Hello and welcome to Fashion Bites. I'm Ellen Byerrum, author of the screwball noir
Crime of Fashion Mysteries, featuring Lacey Smithsonian, a fashion reporter in
Washington DC, The City That Fashion Forgot. She solves crimes with fashion
clues and gets a little help from her friends. When I write my mysteries, I want
to feel that no matter how "out there" the plot or the characters are, that some
of it is grounded in reality. I like to walk where my characters walk and
experience the sights and sounds and aromas they do. Today, with a little help
from some videos and photographs, I invite you to take another view of
Lacey's life and environment. This time, her work environment. A few weeks ago, Bob
and I were in Washington DC and visited some familiar locations that pop up now
and again in my mysteries, and at the moment we're on location in our back yard to
take advantage of the lovely weather (except that it's raining) and the roses
and get the feeling of the great outdoors! I hope you enjoy it, along with
the occasional bird chirping and thunder sounding. In last week's video we went to
Alexandria, Virginia, the Torpedo Factory, Dyke Marsh and Huntley Meadows. Today
we're sticking to inside the Beltway in Washington DC. I'll be giving you a brief
description of the photos and footage and reading brief parts from several of
the books. First a note on Washington DC: The city's footprint was designed by
military engineer Pierre L'Enfant, who was born in France and served in the
American Revolutionary War. Many people like to hate L'Enfant because of his
green squares and circles that create angles that make driving and getting
around the city challenging, but that's much of DC's charms, particularly if you
are on foot. Now let's take a brief trip to Washington DC. Imagine you're on the
Metro heading to Lacey's subway stop at Farragut West. She spends most of her
workdays at The Eye Street Observer. At the top of the stairs of the Metro you
are just steps away from The Eye's offices.
Here are some descriptions of Farragut Square from both KILLER HAIR and GRAVE
APPAREL. "The Eye Street Observer was located on Eye Street in a granite and
glass building facing Farragut Square, under the ever-watchful eye of Admiral
David "Damn the torpedoes!" Farragut in all his bronze glory. Farragut Square
was a block of neat green park with diagonal walkways converging on the
statue of Admiral Farragut at its center. White Christmas lights were twinkling at
the entrance of the Army and Navy Club facing the park on the east side.
Lacey assumed from the stream of formally dressed couples passing through the
Square that the very elegant club was the scene of a Christmas party that
night. There was another population in the Square, in striking contrast to the
fancy-dressed partygoers: Homeless people claimed the park's benches at dusk to
store their meager belongings for the night. Several of them seemed to live in
makeshift lean-tos attached to the benches. Other crowds were heading for
the escalator down to the Metro station on The Eye's corner, opposite the Square.
The sidewalk was a bustle of commuters on their way home or to shop or to meet
friends at a happy hour at a neighborhood bar." Farragut Square is also
the site where, in DESIGNER KNOCKOFF, Lacey meets Damon Newhouse, who runs the Dead
Fed dot com website, and where Brooke and Damon meet, defying the "pheromone jammers"
that keep men and women apart. It's a straight walk from Farragut Square up
Connecticut Avenue to the Dupont Circle area where Lacey's friend Stella Lake
works as a stylist, but before you head up there you might want to pick up a cup
of good coffee at Firehook Bakery located on the west side of the square.
There are lots of distractions and restaurants on the way up Connecticut
Avenue. You can see the entry to Dupont Circle Metro station and you might be
tempted to buy a hot doughnut where Harlan Wiedemeyer frequently buys his treats, at
the small Krispy Kreme next to the subway stop. You'll also pass Kramer
Books and Afterwords, a bookstore and cafe with
additional temptations. There are numerous salons on Connecticut Avenue.
Imagine that Stylettos, where Stella works, is just one more. Of course
Stylettos is more fun and has the best gossip, courtesy of the Stella
Broadcasting Network, the Voice of Dupont Circle. Stylettos appears in many of the
books. These excerpts come from KILLER HAIR. "Stylettos was about ten blocks
from the office, a short cab ride or a nice walk. Lacey decided to walk, but she
did a double-take when she got there. The familiar lilac interior was freshly
painted over in cream with white trim. The stations had been moved around and
now everyone was in a new location. New black-and-white posters adorned the
walls, and a glass brick partition divided the reception area from the stylists'
stations. 'Makeover for the salon. Looks good, doesn't it? The lilac was definitely
passe,' Stella said. 'But where's Angie's station?' Lacey asked. 'I don't see it!' Stella
looked at her as if she was an idiot. 'Well, no one was gonna use it! Jeez, you
can't expect that! Not after Angie died there, Lacey, for God's sakes!'" The actual
circle of Dupont Circle, with its stately fountain in the center, is also a crime
scene, in HOSTILE MAKEOVER. In this scene, Amanda Manville is a temperamental model
having a screaming fit with Stella, while Lacey and her boyfriend Vic Donovan look
on. "Amanda was a vision of shrieking loveliness wearing a long dark red panne
velvet evening gown. It was a Christmas fantasy of a dress, featuring a hood
trimmed in white faux fur. Deep wide cuffs on the bell sleeves were also
trimmed in white fur. Against the autumnal parkscape of the Circle it
would paint a serene picture for her premiere winter catalog and play up the
fantasies that encourage women to buy those perfect dresses they never wear. It
was quite a tableau, Amanda pointing and screeching, Stella gesturing wildly,
terrorized underlings scurrying everywhere -- when suddenly three loud pops
rang out. It sounded like a car backfiring but much louder. At first Lacey
didn't realize what it was, but Vic knew. Before the second shot was fired
Vic threw Lacey to the ground beside the fountain and covered her body with his."
Now not far away from the Circle is a location that helped inspire part of the
theatrical storyline in THE MASQUE OF THE RED DRESS. There are a variety of
theatres and theatre groups that inspired me, as well as my own background
as a playwright. I was involved in theatre in Washington DC, and this book
was a way to relive those days. Here's a description of the theatre from THE
MASQUE OF THE RED DRESS. "Kinetic Theatre occupied an old building just off 16th
Street Northwest near Dupont Circle, where it had resided for several years.
The two-centuries-old red brick building had served many purposes. Once a church,
later a warehouse and a nightclub, it had found its mission as a theatre for
various troupes for at least the past half century. The
edifice harmonized with the rest of the block's old-fashioned apartment buildings
and townhouses. Miraculously, it had not been scooped up by developers, scraped or
turned into a jutting high-rise of overpriced condominiums. Lacey opened the
door and felt a welcome blast of chilled air. Though the building was old,
the renovated lobby had the smell of fresh wood and paint." I hope you can see
how locations inspire me. My Crime of Fashion stories need the feel of real
settings. And now you can get back on the Metro with the rest of the city and the
commuters and the kids and head home. I hope you enjoyed this small tour of
locations in my books. That's all I have for now.
If you want to know more about me or my books, check out my website at Ellen
Byerrum dot com. If you liked this video, please hit the LIKE button and consider
subscribing to this channel. It's free and easy and all you have to do is hit
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free to share this with your friends, have a laugh, this isn't
a secret society. I'll see you next time. Bye!
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