Liliana's personal blog

I was recently researching "how to start a clothing line" and I came across an absolute gem: French Minimalism. Yeah, it's trendy right now, but that is not why I like it. The whole style is so simple, so put together, so polished! And I love that sort of stuff!

Basically, French Minimalism is a style inspired by (made by) French ladies who look ultra chic. It is based on a wardrobe of tailored clothing, largely in neutral colours. Sound boring? Yeah maybe... but you're forgetting the accessories. The colour, the pop, the pizaz, is added in colourful accessories.

So all your clothes go with all your clothes, and all your accessories goes with all your clothes, and you can make a thousand different looks just by changing what accessories you pair with what.

It's so cool!

Because I can't really make myself a French Minimalism wardrobe (as much as I want to...) I went for the next best thing and made a French Minimalism capsule wardrobe for Elisabeta. "Hey," Elisabeta says in protest, "What do you mean, second best?" (stands there with hands on hips). Oops... sorry Elisabeta. Rephrase: Because I can't make myself a French MInimalism wardrobe, I chose the BEST option and made one for Elisabeta. "Much better..." Elisabeta says.

I chose a skirt, a pair of pants, overalls, two shirts, a coat, sneakers, and a few accessories and made the following outfits (I could have made many more, but I only had thirty minutes, and each outfit takes about five minutes to put together and photograph):

Sadly, the 2020 Spring Shakespeare Bootcamp is over. I had a lot of fun, understood a lot more Shakespeare, and had some god bonding time with Elisabeta.

Due to the success of the bootcamp, I think I am going to do something similar every year, although they might not all be Shakespeare based. For example, one year I could read something by Aristotle everyday; another year, I could sight-read through an original Beethoven piece everyday.

And my bootcamps will ALWAYS be in the first weeks of summer... because that's the best time to do it.

It all starts with a forlorn maiden... one of lowly class... who is desperately in love with one of high status. After having received her love's mother's blessing in her effort to find a way to make the match work, she heals the king of a terrible malady and demands as payment her choice of husband. She, of course, picks her love.

However, her love disdains her for her lack of noble title. After much threatening from the king, he agrees to marriage.

~pauses in telling plot to rant~
FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, is this maiden (Helena) DAFT? Marrying someone who has been forced to marry you is a recipe for disaster. Resentment, anger, and frustration and going to build up and explode into divorce or worse. BAD IDEA!
~continuing on in telling the plot~


Her love, Bertram, hating his new wife, flees to fight in the war, leaving his wife at his mother's house. Realizing what happened, Helena feels horribly guilty for chasing him "from thy country," and decides to leave in hopes that he will return home and be spared from the horrible war, though knowing that she could never be a beloved wife of his.

Knowing that her husband would not call her wife until she had born him a child, and swearing that would never happen, Helena tricks her husband, bears him a child, confronts him, and says she is his wife.

It's a bit of a confusing romance... and also kinda boring. The best line is at the very end: "Mine eyes smell onion, and I weep anon." Other than that, it was just okay.

And here is Elisabeta's two cents: "We keep doing romances." (rolls eyes here...) "I'm sick of them. We need to do something FUN like Macbeth... or maybe we can go do Julius Caesar again..."

Soon, Elisabeta.