Last Thursday I had an appointment at 9am. As I was very early and there was no traffic jam (lucky me!) I had nearly 40 minutes before hand, so I went for window shopping in Town & Country. Weather was fine, parking lot still empty, the set of beautiful shops nestled between Memorial and Kimberley was just ready for a private visit.

Nobody around.

Too good to miss.

I grabbed a coffee – just a coffee *sigh*-at the Starbucks corner in the store, and off I went.

The first windows belonged to Banana Republic. Very “Mad Men on a Safari tour”.

Yeah, it’s a jungle out there.

The “Men collection” is just …just…perfect. Nothing to add here. Have a look.

I remembered these ads in magazines for the spring collection featuring designs seemingly taken just out of the series.This  kind of team up between BR and Madmen surely is bound to be a hit….and the male model has a strong resemblance to Don Draper…

Is it Don Draper already?

I left the Men Mad with their Jungle Out There and I shifted to the huge windows of White House & Black Market.

Such a lovely boutique, such pretty items.

Sophisticated yet cool. Classic with a twist, bold style and fashionista-pleasing collections, displayed in a glamorous, boudoir-style shop.

And they are not ashamed of their commitment to charities (which is always a good point).

Hum…how can I tell you… I can’t resist.

Certainly Margo Channing would have bought her day garments in there (or at least, sent Birdie to buy them), had she not been only real on the silver screen and had the brand existed back then. Grace Kelly seems more a J Crew-type girl, I should say. In the evening :  Balenciaga, Valentino, or Nina Ricci. For both Miss Davis and Miss Kelly.

Bette Davis portraited an immortal Margo in the Movie “All about Eve” (Mankiewicz, 1950,20th Century Fox). Should you wander why the movie is a MAJOR classic in the history of Cinema (apart from the numerous awards it received), just pick a copy or dive into Netflix, and (re)discover the imperial Bette Davis, the ruthless predatory nature of the bitchy Eve (incredibly talented Anne Baxter), the stylish and smoothly cynical Addison DeWitt (magnificent George Sanders), the lovely debutante Marilyn Monroe, the charming and reliable Gary Merrill, the confused Hugh Marlowe and the naive friend Karen Richards (Celeste Holm), encapsulated in a masterpiece so carefully crafted, that it looks like a  diamond necklace, sparkling with wit and brilliant dialogues, sumptuous costumes and decors, and such a mastery of photo and directing, you’ll be swept off you feet…

As for me, I love diamond necklaces…

PS : in Pop culture, references or homage to Miss Channing or to the movie are plethora, the following are the latest addenda to the entertainment industry (I thank Wikipedia-San for his help on the subject, seeing I am not a big fan of the Simpsons nor of Glee):

• Blair (Gossip Girl, season 3, ep “Enough about Eve”) dreams that she is Margo Channing
• P. Almodovar’s movie title “All about my mother” is a reference to Mankiewicz’s, and the first scene shows the protagonist watching the 1950 movie on TV, later a character is accused of  learning her lines “just like Eve Harrington”.
• A 2008 Simpsons’s episode is called “All about Lisa”
• In a Season 2 episode of Glee, a character is called a Latina Eve Harrington