Sewing, stitching, baking, cooking, gardening, shopping and general homemaking.

Thursday 24 July 2014

Chiffon Blouse

The hot weather continues so more cool blouses are what I'm looking for.  I now have five new blouses, wonder if that is enough!  The trouble is, I'm finding some very pretty ones that I just can't resist...
These chiffon blouses are great with a thin camisole top under them, really pretty and cool.  At £14.99 they are affordable.  I remember at least 20/30 years ago blouses cost the same amount, it's so nice to find clothes I can afford these days.  I know there are sweat shops around the world where these clothes are made and they have my sympathy, years ago I worked in a clothing factory, maybe not quite the sweat shops in other countries but near enough - I'm talking fifty years ago.

Tuesday 22 July 2014

A Pretty, Cool, Outfit For Summer Days

The weather is still hot here, 20C, and it is nice to have a prolonged spell of good weather so that I can go out without having to wear a coat/jacket.  Very unusual!



This little blouse only cost me £8 from the sale rack at New Look and the palazzo pants were £17.99.  The have pockets and a couple of pleats at the front, very nicely designed in my opinion.  Can't you tell I'm now a fan of New Look.  The pants don't dangle on the floor when I'm wearing them like they do in the picture, I'd just had trouble with my mannequin, it had slipped down a bit and I couldn't pull it back up.  I love the nice little collar on this blouse, reminds me of a 1950s design.

Sunday 20 July 2014

More Palazzo Pants, Another Blouse And A Bag

This is another outfit to keep cool in during the hot weather...
The blouse is really simple and would be easy to make.  It cost £12.99 from New Look and will be very useful with my other trousers.  The palazzo pants are from the same shop as my other pair, once again made of viscose so are nice and drapey.  They look a bit crumpled from hanging a bit bunched up in my wardrobe.

Found this little handbag in a charity shop...
The chain shoulder strap is detachable, I will probably use it without the chain as a clutch bag.  It was new, the original shop ticket was still on it.  I paid £4.99, it probably cost something like £12.99 from the shop.  A very pretty bag I thought.

Adding this picture later than the above, forgot to show my new hairdo!
A bit blurry but the best I could do, not used to taking my own picture, see the concentration on my face!

Thursday 17 July 2014

Clip On Earrings

Clip on earrings are really difficult to find in shops these days, so when I was in Tenby last week I was very happy to see that T.P. Hughes has a good selection of them.
There wasn't a big choice of low nickel ones but I'm hoping they will all suit my skin.  Nickel allergy is the reason I stopped wearing pierced earring.

Love those leaf shaped ones!

When I got back from Tenby I decided to look in charity shops for clip on earring and found these two pairs, I'll wipe them with an anti-bac wipe but they look new anyway.  Not sure what they are made of.

Tuesday 15 July 2014

A Smart Jacket

I was away in Tenby last week, the weather was beautiful so I was able to go out without a coat/jacket.  However, when I visited Haverford West there was a bit of a cool breeze so I started to feel rather chilled.  What a good reason to look out for a jacket!  Once again I went into an Edinburgh Woollen Mill branch and found a lovely jacket on the sale rack...
When I buy coats and jackets I usually have to buy a size bigger than my usual because of my broad shoulders and long arms.  This jacket is a size 12 so I was very surprised, and pleased, that it fitted perfectly, even the sleeves were the right length.  I love the tailored style of it and the back is very nicely shaped...
I saw it on the rack and was about to dismiss it because of the colour until my DH pointed out that it is a colour that would go with a lot of my clothes.  DH is very helpful when I go shopping, it's like having a personal shopper.  I hate traipsing around shops that's why I just have the few that I will go into.  Going into too many shops really gets on my nerves and shops like TK Max confuse me with the vast amount of items they sell, I don't even try to look in that sort of shop anymore.

Sunday 13 July 2014

Palazzo Pants And A Blouse

This outfit is so comfortable in the really hot weather we've had recently...
I bought two pairs of palazzo pants, they are made from viscose so are quite comfortable as they don't make you feel sweaty.  I needed to find a couple of blouses and was having trouble finding something that wasn't made out of tee shirt fabric.  New Look is a shop I never go in but decided to have a quick look round in one branch last week and found two blouses that were just what I was looking for.  I always thought New Look was just for trendy youngsters.  The young lady who worked in the one I went into was very helpful and friendly so I didn't feel out of place.  This blouse is polyester and drapes very nicely, it cost £14.99 and was just the sort of thing I was looking for.  I didn't want a bright, white cotton blouse that would look like part of a uniform, this blouse is slightly off white and has the sheer detail on the yoke.  In future I won't dismiss shops that I consider too young and trendy for us oldies.

Thursday 3 July 2014

Dress And Cardigan

That little cardigan is coming in very handy.  This dress is sleeveless so the cardigan is just right for me to feel comfortable.  I've added a belt to the dress, being a straight body shape the belt helps me look as though I have a waist.  If you want to know your body shape here is a useful calculator http://www.calculator.net/body-type-calculator.html .

Tuesday 1 July 2014

A Comfortable Outfit

I was meeting friends for coffee yesterday and, because it was a nice sunny day, I knew we'd sit outside in the garden of the coffee shop.  My scalp gets sunburnt easily these days so I wore a hat.  Still feeling a bit self conscious doing this though.  Anyway, I had a walk around the shops first and checked out how many women were wearing sun hats - none!  Quite a few men were though, I wonder how long it will be before women start wearing them.  I know a lot of younger women like to wear hats but women my age are rarely seen in hats.
I love this skirt but it is a bit tight around the waist, it should be easy to alter it as it is elasticated.  The little cable knit jumper was bought a couple of years ago, I bought two, a pink and this green one.  I think this is the first time I've worn it because I forgot I had this spotted skirt that it would go with.

I did read that A line skirts, pastels (and some other fashion advice for older women) are ageing and make you fade into the background.  I don't believe this.  Also, the advice is that narrow legged trousers are a must but not for me, the narrow legs crush my knee caps and make my knees very painful.  I won't put up with pain no matter the fashion advice.  My advice would be to wear what is comfortable for you.  I'm making an effort to coordinate colours, probably this would be against the 'fashion experts' advice.