La Duchesse's Notes From A Smaller sland #1

My lovely friend, La Duchesse, is staying with us in Guernsey for a few weeks.

Over the next few weeks I'll share some of the island sights she has enjoyed.  I hope you enjoy them too.

We went for a refreshing swim.

La Duchesse brought her phone into the sea for a group selfie.

Limpets.

Grande Havre.

A la perchoine.

The Graphic T

Hi my sunny friends!

Have you joined the Graphic T party yet?

OK, as usual I am pretty late to join the party.

But I call it fashionably late. 

Paris City Chic Couture late.  I don't think it get's any more fashionable that that!

Yup, I've gone graphic.  The Paris is written in a glitzy silver glitter.  And why not indeed?

(Peacocks, £12)

I paired it with white linen cropped trousers and matched the glitziness with some sequined flip flops.

Both pieces are old.  I also wore a silver belt, but why didn't I do the full blogger monty and snap it?

I had breakfast on the run, a coconut milk shake with lots of crushed ice.  Yumminess in a glass!

 I'd first worn old M&S Footglove black leather wedges, but then as today's mission would involve clumsy old  me walking down a steep cobbled hill with oily feet, sense prevailed and the sequined flip flops were my wise choice when leaving the house on yet another sunny day.

Oily feet? I hear you ask.

It was mani pedi day. For 'tis the season to get ones feet out for all the world to see and time to use my Mother's Day voucher I'd been saving for just this moment.

 Oh how I love the pampering.  I went for browny bronze shades to kick myself out of my pink pink and more pink groove.  So feet are CND Leather Satchel, for my view is that these nails should always be a few shades darker than the hands.

And here, CND Untitled Bronze.  'Twas the day for shellac namer's block.

I was soooo thankful for my wonderful Mother's Day pampering gift.

Have you got your nails ready for summer's fun?

And which graphic pool have you dipped your manicured toe into?

A la perchoine.



Outfits Imitating Art - My Blue Period

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An outfit imitating L'ascete.

Recently, when visiting the blog of the stylish Terri Meadowtree , A 2ND LOVED AFICIANADO, I spotted in the comments that my blogger mate Anna of Mutton Years Style had a 2nd Loved gold jacket.  Hmmnn, there's a 2nd Loved blue jacket lurking somewhere in my archives …  And thus, a collaboration was born.

I picked up this jacket at a jumble sale in the early 80s. Someone had chucked it out then so I'm unsure when it was made, but it has plenty shoulderage, so I'm guessing very early 80s (or perhaps 40s!).  I used to use it as outerwear over black evening dresses.  And nothing more.

In the 90s I got myself an M&S black tux and this poor little thing became history.  Yet I couldn't chuck out this blue jacket because

1. It's silk.

2. It's a beautiful electric blue.

3. It's handmade and someone put in the hours quilting and lining this baby.

When I searched for the jacket  for the collab I also found my missing yellow cardi, which Anna then decided would be her collab inspiration; I also found my estranged coral jersey dress (both featured recently) and a whole host of other stuff which I'm just itching to wear this summer.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, being a hoarder is like having my own personal charity shop.  I go a-rummaging, find things I haven't worn in a few years (or decades) and it's like they're new to me all over again.  I 2nd Love them.

The blue is the same as much blue I have found and loved in the shops this summer, so my vintage jacket's colour is perfectly topical and on-trend (not that I care too much about that!).

So, I took my bluey and put it through its paces.

The Try-Out

With a simple black jersey dress (as it has black buttons); a hat is really an outfit's game-changer eh?

A simple ivory linen dress.  My blue top - isn't the match amazing?!  2018 is the year of my Blue Period, which is good as I think it works beautifully with blonde or silver hair, the colour spectrum nature has chosen for me.

The lace cami was too transparent.  I'd have to wear a cami under my cami!  So I switched to a more opaque white cami.

Jeans are an obvious choice for this jacket (or anything!), but I have the tummy for the tucked in look, which I think it needs.

I realised that there's more to this little vintage jacket than a party dress chuckover.   And the blue and white was definitely filling me with happy bunniness and outfit was forming.

Have you find yourself a bit tunnel-visioned with certain pieces?

If the answer is yes, then head for something you haven't worn in a long time and just try it out with a few staples in your wardrobe.  It can bring life to your wardrobe.  Trust me.

Polishing Up An Outfit

Then shortly after my try-on, I stumbled upon this pic of the lovely Susan of SUSAN AFTER 60 and I was inspired.  Her look with the strappy heels and little bag really would up my jacket's game, no?  Of course, I don't have the looks, the slimness, stylishness and everything else that Susan has in abundance, but one has to give it ones best shot, eh?

So here I give you my "polished" version of bringing my 2nd Loved 40s/80s jacket into the teensies. 

I switched from white jeans to some "posh" Per Una white screen trousers, which I haven't worn for a while.

Adesso strappy taupe heels.

A cute clutch bag from TK Maxx.

A silver pendant, similar in length to Susan's.

And with Susan's inspo, I created a look that was worthy of taking to a celebratory drinks party. 

So that is what I did.

Today's Tips

if you love a dated piece (for its colour, workmanship etc) then blend it in with what you're wearing currently to bring it up to speed.

And add smarter trousers, heels, jewellery etc for a quick posh-up of a look you like.

So, my dear readers, what do you think of my work following my own tips?

Now I'm going to pop over to my lovely mate Anna's blog HERE  to see what excitement she's come up with for her 2nd Loved gold jacket which has transformed miraculously into a yellow straightjacket. 

And if you've enjoyed this post, why don't you do something wonderful in the right hand bar and subscribe to my blog.  You'll then not miss my sometimes erratic postings and I'll get excited that you've chosen to follow little old me.  So it's a win-win.
You can also follow me on Pinterest.  And that would make me happy too.

So why not make an old pensioner a very happy old pensioner by sprinkling some happiness my way.


Thanking you for sparing some of your precious time here today.
A la perchoine.

Le Gouffre

The Event

Dinner with friends.

On a Saturday evening in June.

What to wear?!!!

The Outfit

The Weather

On this day, I was hoping for sun.  I got mist. 

The Dress - Next

But that didn't deter me.  I was going to wear this sunny dress!

The pattern makes me smile.  Each and every time I wear it.

Do you have a pattern that has that effect on you?

The Cardi - M&S

I'd been reunited with my yellow cardi that very morning, and, well, it felt rude not to.  Even TP was fighting this dress's corner when it came to that dreaded part of the going out process ... The Outfit Choice!

The Shoes - Adesso

I usually wear flatties with this dress.  Wearing heels really took the dress up a notch, bringing it to Evening Restaurant standard, IMHO.

Have you found a simple switch of footwear changes the mood if an outfit?

I picked out the taupe in the pattern to follow through to the shoes.  Yeah, I know, a little crazy for your Pout.  Yellow floral and taupe indeed!  But in our dotage we ladies are given permission to go a little crazy.  It's a rule.  I think.  Maybe it's written in The Pensioner Handbook.  Or maybe I have to write one first.  Dunno.  I'm a bit befuddled.  But that's ok, befuddled is there in the Handbook too.

And of course,

The Food

I had crab and lobster risotto.  It was tasty, but huge and it was very rich, so of course I couldn't finish it.  I had imagined a little mound of it when I ordered.  And a little drier.  Perhaps this is a risotto, Portuguese-style, for the owners are Portuguese.

TP has a lobster thermidor and he was most happy with his lot.  We're talking empty salad bowl and scooped-out shells.

The Location Shot

Now, I planned to take outdoor shots of the outfit against the superb scenery surrounding this cliff-top restaurant.  I hadn't reckoned on the sea mist, which actually had temporarily mislaid the stunning views.  So as we drove down the misty road to the restaurant, being fleet of foot I changed my plan to do some car park outfit shots, for we were after all a little early for the reservation.  

We arrived at the car park at exactly the same time as our friends.  Rats!   To jump out of the car and start posing felt too embarrassing and slightly weird.  So I didn't.  Instead I leave you with a shot I found on the internet.   I call that my Disaster Recovery Plan.

(Photo - visitGuernsey)

 Le Gouffre Restaurant, on a  better day.

A la perchoine.

Upgrading Summer's Jumper and Jeans Look

Hi all you sweetnesses out there, Happy Midsummer!

How do you plan to spend the summer solstice?

Glastonbury?  It your back garden?

I hope June is treating you well.  Here, well it's been a rollercoaster but not with TP this time.  

There are some rare illnesses that strike like a thunderbolt and without the filter of health or age.

Resilience, fight, cheerfulness and positivity play an incredible part in the recovery process and I thank our precious loved one so very much for having all of those qualities in wheelbarrow loads.

So, recovery is going remarkably well and it's onwards and upwards, peeps.  

And as I return to haunt your screens again, I'll release any posts I'd had queued up prior to the thunderbolt.  Like today's. 

We're midway through June and this day was a little blip in June's otherwise smooth pattern of hot, hot, hot.  On this day the sun was there alright, yet the air had been quite chilly during my early morning round of golf and the temperature stuck pretty much on chilly through the day and into evening. Or so I thought.

Thus, instead of the dress planned for my night at the local, I wore a jumper.

Not any old jumper.  My pearly Zara jumper.

This clever little nacre embellishment takes this simple jumper and jeans look to a slightly elevated level, IMHO.

And upgrade footwear to sassy heels and instantly your embellished jumper and jeans pairing is tweaked into just the right mood for an evening pub meal.

I felt comfortable in this outfit and it felt appropriate for the event, location and weather, and that's an essential formula to create confidence.

And as they say, "there's nowt as sexy as confidence", so heavens knows, I may have even felt that!  And at 68 that's no mean achievement!

I grabbed a Gap denim jacket, just in case.  For that is what I do.  Prepare myself for all eventualities, all weathers.

I think I've created Summer Cool,  Fonz-style!

So I took my Summer Cool to the pub ... and we had a window seat.

And the sun glared in through the glass.  Clearly not the weather for a woolly jumper, be it sprinkled with pearls or not.  Let's just say that I felt a tad overheated, and leave it at that.  And move quickly on to the food shots.

I passed on the starter, which I thought was quite an elegant thing to do, the kind of thing chic Parisienne ladies would do.  But I had to have a cheeky poke at TP's delicious cheese soufflé.

Oh, look at me, being all goody-2-shoes-sanctimonious with my prawn and avocado salad ... after I'd been a-stealin' off TP's plate!

One goes to the Rockie for a glorious sunset.

And that is what one got.  Looking out from my window seat, I raised my glass to this glorious scene.  Cheers.

Enjoy your longest day.

A la perchoine.

Coral Steal

Hey there, maties.  How are you today?
I'm hoping you're all having a good week.  Gosh, June is just flying by, it's so scary.
It's so cruel that the older you get the more every single moment of time becomes precious, yet it's precisely then that time speeds up really, really fast.  I long to feel again the seemingly endless long summer days of my school holidays.  But as that's not going to happen, let's throw some gusto into each and every speeding day eh!

So, where have I thrown my gusto today? Bloomin' stealing!
Just last week I stumbled upon an old coral jersey dress.  I shoved it in a holding pattern drawer and forgot about it.  For just two days.   Because along came not one but two coral inspo posts and what's a girl gonna do?  STEAL, of course!!

Taadaah!  Here's my coral jersey steal

Bought from the M&S £5 rack, in prehistoric times.

It has a dropped waist, which is fortunate as mine has dropped too!  There is a ruched ribbed band around the tum.
Because of that it's maybe not most flattering of dresses but I just couldn't resist the steal!

I styled it simply with light tan wedged sandals.

A simple dress benefits from the lift a hat brings to an outfit.
(psst: A hat also provides distraction for the holder's eye to allow the wearer of a slinky jersey dress to breathe.  Occasionally.)

Do you have a favourite summer hat style?
I wear both in the garden and on the beach throughout the summer months.

As an alternative styling suggestion, a blouse worn as a lightweight jacket.

Flowers in this light floral blouse match perfectly with the coral of the dress  (another psst: and a blouse provides further opportunities to breathe whilst wearing this takes-no-prisoners dress!).

A shell necklace links the hat and sandals.

Et voila!  A simple dress, styled simply, for simple summer days.

 As I said earlier, inspiration to wear this dress was waiting round the ether corner.  And not one inspiration, but two.  Just like Poldarks and yellow cardis, it seems coral dress inspos are like buses too!

Coral jersey dress inspos

ANDREA NINE, HERE

Stunning Andrea restricted her simple summer styling to a pendant and tan espadrilles.

ROSY OUTLOOK, HERE

Gorgeous Kelly dropped the jewellery and added a clever knot,  a hat and summer's must-have straw bag. 

My look was a fusion of the two. Thank you, lovely ladies!

A la perchoine.

The Book Club Appendix

#5.  Book Club

Yes, I attempted to write about the film in yesterday's Six, but it just got too big and unwieldy within that post format so here's your bonus feature today.I

I dragged The Photographer along to yet another chick flick last weekend.  It did sorta feel like I was dragging him, and he almost escaped!

(Me with poster, to evidence that I was there)

For we'd almost not seen it as I messed up the online booking and the machine printed out tickets for Solo: Star Wars.  TP said "oh well, it could be a good film to watch" and I found myself momentarily resigning myself to watching a fantasy fiction film, a genre which is not totally my bag.   But I'm headstrong and I snapped myself out of acquiescence.  I'd  gone to see Book Club and Book Club I shall see.  So I used my "charm" on the ticket office fella and despite that he kindly switched the tickets with a sweet "no problem".

TP's spoilt look: But I wanted to see Solo.

Apropos fantasy films, I tell TP that I don't like them because they are, err, fantasy.  I like Real Life films.  Raw.  Life as it really is.  So I like Rom Coms.  Chick Flicks.  For that is Real Life.  In my world!

 Not one cinema snack passed my lips.

I nearly passed these lips!

Our cinema is quite parochial, quite small-town.  We have 4 screens.

This is the smallest.  It has five rows of about 15 seats!

So, on to the film. It's OK.  It's not seminal, it's OK.

It's a chick flick - did I mention that I love chick flicks?

It's about a group of shall we say mature ladies who have been friends since  young adulthood.  Please look at the trailer for full flavour. 

It's pleasant enough, funny in lots of places.  It's definitely a feel-good kinda film and I walked away from our petite cinema feeling exactly that.  It gets my 👍.

It brings out some of the issues that we have to deal with when we reach a certain age.

A criticism would be that it has implausible pairings, like Don Johnson (lookin' good, Don!)  paired with Jane Fonda. 

Another criticism would be that it doesn't have the gorgeous interiors constructed to please female viewers, e.g. like in Something's Gotta Give and It's Complicated
(how I swooon ... ).

Oh and if I can squeeze in just one more girlie gripe without sounding like Moaning Mary - outfits!
When Diane Keaton dressed for her date in SGG, she opened the door to Jack looking stunning in an unforgettable wrap dress and slinky necklace, a look so inspirational that I knew instantly that I would steal it, and I did.
In BC her friends dressed her for her beau in a forgettable shapeless black trouser suit/white buttoned up shirt outfit, no skin on view; it's a signature DK look but not one to wow on a first date, IMHO.

Otherwise, all fine.  It's definitely a chick flick.

And I whispered to TP half way through that perhaps it is not the film to watch when you're the only male in the audience (which he was), as some bits are a bit, er, personal.   But he whispered back that he was OK with that. 

So that's the film.
👍

And Kellyann, TP says he'll back up Brian if he too is dragging his heels to go see the film!



The sun was just about to set as we drove home.  It looked glorious.  By the time I got out my phone, it had already set.  II felt as if someone had stolen my sun.

I leave you with the sun, having set.

A la perchoine.