When Only Black Will Do

 Summer's back and I'm dressing in summer's black.

I'm continuing on my mission to bring back some semblance of smartness into shopping.  And when thinking smart, sometimes only black will do. 

Now this is embarrassing.  I've had an East black linen blouse and skirt set for maybe 15 years.  The blouse is frilled and the little flare at the bottom of the skirt has an extra chiffon layer.  So it's a bit "posh" for every day wear.  Until Wednesday when for the first time I thought to wear the skirt without the frilly blouse, allowing the outfit to be more day wear than posh wear.  It was a Duh! moment, for sure.  And that, dear reader, is why I so desperately needed this blog, to make me stretch myself beyond the box.  For this summer skirt works perfectly well without its posh frilly top, eh.  What do you think?

I added a scarf as a nod to Anna's recent comment about dressing for Waitrose.

The hem frill did not escape the eyes of The Photographer who started calling me Carmen Miranda.

Aye aye aye aye aye, I like you very much ...

Yes, The Photographer liked my Carmen Miranda look so much that he took me back to B&Q for the third date in a week.  I am such a lucky girl!  Here I am with my paint brushes, smartly dressed and totally unready for pergola painting.

And if that wasn't shopping enough, I  then needed to pop into Town for new pants.  Apparently they don't last for 10 years any more.

Yup.  Paint brushes and pants.  How exciting is that?!

This was a real shopping splurge, made even better by my smart shopping style!

It was early morning but the High Street was already filling with wandering cruise passengers.

One of the cruise ladies took a selfie.  I took her queue.

Then, purchases made, I made my way back to the waiting Photographer.

In the 60s and 70s a lady used to position herself here and took photos of passersby who could then buy the printed photos.  Can you imagine that now?  In a world of iPhones and digital cameras, it seems like another lifetime.  But BITD, it seemed a dream job.  The lady photographer was nut-brown tanned and stood here wearing shorts for three months ... and was paid to do that.

This terraced restaurant serves great Thai food.

And then I tried to take pics of today's cruise ship, the QEII.  You can just about see it in front of the distant island.

I was distracted by a patriotic mini.  Sooo Italian Job.

Then I gave up trying to get a shot of the ship and I walked on to the car.

I passed Loafer's Wall.  So called as in the 60s young boys used to gather here on a Saturday afternoon and watch the ladies walking from the Town to the bus terminus.  There was no other route to the buses and we all used bus transport back then.  So we had to bite the bullet and walk passed and get wolf-whistled.  Or not, in my case.

This bus had me at "hello".

A waiting bus, cheerfully decorated.

On this hot day, this is the car that should have been waiting for me.  Open topped.

Instead, The Photographer was waiting for me in this little close-topped car.  We drove home, melting.

I find sometimes I want simple elegance and only black will do.

Besides, it's a great slimmer, eh ladies?!

Do you wear black in summer?  Or is it a colour you avoid?

A la perchoine.