LA BELLE ÉPOQUE?

Everyone else interpreted it as an opportunity for elegance in formal attire.  I, on the other hand, read Times Square Local -- as in: actress who has taken a wrong turn from her dressing room.  You see, when I read my cousin's wedding invitation, I knew it would be theatrical.  So I wanted to play a part.

My "look" at my cousin's wedding, re-created here
with feathered fascinator, and a mass of curls

Here's a smattering of comments I heard when I walked into the Hudson Theater, resembling a drowned New York pigeon after walking one block in a downpour:

"Look, it's Mary Poppins!" (I had my furry bolero on and a dripping umbrella)
"Is that real raccoon?" (in reference to my raccoon bolero, also used here)
"It's 'Midnight in Paris'! " (in reference to La Belle Époque scenes, I presume?)
"She's a New Yorker." (this was my favorite!)
"A boa on your head?!" from a stranger sharing my table
"I don't know who you are but can I take a picture?" says polite stranger, eyeing my hat
"Can you smile for me? * snap * I just like your hat" says another stranger, not as polite
* snap * (stranger takes my photo wordlessly and walks away)

Some things, like the Folies Bergère, are better experienced in dark, smoke filled rooms. Same with my Look.  But I've taken my ridiculous outfit outdoors so you can see it better -- down to every wrinkle.  Party and packing creases have been left in for interest.

Gaudy in the sun -- like daytime Folies Bergère!

This outfit was cobbled together with no specific era in mind.  The only items truly "period" were my necklace and earrings.  They are heirlooms from a dear friend's grandmother's dowry -- from an old Spanish family that had settled in California when it was still a province of Mexico.  My friend, however, is now living a bohemian dancer's life in Hawaii while hoping for a Celtic Druid to whisk her away to a magical life in the Western Isles.  (No joke.) She decided Doña Margarita would be happier if I took her jewels to another, hopefully more glamorous, life.  Uncomfortably, I promised I would safeguard them for a short while since she should be the true keeper of her family's treasures.  Meanwhile, I hope Doña Margarita and her jewels enjoyed the party in New York City!

I leave you with a real image from La Belle Époque.

from a book by Jean-Marie Creugnet

Is there a specific era in mind you would have liked to live in?