ILLUSION

There's a reason why Shakespeare's comedies end in weddings: first off, so that it can make up for any deaths in the play, and second off, think of the gorgeous finale costumes! But also, probably because we've learned a hard lesson throughout so we deserve a little celebration. This week I've been doing a bit of self-reflecting, precisely about how sometimes, we are so caught up in creating a narrative about something, we often start thinking about it with a conclusion in mind rather than a hypothesis. As humans, it's almost second nature for us to jump to these conclusions about things: which reminded me of a little Shakespeare comedy I'd love to recount: The Winter's Tale. To be honest with you, before I really knew anything about this play, I just thought it was about a bunch of silly people and someone eventually gets eaten by a bear because of that one famous exit note in the play (it's actually most likely that this was meant to be staged in productions, as a matter of fact). But as it turns out, this is the perfect story of how making assumptions can drive us crazy: long story short, King Leontes thinks that just because his wife Hermione got his BFF Polixenes to agree to something, he jumps to the conclusion that the two had an affair. What's worse: he thinks the baby Queen Hermione is having is his friend's kid, not his. Where was Michael Jackson bursting in singing Billie Jean for the Queen in this situation? Apparently not around. (LOL @ me right now and this comparison). But the point is: it's not only a silly comedy that luckily ends up in a marriage, it actually holds such a valuable lesson for all of us today. A lesson to stop overthinking and to not jump to conclusions, and that's the real happy ending behind the narrative. 

To play with some royal layers, my look is a modern ode to Queen Hermione herself: with lots shine, pearls and embroidery. My long sleeve beaded top is a gem I picked up at Nordstrom's a few years ago, and I layered an Anthropologie sleeveless turtleneck top over it, how cool is this shiny pleated affect?! I paired the look with some simple Topshop jeans and added one of my favorite bombers on top: this amazing embroidered one from Miss Selfridge. 

“It is an heretic that makes the fire, 
Not she which burns in't.” 

[The Winter's Tale 2.3]

Cheers, xxx - A.Martine

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