Author Pays Homage to Her Fashionable Alexandria Roots in New Book

For Siobhan “Bunny” McDonough every night in Old Town is Fashion’s Night Out—and make that every morning too.

The Alexandria native has written a book paying homage to her mom, their love of clothes and the stories that clothes can tell.

“The art of fashion—and choosing yours—is that no matter what it is, who designed it, what it looks like, how much it cost, it holds a truth about you,” she writes in “My Mother’s Dressing Room,” published by Maine’s Goose River Press.

The book offers her thoughts on fashion, ranging from her favorite pieces and why to places she recall shopping fondly as a child—the long-gone Lord and Taylor in Falls Church or Garfinkels in Washington, DC.

McDonough grew up at 411 Prince St. in a striking, stand-alone yellow house as the only and youngest girl to three brothers. While she recalls playing ball in Jones Point Park and running free through the cobblestone streets, McDonough’s close-knit relationship with her mom cultivated her love for glamour with a touch of moxie.

She fondly recalls the hours spent watching her mother get ready for the ever-present Saturday night dinner parties in the 1970s, drinking in the heady scent of her mother’s Norell cologne while watching her peruse the closet to find just the right outfit.

McDonough attended St. Mary’s elementary and academy before heading off to a Virginia college and many other adventures, including tours in France and Spain. Those experiences and others—like bicycling across the United States in 2005—all added flavor to her style mix.

She also worked as a reporter for the Associated Press and the Washington Times as well as other publications, which prompted her to move to a range of diverse cities including Buenos Aires, New York City and Carson City, Nev.

Today, McDonough lives in Del Ray where she recently fulfilled her love for vintage pieces at Amalgamated with a retro sunglasses purchase. She collects vintage bicycles and drives a Country Squire, a hard-to-miss wood-paneled station wagon.

She is always looking for finds in second-hand stores, she says, picking up some of her favorite and often most affordable pieces in Maine., which is a place also dear to her. She often spent five weeks a summer there as a child.

McDonough is having a book signing at Old Town boutique Hysteria on Dec. 18.