TIME FOR AN UPDATE?!

Hi Everybody - IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME YEAH??!! I have to say apart from sometimes longing for the pink wallpaper and some girly chats with winter coming I am happy not to be sitting under the stairs in 5 layers of thermal and a scarf 10 years long.

But what is the girly gossip I can update you with in lieu of the fact I can't do it over an eclair with you?

Madame and I wanted to let you know that Maison Bertaux will have their own lovely website soon and when we get the link, we will let you know.

Madame's own blog madamesays.com has turned into an Internet hit and was voted by The Telegraph as on of the top 20 fashion blogs along with The Sartorialist, Susie Bubble and GoFugYourself. See for yourself!

If you need to get a personal fix of Madame herself, don't forget to head East to Hackney Road and visit M Goldstein the shop full of stuff you never realised you HAD TO HAVE run jointly with Nathaniel "I know where I can get one of those" Lee Jones.

Lektrogirl [me] is still addicted to the Internet and CSI, works for Denza, Consults with financial management and record keeping, runs an amateur erotic online gallery which is definitely NSFW [not safe for work!] called lameatnames. I've also started with two of the other Lady Gang, The Cardinal from Picnic-Land and Sarah Lee a blog about one of the Shop At Maison B Lady Gang's passions VINTAGE CHINA and AFTERNOON TEA - swooning just typing it! Take a look at our personal treasures at madameatrois.com

Sarah Lee the professional shutter bug has her own website these days sarahmlee.com with her whole folio of celebrities and fabulous nobodies like us lot drunk and showing off at Lady's Nights.

Mrs Gorman has her own blog now too Mrs Gorman where she reports her latest fashion fixations from her desk. [More likely the sofa in Thai fisherman's trousers.]

Last but not least, Max Karie, who knows a great lady when he sees one can be checked out on the regular at his own site maxkarie.com and he is still Consulting, Brainstorming, Powerhousing, Idea Having!!!

Most of all WE MISS YOU. We get together for Lady's Night - our supper club - about once a month to keep up with each other now rather than over a cake and coffee. Sadly none of us have a living room big enough to accommodate you all [give us a room and a table big enough we would sure as hell try!!] so I think the best thing to do would be roll up to one of Madame's DJ gigs - Pippa Brooks appears at Pony Step, still at The George and Dragon - and you can find details of all of that at madamesays.com

xx Lektrogirl & Madame

La La Lee!

Just thinking how I miss this lady today, and she's only been gone a couple of weeks!!!
Send some news, please!!!!

Madame x

Ima into this A.P.C.

Ima popped down the other day to have a browse at the new A.P.C. and ended up taking armfuls of the stuff into the dressing room! I'm no Sarah Lee but I snapped her in a few of her favourites. If you haven't been down to see the new collection, this gives you an idea of the goodies.....and another drop next week!










Madame x

"I always cry at weddings...

...how I love to cry at weddings, I walk into a chapel and get happily hysterical!" in the immortal words of Stubby Kaye! But it's true, I'm a "soggy creep" at weddings! Never been married myself but get me in a church or registry office, a few well chosen words, a look of love and I'm pathetic......especially when it's such a couple of good 'uns like Paul and Caz....

Not only do they look so great together, they're practically perfect in every way! Sarah took these amazing photos.....the weather was photo-perfect, late afternoon autumnal back-lighting is the BEST!

You can see I was moved.....

We had dinner in the French House - which is where they met - and it was beautiful, really intimate and appropriately drunken.....It did rather look like a wartime candlelit dinner! With no conferring, everyone seemed to be dressed in a 1940's-esque manner, lots of three piece suits and braces on the men and beautiful frocks on the women in shades of eau de nil and rose....

Apart from Max in tie-dye of course!!

Beautiful day, wonderful people......Caz n Paul together 4 evah! Love you guys!!!

Madame x

Here Beginneth.....

...........the A.P.C. photo-frenzy.....grabbing Sarah by the camera-strap as she strolls by seems to be working a treat!!!!! I only had to draw the shoot to a close because I was feeling slightly compromised in my Victorian urchin A.P.C. boots......you see I'm a madame who likes to give the illusion of stature, and happy as I am to find a flat I like, I felt like i was disappearing into the pavement somewhat...eyes seemed to be boring into me ...."why, she's tiny!!!" they seemed to be saying!!!....or of course it could've all been in my tiny mind!

But enough about me (actually never enough about me!)....here's the best....and more to come next week!





D.I.V.I.N.E.!!!

Madame x

A bit of French

Sarah Lee dropped by the shop yesterday...hadn't seen her for an aaaage and we had a catch up, I watched her eat a pizza with a plastic spoon and we shared our ritualistic eclair from upstairs....

Then my eyes fell on her camera bag.....and drifted up to the shiny new Eley Kishimoto on the rails, and we probably did the quickest shoot we've ever done! We went around to The French House which was a great idea of Sarah's because they couldn't have been more welcoming - even gave me a "prop" glass of wine, AND encouraged us to go upstairs into the restaurant to shoot a few outfits! Unbelievably kind....and the photos are unbelievably great! Not that Sarah doesn't always take unbelievable photos, it's just when we don't plan it and just grab a moment we always do the best ones!

See for yourself...







And we got some great new Westwood hairclips and brooches and it was a shame not to crack off a couple....



Thankyou to the folks at the French and thankyou Sarah for being such a damn fine photographer!

Madame x

Thank Goodness....

....some of the girls were available on Saturday, including Sarah of course with her proper camera! We cracked off a few new pictures for the website, revelling in the sunshine and even partaking in the odd ice-cold glass of wine and even a creamy slither of chocolate gateau!

Of course Lisa is our Saturday girl so there was no escaping for her! She can carry off almost anything, legs that go on forever and pneumatic body, she's our Saturday Babe and here she is in a couple of A.P.C. pieces:

I love this one in the madras playsuit, she looks like Soho's Daryl Hannah!

And this one has become one of my favourite Maison B pictures, she looks so great in the A.P.C. crochet dress and amongst all the clutter...

Caz had her first experience of the mayhem that is a whistlestop photoshoot at Maison B, in her favourite A.P.C. cheesecloth dress. You tend to relax after we've all cackled at the duds, especially when Sarah helpfully zooms in on a fugly facial expression or boss-eyed moment, and she looks more than fantastic!

Emma's energy levels were a wee bit low when she arrived but a teacupful of nuclear orange nectar later and she was raring to go!

We sat her behind the till out of respect for her tiny hangover and she worked it like a pro in the A.P.C. tiny check shirt:


This photo I think sums up best the lunacy of the day though!"

Keep laughing when I look at it, a couple of nutters! Well done Sarah!

Madame xx

I've fallen and I can't get up...

Sarah Lee took another in her series of photos of me dead which started on the occasion of my birthday in december (we didn't question the appropriateness on my special day....) but I think she has improved upon them in this the latest:

Probably better all round since neither of us has had a few celebratory wines, therefore Sarah is on the ball and i'm not trying to sneak a look at her through slightly open eyes, which I'm afraid was all too evident in the dead-but-with-a-squinty-twinkle shots in december. I was soberly concentrating on my temporary death and I think you can see how serious I was about the job in hand.

Sarah is going to become a contributing blogger, not only is she an incredible photographer but she has got to be one of the most hilarious people I know! She's a great teller of anecdotes so we suggested she could chose favourite portraits she's taken and if there's a story to go along with them she will share with us!

Madame x

Put on your best slaxx

I'm EXHAUSTED after a weekend of jumbling and djing! Friday night it was Basement Slaxx which turned into such a fun night! Sarah surprised me by showing up late.....I'd been playing throbbing electro all night with minimal dancefloor action, finally I had given in and Baccara, Cheryl Lynn and Kylie started to get a look in and voila - dancing with actions all over the place! This was the point Sarah arrived, or rather her ghost....

Tryg was on form as usual, he's a self-confessed "boozebag" with a heart of gold and when we're together we dance more than anyone else, i usually manage to hit my head on the celing speakers at least five times due to excessive leaping!

In fact I even managed to lose my head entirely at one point...

On Saturday we had a table at the Village Fete in Dalston http://www.myspace.com/fete_dalston_oldboysclub which is an amazing space, and I think the first of many more....keep a lookout!
The boys bought a few accessories and had very sophisticated face-painting:

I invited Liliana to come down, we both bought 1950's conical bras which this girl bought in India, apparantly still a best seller there! So fantastic! I don't quite have enough to fill mine but it's so effective, gives you a torpedo sweater girl silhouette, actually they'd look fierce under a sari too.... Then Lili suggested we nip to the George and Dragon for a drink and a dj workshop for the boys courtesy of Nuno...

The boys were very excited to see where I go to dj and sing and couldn't believe their luck when introduced to the pub cat! They're pet-mad at the moment so I like having pets they can visit......we don't even have the room for a fish! I thought they would terrorise the poor thing but it actually chased Joe around for a bit which was hilarious - for the rest of us!

We left before the drag turned and I let the boys stay up very very late because E.T. was on telly (also guaranteeing a little bit of a lie-in on Sunday morning!)....of course I was sobbing like an idiot - haven't seen the movie for years and didn't know it'd still leave me emotionally spent and puffy-eyed.....

Sunday was the Wills-Moody jumble sale http://www.willsmoody.com/ which we've had a table at every month for a while and is the best day out! Max took the boys for lunch as he lives round the corner and then got the boys Wonder Woman and Doctor Who dvds so that I could concentrate on my pool-table pitch which I have to say is my favourite as you have the lovely long lampshade spotlighting your wares! Etienne came by with a few bits of his own to sell but ended up leaving with TONS more than he arrived - an ice-crusher (but who could turn down an ice-crusher for £1 !?!), a jacket, a plastic flower light and in the end Nathaniel let him take the spanish ladies home as he was lusting after them all day....

Maybe he's thinking of becoming a prostitute.....

I'm tiiiiiired but had such a wonderful weekend!

Madame xxx

Gone Tomorrow...

So, I'm so furious! Max dyed his hair a beautiful, glamorous blonde a couple of days ago...inspired by David Bowie's Serious Moonlight tour hairdo if you must know. Very bold.

Sarah took this picture of his bombshell moment....and all it took was a stupid pisstake from a so-called friend and he only shaved the lot off the next day!!!! Just jealous I reckon......I think you'll all agree it was pretty damn fierce!

Anyway he's left with a sort of blonde velvet grade 1 which is also great, I'll show you next week, promise....

Grrrrrr........madame xxx

Bigger and Better

I'm writing this lying on my bed eating a slice of my mum's christmas cake, a hulking great wodge of which I brought back to London....As I fold back the tin foil and the characteristic christmas smell comes wafting out I feel sad the whole festive hoo ha is over but also optimistic about the year ahead.

Here's Max sweeping up the last of the needles after taking down the christmas tree at the shop...he actually managed, with Superduck's help, to force it into a garment bag, quite impressive when you saw the size of the tree, and then take it to be recycled.....

One of my favourite christmas memories is the boys' faces when they opened the costumes Stevie and I made for them( I say I, what my role was was making tea and snacks and sewing the odd oversized wool stitch). There's always the danger with children that you can think you've got the perfect present then their face falls and they look at you as if you're insane for thinking they'd want THAT! There's no sugaring the pill when you're five, no siree, "don't like it!" and on to the next present....but we however, got it spot on with Duke's Jedi and Joe's cat"person" (he's actually obsessed with Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns but we drew the line at a snap-fastening pvc leotard and instead made an androgynous-ish tunic, which looks quite Edward Scissorhands and cat-mask!).

Duke the Jedi took up his perfect position under the tree so as to get access to his presents with minimum legwork:

They're now obsessed with Stevie's studio, we were in there on Saturday and they were sticking glitter on denim with the promise they can come back and make them into jeans next time....they were trembling at the thought of course and now harbour aspirations in fashion design....

The best thing about starting work is when your mates pop by to say hello again. We had one of those brilliant coffe-morning type gatherings the first day back which was so lovely with Sarah, Superduck and Lucy and I all vying for attention with Sarah snapping away with her brand new camera...


So pleased she gave me the soft-focus treatment...I should always insist on it!!

One of my low points over christmas was eating a promotional item as I was SO hungry! Beth very kindly sent me a YMC biscuit of a coat and I hadn't brought my packed lunch that day so....


Well I was tired and hungry and very cold by the look of me in the picture! That reminds me, Michael Murphy sent me a funny thing the other day, a timesaving device that I'm sure we could all do with slipping in our handbags!

Ha ha ha ha ha!!!! I don't know how I haven't lived without one frankly!

So, this is the year I get things done, and to prove it, I'm being very regular with my blog as you can see and also exploring other creative outlets....witness if you will the little movie I made during a shoot with Constantine last week....Only last Thursday and already edited and blogged! That's the new me!!!

Three of my most beautiful,statuesque blonde girlfriends agreed to me exploiting them in a shoot Constantine asked me to style....we had so much fun loping about in the basement, dressing up and allowing bonnetising without so much as a murmer! Can't wait to see the pictures but here's an idea......

So big thanks to Alex, Gwen and Johanna, I'm so lucky to have such beautiful friends! And enormous thanks to Stevie who let me pillage the Bodymap archive AND rifle her costume store! Steve and Claire at Rellik for pulling out all the stops and letting me run off with their Laura Ashley stock at Christmas! Nathaniel thanks for being my silent assistant in a hood, and you will notice a smattering of Spring/Summer Eley Kishimoto in there too!!!!

Oh yes, this is the year to get things DONE!!!

If you haven't visited the sale yet, it's all 50% off!!!! See you soon.

Madame xxxx

One more for 07...

When I don't write in this diary now I feel like there's something missing or I'm neglecting someone, you know that wierd feeling when you haven't called a mate for ages....

This is the first time in weeks that me and my computer have been properly alone, grandfather lady and I have spent a wonderful evening with Duke and Joe, letting them open their presents early from him while I cooked an AMAZING chicken bok choi over thai rice with just enough chilli, which made me able to breathe properly through my nose for the first time in a few days....is EVERYBODY stricken with this tedious fluey crap? As I write Nathaniel is groaning in bed in quarantine at the gallery, i've been rifling through the medicine cabinet and found some Benylin sachets I got for free and which seem to be doing the trick, and most people I know are suffering to varying degrees.....

There's been loads of highlights the last few weeks, I've just felt too lousy or been too dog tired to elaborate, so I'll do a quick rounding up to finish up the year in a tidy fashion, I couldn't bear to enter the new year with untold adventures floating in my tiny mind....like the undead.....

Speaking of dead, on the occasion of my birthday, Sarah thought a portrait would be appropriate, except that it'd be best if I looked dead! And she was right goddamnit! Look at this, with Nathaniel's role disturbingly ambiguous...I wonder is he the murderer? A witness? A spy?

Much more original than cheeks puffed out blowing out your candles...I thoroughly recommend a bit of role play, drama etc..
This is Sarah, doing her best teenage Patsy Kensit impression:

...and immediately shattering the illusion...

And Paul Nathaniel and Caz trying to keep warm outside the Coach, actually, Nathaniel is utterly impervious to the cold in that sheepskin and hat - cool as a cucumber, or cosy as a hotdog in a bun or something, Sarah took this one too;

Liza and Ima showed up looking exceptionally fresh-faced and we settled ourselves in the tearoom and cackled into the night..

Etienne showed up which was a treat as I hadn't seen him in an age...

Superduck looked cross but wasn't really...

Alex showed up the next day with her hair a beautiful shade of what I'd like to call "bugger's mauve", like a bombshell tribute to Quentin Crisp it was!

I didn't even get a chance to tell you about Nahid and I at the Duke of Edinburgh Awards christmas party! Champagne reception, quick chat to Prince Edward and a slap up veggie christmas dinner for me!

The meat option was much ruder...

Nahid was queen of course...

Thank god for my Eley Kishimoto ruffle shoulder dress is all I can say! When looking for something to wear, both Nahid and I had a problem finding something "appropriate"....she's got that dress too, could've been a sticky moment there....

We had so much fun, drank quite lots of wine then back to real life and I got the tube home.

The boys did their nativity which I bleeding well loved...

Hattie brought Clemency up west for the first time....

Duke escorted me to the Eley Kishimoto Christmas drinks do which was supposed to mean that I only stayed for one....but didn't...


Duke had his first crush...on Fiona, he took off with my camera and when I got it back there were a couple of other people and LOADS of her, then he kept doing swashbuckling type things to win her honour...

He took some great ones of the other girls too, Thida:

and Chloe:

Did I mention The Look Christmas bash? That was a corker, with the Priscillas, Kevin Rowlands and of course Paul Gorman, Max and I mixing and mismatching on the turntables...well, I say mixing....

The next one is for Valentines.......I'll keep you posted!

I'm running out of steam, I'm watching a CSI (one i've seen before) with one eye and typing this with the other and tomorrow is Christmas Eve and I've STILL got presents to get....Nanny Van's due at 7.30am so I'd better get a bit of shut eye...I'll try to do another post before the end of the year, I've got high hopes for the the one ahead.....hope you all have the BEST Christmas!!!

Madame x