Dualité

Greetings from Washington D.C.!

If there’s a reason why I haven’t been writing for a while it’s because I’m on a trip in the US Capital for a few days. Many people don’t view D.C. to be much of a place for shopping and culture, but you couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s not just a place for political gossip, it’s in fact a pretty charming city with plethora of museums, quaint neighborhoods, high intellectuals, boutique shopping – money making machines who own condos and homes ranging from 300K to $2 million. Anything less and you’re going into the ghetto.

Indeed, D.C. is one of the top paying cities in the country, with the average education being a Master’s degree in most fields (a B.S. is peanuts here), and a 3.4 GPA isn’t enough to get you into 50% of the universities here. High rises are bountiful, and beautiful 2 story town houses fetch staggering prices in Georgetown, the Montreal equivalent of the Westmount area, only, way WAY nicer.

Shopping is the word of the day

Of course, I can’t go to D.C. without experiencing what the city has to offer in terms of shopping. By far, Georgetown is mon coup de coeur (personal favorite). Think of Laurier street near Parc, stretching on for several blocks, in brick laid sidewalks, boutique after boutique of names like Kate Spade to Rugby by Ralph Lauren. There are numerous cafes, bistros and restaurants sprinkled around the area, and there’s a beautiful little stream that just gives Georgetown a unique charm of its own, light years away from the political facade D.C. has garnered on mainstream media. This area though is not for the frugal, you won’t find many items under $100.

Cusp

This is a very colorful, cheerful, yet quite expensive, boutique in Georgetown. There aren’t any stores quite like it to compare it to in Montreal. It’s somewhat of a mishmash between an Urban Outfitters type of layout, and Abe&Mary’s funky 2nd floor designer brands. Cusp is a happy place, with friendly workers, a lot of funky colors of bright yellows, reds, oranges and green. There’s a lot of stuff by Marc Jacobs, and if anything, the whole store is a spit out of his Spring 08 collection. If you look hard enough, someone will always find that certain treasured dress. It’s on trend with the big bold prints and bold colors, yet it has enough unique pieces that doesn’t make you feel like you’re buying something generic. Prices range $130-$450.

Reiss

Pronounced “reese”. A London based fashion store that has both men’s and women’s wear for the sophisticated. I had never heard of this store, but immediately fell in love with it. It has beautifully cut dresses, tops and pencil skirts I could die for. Each piece is finely detailed, a little ruffles here, some bone corset there, it’s all very well constructed. I bought a strapless dress with 2 discreet side pockets in white, with tasteful plaid patterns in mustard yellow and navy blue. There’s a built-in bone corset near the bust, and upon the first try, slipped onto me like a glove. I have never worn something that fit to my body so perfectly as this dress has. I bought it on the spot. Bye bye $400. $130-600.

We one you too

If that wasn’t enough of a tongue-twister, you’d be happy to know that this quaint boutique in Georgetown was like stepping into your sister’s bedroom. Lush purple carpets, white walls in a narrow, colonial-like building, it feels like the place used to be a home that was turned into a store, with 3-4 narrow staircases. There are only 2 sales floors, but they were filled with enough stock to go around. Some dresses have sold quite well due to them being featured in Lucky magazine and whatnot. $80-$500.

I’ll post about the rest of the trip tomorrow.