it.

Shop Local

i was perusing the local shop feature on etsy and decided to check out our local etsy scene....and VIOLA. I added about 12 new things to my favorites b/c of this search, and just had to share that contrary to popular (or just one heavily-opinionated portlander's) belief:

seattle has not sold out.

I loved the jewelery on irenemachine:

Naughty embroidery from baddinsdesign:

Or these sophisticated mammas at lunaversoul:

this bizarre and striking bleach painting by mothtoflame:
this adorable boho vintage maxi from honeybeevintage:

Or the ULTIMATE picnic dress (for a little picnic meeting we are planning...btw, have you even thought about what you will wear when you meet HER? It's kind of a big deal!!!) and, since we have some MEN lurking around this blogospheric community....something for the men found at SeattleSundries:

also possibly for the men, this GORGEOUS (men, look away- AND COMFORTABLE) boudoir linen bra/undies set from sandmaiden. she has some really gorgeous stuff -

I give you the i-have-no-fucking-clue-what-the-shit-this-is:

And last, but never, ever least.... (though your name never came up in the search - this MUST be remedied as soon as possible!)..my umberdove.

lovin' the local scene~
mme. bookling-aling

Hats on to Us

"Women who wear hats intimidate me the most. It wasn't so bad when everyone wore a hat, but today, the style is limited only to the few, the proud...the tall. I think that's the key word here. Hats were never meant to be worn by women who can stand up under overhead bins on airplanes and not bash their heads in." (unknown)

The Hat. I never feel so fine, so sassy, so flirty as when I wear a hat. Something about that final accessory just defines my character for the day, giving a little pizazz to what could have been just another outfit. I think we need to decorate our hair more often, frame our faces and strut out under the brim of a fabulous hat.

Yes Please! (above: Mer Pleine de Vie Victorian top hat by Vanite De La Mort and below: The Holly by Topsy Turvy Design)

And for those days when something a little smaller, a little daintier is in order, we need a Fascinator!


This one, the Flirty Fascinator (also by Topsy Turvy Design), really needs to adorn my long brown tresses (hint hint to anyone who wants to shower me with love!) while I sip a cinnamon sprinkled rusty nail in Chez Gaudy.

And how could I say no to a huge bloom fluttering in my hair? (below: The Viktoria by Pink Tigers Den)


And when we need something even more subtle, what about a fabulous headband? I know you just posted the work of Vie Moderne, but I can't stop thinking about her gorgeous feathered head pieces. I am trying to decide between these two, but loving them both equally (top: Peacock Feather and Leather Flower Headband and bottom: Pheasant Feather and Leather Flower Headband).


And because I am truly a flower child at heart, I love these "Hippie" headbands by Mary Jane Frances.


'Till we tip our hats to each other next, au revoir my friend.

wanderlust

You know that scene in Chocolate where Vianne opens the windows to the strong north wind and she finds he must indeed uproot her daughter and move on? Well, I also have this wanderlust - this desire to escape and start over...to listen to something as mystical and illogical as the wind to give voice and direction to my own journey. It wouldn't hurt to have those freaking fabulous red capes Vianne & Anouk wear either.

This love of travel and opportunity to start over gives birth to a great love for maps, and I love this series of map paintings from artist Rachel Ann Austin. She was recently featured on etsy in an article "Quit Your Day Job." Two of my favorites:

Dobbyn

Manzanilla

So while I was wandering on Etsy - a valid form of escape from my computer-induced aching neck, back, and wrist - i found Bellatrix Art- whose work is very graphic and cartooned, but also somehow abstract and entirely enchanting and seductive somehow.

Heartache and Poetry II

The Forrest of Lights

The Night of the Paper Swans

TGIF, Umbers.
I am exhausted.

~mme. bookling

Wanna Marathon?

I'm not talking about the type of marathon where you sweat and strain, I'm talking about the type where you drink too much vodka and order take-out. I'm talking about a Sex and the City marathon. You in?

I'm feeling that old "bored with the wardrobe" syndrome sinking in and really need a wake-up call al la Patricia Fields. So to drum up a little inspiration, I decided to look up some moments of sheer poetry as worn by the SATC crew (don't judge me for the acronym, every body's doing it).

Did you know this was a vintage, floor length 70's jersey dress that Fields chopped up?


I love thigh-high socks anyways, and this may just be my Winter "Ladies who Lunch" uniform (and YES we do need to start that back up!).


Such sass (I could so see you rocking the black outfit).


This dress, this scene, this character: amazing. I think that Charlotte stole the show from the other two bridesmaids.


And while we're on the subject of the non-wedding, the whole photoshoot with Carrie and the wedding dresses MUST be revisited.



Last but so not least, mine (and everyone's) all time favorite.


See? I feel better already. Imagine how we'll feel after a season or two?

for the consideration of our dear plume

there is a dear friend we have both been acquainted with of late - and her feathers have been ruffled lately. i was thinking of her when i came across these lovely plumaged goodies. umberdovely, i know you will agree with me when i say that our jsl's feathers are elegant indeed and if we could, we would flap our own wings right on over to her cage and make her come play with us.

For your consideration, our Noisy Plume~

The Kit Headband, found at Pluma

The Feathered Cuff found at goodgirlstudio

The Cage Cap featured on Brenda'sBridalVeils

The Vest Singlet found on Mimiana

The Green Peacock featured on 3LambsGraphics

The Ecru Plume Cotton Skirt at UnionRose

To all things feathered - and for our dear friend Plume, we salute you.

~learning to flap all the way up and down our street,
mme. bookling