A gorgeous, sunny, breezy May afternoon spent in beautiful Newport, Rhode Island, is certainly not a bad way to spend a birthday. Touring two of the fabulous “summer cottages” of Vanderbilt brothers William K. and Cornelius II was a perfect thrill, and I’m now going to make a habit of going through my photos from the trip with Dario Marianelli’s score for the 2005 Pride and Prejudice adaptation in the background. If you’re ever in Newport, take a few days, if possible. One for the Newport Mansions, so you’ll have plenty of time to linger over the fascinatingly informational audio tours (Marble House especially has a particularly entertaining history, and swoon-worthy interiors) and leave yourself time for traversing the grounds; load up your iPod with some Bach in advance. Bring your walking shoes for another day at the Cliff Walk where you’ll have the absolutely stunning water to one side and the backyard of America’s Gilded Age to the other. And one more day for shopping and dining on America’s Cup Avenue, with a sojourn down Bowen’s Wharf and a few stolen meditative moments on the docks at sunset. Perfection.

P.S. My dress is a darling little thing by Liz Claiborne which you can get for $40 right here.

The only thing prettier than the Mes Dames Spring/Summer 2013 lookbook might be the actual collection. The fabrics and the colors speak volumes in these photographs, the shapes and muted tones. For the very belated spring we’ve had here these have helped lend inspiration to the awkward transitional doldrums. Now, finally, the flowers are popping and the colors are finally starting to liven up. It’s about time. All that’s needed is to get my hands on that gorgeous printed blouse!

Browse the full collection over here.

my blog-reading routine

On my browser: Feedly

On my tablet: Flipboard

Back in March Google announced that it would be powering down Google Reader, and this week the beautiful HelloCotton will be closing as well. With all of these changes going on, I wanted to drop in a little list of links here in the hopes of making subscribing to your favorite blogs as easy as ever.

The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower has gone through a transitional period in my life, as my may have noticed or even, in some cases, acted as a sounding board over. I appreciate every moment of this journey, from the place I’m at now – so vastly different, and perhaps all the more fulfilling, than what I expected – to every wonderful surprise along the way. While my focus changes, the biggest difference visitors will find here will be a continued and blissful simplicity. Updates may not be as frequent as they once were, but they’ll always be from the heart, and hopefully they’ll continue to inspire a life of simple elegance. I love having the opportunity to collect all of the things that entertain, enlighten and inspire me; and if I should bring something new and interesting into someone else’s life as well…that’s the icing on the cake! For those who would like to continue to receive updates (thank you for that!), I’ll round up the collective options (that I know of) for keeping connected.

As ever, if you have any questions – or if you have a favorite blog-reader I didn’t mention – feel free to contact me or drop me a note at any of the sites just above. Good luck!

01. Circle Sunnies, $50 | 02. Circle Studs in Stripe, $20 | 03. Linked-In Necklace in Abstract, $45
04. The Weekend Calendar, $25 | 05. Everyday Shift Dress in Abstract, $170
06. Top-Handle Small Satchel in Ocean Blue | 07. The Small Weekender Bag in Signature Zig Zag, $160
08. Slip Neck Ponte Dress in Black, $130 | 09. Circle-In-Square Bracelet in Yellow, $35
10. Large Squared-Away Cosmetic Case in Abstract, $85

Saturday, the fab new extension of the kate spade new york family, is high on my list of loves at the moment. If you’ve been anxiously awaiting the Saturday online store – as I was – then you’ll be thrilled to know that Kate Spade Saturday went live last week. And it’s adorable. Curated for the everygirl’s weekend style, the collection offers clothing, accessories, and home items in chic colors and bold prints. One of my favorite pieces is the Weekender bag, which sets the tone for Saturday’s jet-setter attitude. It’s practical, organized, and you can even design your own (monogrammed, of course!). Last but not least, Saturday offers kate spade style at a great price point. What’s not to love?!

“I truly believe that when you love what you do, you never ‘work’ a day in your life. Passion can not be bought, outsourced, thought or faked – it has to be authentic”

“It is about behaviour that is moral or immoral. Knowing what behaviour is proper, and what is not, is the simple part – living those principles requires commitment, integrity, wisdom and courage”

“The sustainable change in fabrics and fashion is irreversible, but I wish for it to happen faster. My vision is to drive this change, not to follow it!”

Photos/Quotes: Courtesy of Nina Skarra

Last month Norwegian designer Nina Skarra made her New York Fashion Week debut with her Autumn/Winter 2013 collection. Since launching her first collection in Paris in 2008, Skarra has racked up a significant place in the fashion sphere, with celebrities and royals alike spotted in her designs (take Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway, and Livia Firth, to name a few). I find her use of structure and tailoring quite fabulous, from the classic elements like Peter Pan collars and peplum to the more abstract and adventurous. The color palette is exactly my style, too – stark blacks and whites with the now-classic pops of royal blue and deep red. The impossibly chic red lip is the ultimate accessory. The element of her brand that most resonates with me, though, is Skarra’s dedication to sustainability. She knows that the growth of eco-friendly design within the industry is a vital endeavor. It’s always inspiring to see a brand approach sustainability and environmental awareness with such a strong level of responsibility. And that she’s taking eco-friendly design to the high-fashion spectre tells of her passion – not to mention her fearlessness.

Nina Skarra: Website | Facebook | Twitter

For three seasons Downton Abbey has come into our lives, taken us through its comedic highs and dramatic lows, and left us emotionally exhausted thanks to the stellar writing and the brilliant, brilliant performances. We survived the year-long wait after Season 2; survived the tumultuous joys and heartbreaks of Season 3; and now it’s time to get through another year of waiting as Season 4 begins to take shape. What’s a fan to do?! Well…a lot, actually. Whether you’re looking for more drama, more costumes, more of the cast, or more from the mind of Julian Fellowes, here’s a rather big selection of books and films to keep you entertained for the long journey to Season 4. If you’d like any more info on these selections just leave me a note, a tweet, or any other form of message that you fancy. Otherwise sit back, deep breaths, step away from the spoilers, and enjoy.

North & South // A Room With A View // Daniel Deronda // Cranford
Island at War // Sense & Sensibility // The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel // The Turn of the Screw

a cheat sheet…
Brendan Coyle …… Mr. Bates
Timothy Piggot-Smith …… Sir Philip Tapsel
Elizabeth McGovern …… Cora Crawley
Hugh Bonneville …… Robert Crawley
Jim Carter …… Mr. Carson
Joanne Froggott …… Anna Smith
Dan Stevens …… Matthew Crawley
Dame Maggie Smith …… Violet Crawley
Penelope Wilton …… Isobel Crawley
Michelle Dockery …… Lady Mary Crawley

Of note: The 2008 adaptation of The Turn of the Screw was the first time Dan Stevens and Michelle Dockery teamed up onscreen — with less falling in love and more possessed children — but, unfortunately it’s not yet available in the USA.

Must-see: North and South (currently streaming free on Amazon Prime) is possibly my all-time favorite period drama, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Guess who: In Cranford, Jim Carter costars with his fabulous wife, Imelda Staunton; and if one Downton star isn’t enough, Michelle Dockery makes an appearance in the Christmas special sequel, Return to Cranford. Cranford is a fantastic miniseries to watch if you’re a period drama enthusiast, as its cast members are all veterans of the genre. Watch it and see who you recognize!

Gosford Park // Snobs // From Time to Time
Titanic // Past Imperfect // The Young Victoria

And the Oscar goes to: Gosford Park, for which Julian Fellowes’s screenplay won an Academy Award, was the inspiration for Downton Abbey. Downton was originally supposed to be a spin-off of Gosford, but Fellowes later decided to set the story in an earlier era.

As seen on Downton Abbey: Dame Maggie Smith stars in both Gosford Park and From Time to Time, while Maria Doyle Kennedy (Vera Bates) appears in Fellowes’s 2012 drama, Titanic.

Fangirl moment: I have to segue here and briefly mention that Maria Doyle Kennedy is a really cool lady. Not only is she a brilliant actress (she made us all detest Vera, and she also dropped her Irish accent to play a Spaniard, Catherine of Aragon in Showtime’s The Tudors), but she’s also a rather lovely singer. Have a listen to her song with Damien Rice: Sing. Her albums are on Spotify.

A novel idea: Back to Julian. His writing has gone beyond the screen to several novels; Snobs, his first novel, was published in 2004 while Past Imperfect was published in 2008. Both are still in print.

Cambridge Spies // Mr. Selfridge (3/31, PBS) // Call the Midwife (3/31, PBS)
Glorious 39 // Birdsong // The Forsyte Saga

Suit and tie: When we talk about fashion in period dramas we often talk about the women. But Cambridge Spies – about British men recruited as spies for Russia in the 1930s – features some fabulous style moments from its male stars: Toby Stephens, Rupert Penry-Jones, Samuel West, and the terrific Tom Hollander.

Downton Abbey for fashion enthusiasts: Masterpiece Classic is taking a break after Downton, but it returns on March 31st with the premiere of Mr. Selfridge, a must-see drama for the style inclined. It follows American businessman Harry Gordon Selfridge (Jeremy Piven) as he creates the now-legendary Selfridge’s department store in 1909 London. Catch the trailer here.

From housemaids to midwives: Also premiering on March 31st is Season 2 of the tremendous hit Call the Midwife. The drama focuses on the nuns and nurses who worked as midwives in London’s poorest neighborhood in the 1940s. You can find highlights from the first season here and, if your interest is piqued, you can watch Season 1 on Netflix and Amazon Instant Video while you wait for the second season’s premiere.

Brody’s a Brit: The Forsyte Saga is definitely a must for Downton fans; great drama, a wonderful score, terrific writing, and beautiful costumes, not to mention the cast. Homeland viewers will catch Damien Lewis with his native accent when he gives a spine-tingling performance as Soames Forsyte, driven to first love, then obsession, then near madness over beautiful Irene.

Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey // While We Were Watching Downton Abbey // Below Stairs
The House at Tyneford // The American Heiress // The House at Riverton

Did they mention Downton Abbey?: One of the biggest trends in the literary world latelty is books inspired by Downton Abbey. From biographies on real-life ladies and maids who lived in the time of Downton Abbey, to fictional stories that ride the same wavelength as Downton Abbey, to novels about women who watch Downton Abbey… You can really just go hog wild here.

Cat eye sunglasses are my particular favorite, and it’s really no surprise when considering their history. Originally popular in the ’50s and ’60s – my “signature era” for fashion, if I ever had one – the frames were worm by some of my most beloved style icons. Audrey Hepburn, Catherine Deneuve, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren. The trend has endured strongly, but I think the best thing about cat eyes now as opposed to back in the day is that they’re…well, a bit more flattering. While you can still get any degree of drama you desire, somewhere along the lines cat eyes grew a bit fuller, a bit rounder, and the result is a subtle shape that instantly calls to a bygone era. Maybe we can attribute that revamped look to the oversized frame that became a trend in the ’70s and ’80s; it certainly makes for a great hybrid. The variety of styles you can find cat eye shades in make it one of the most diverse frames (so suffice it to say that you can never have too many cat eyes), but my favorite will always be a tortoise pair. Nothing’s quite so classic (think Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s).

You know my favorite (were your really surprised?) and now I’m teaming up with Sunglasses Shop to give one reader of The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower a pair of SXUC Kylie Sunglasses in Tortoise. SXUC focuses on chic, trendy styles on a budget so we can all afford to have that fab pair of cat-eyes on hand – and maybe in a few different colors.

Giveaway Closed

Congratulations to Throuthehaze!

How to enter
- Leave a comment here (tell me about your fave pair of shades, if you’d like)
- Be sure to enter your e-mail address in the comment form (so I can contact you if you win!)

For extra entries…
- Follow @caseemarie on Twitter
- Like Sunglasses Shop on Facebook
- Follow @SunglassShop on Twitter

Extra details
- Giveaway ends February 22
- A winner will be chosen at random and e-mailed by 6pm EST on February 23
- Open internationally

Disclosure: A pair of SXUC Kylie sunglasses were supplied by Sunglasses Shop for this giveaway

Sometimes when a blizzard with a cheekily Disney name comes through and dumps an astonishing and record-breaking thirty-five inches of snow on your life you just need to get away for a bit. And sometimes when you’re utterly snowed in, you get away by staying put. While there still aren’t enough hours in a day, I’ve had a little time – when I wasn’t out shoveling a 304ft long driveaway – to organize my thoughts and do a bit of harmless online window shopping. This is a mish-mash of my current wants, wishes, and overall favorite things, from what I haven’t tried yet to what I’m really enjoying at the moment. Tegan and Sara’s latest album has been on repeat on my Spotify account (listen here) for a few days; I haven’t listened to them in ages, but something made me look up Heartthrob, which just came out here in the States last month, and I’m addicted as I always was to the twins’ sound. I read Chris Bohjalian’s The Sandcastle Girls a few weeks ago (review here on Literary Inklings) and it’s still on my mind, even after reading a few other books of various genres. It’s a stunning piece of work and I can’t recommend it enough. You may have heard that Drew Barrymore has a new make-up collection, Flower, in a collaboration with WalMart. I’ve been absolutely mad about trying this line out since it was first released a few weeks ago, and if I can ever get out to a WalMart store I’m going to stock up (it’s already selling out online). I hope this one sticks around because a budget-friendly, prestige-formula, cruelty-free(!!!) make-up brand is the answer to my cosmetic prayers. And if I ever do get a hankering to fork over nearly fifty bucks for a tee shirt, it will absolutely be that amazing Ain’t Laurent Without Yves number, which so brilliantly commemorates the craziness of the fashion industry and the YSL brand’s decision to now be simply SL.

Wherever you are in the world, I hope you’re staying safe and warm — and having some fun, while you’re at it.

It always happens: I spend a lot of time putting my outfit together, minding all of my accessory choices, and as soon as I’m about to head out the door I realize I’ve almost forgotten sunglasses. Usually I’ll move to grab a pair quickly, just whatever happens to be nearby, and every time this happens I realize that sunglasses shouldn’t always be a last-minute decision. I find that frame style and color matter quite a bit, and sometimes they even make the outfit. The idea comes to me then: why not cultivate a collection of classic shades so I’m never without the perfect pair? Here are a few outfits that illustrate how pairing an iconic frame of sunglasses with some must-have basics creates an instantly timeless look. I picked a few pairs of Persol and Ray Ban sunglasses in Wayfarer, Cat Eye and Aviator styles, all of which are available from SmartBuyGlasses.

Ray Ban Original Wayfarers | Top | Jeans | Flats | Bag | Earrings

The infinitely stylish Breton top calls for an equally chic shade, so only the Wayfarer will do. The ultimate hipster frame maintains the understated yet polished style of the look.

Persol PO3023S | Skirt | Skirt | Shoes | Bracelets | Earrings | Earrings

Peplum, Cat Eyes, and a pencil skirt. I love the idea of keeping with a retro theme in an outfit, especially with trends like peplum which have come full circle in the style sphere.

Persol PO2365S | Skirt | Jacket | Top | Shoes | Necklace | Bag

I’ve always associated the Aviator shade with a bit of a bohemian vibe, so pairing it with denim elements and mixed prints makes for a charmingly eclectic flair.

Just like acquiring basics for your closet, having a pair each of these classic frames lets you achieve new styles with timeless pieces. Endless possibilities – what more can a girl ask for?

Disclosure: This post was a collaboration with SmartBuyGlasses

Images via Vanity Fair

These gorgeous illustrations of Downton Abbey star and all-across British beauty Michelle Dockery have been spreading around the internet like wildfire recently, and they absolutely had to have a place on my little blog. David Downton is one of my favorite fashion illustrators so to see the leading lady from one of my favorite television shows under the skill of his artistry is such a joy. In his illustrations Michelle is wearing Givenchy, Balenciaga, and Oscar de la Renta, respectively. There’s a great piece written by Laura Jacobs for Vanity Fair that captures the mood of Michelle’s sitting. What more could a girl want than to be immortalized by one of the industry’s greatest artists in so many fabulous dresses? I really wish these were available as prints for purchase because I’d be coveting them like crazy.

Speaking of the televised Downton…it’s back! I’m loving the third season so far – and I’m realizing how much I’ve missed these sojourns into the social drama of that fabulous English country estate and its brood of beautiful inhabitants. Are you watching?