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Monday 3 December 2018

Perseverance Pays



They do say that everything comes to she who waits.


And this she waited two months for this oatmeal jumper.
Classy neutral colour, warm soft knit, sleek long fit - what's not to love?



Back in September I tried on this jumper.  Oatmeal was the colour.  Cashmere mix was the fabric.  And marquee was the style!
It was truly huge, both in width and length (it came down to just above my knees!).  It passed on classy colour and soft to the touch knit, but failed disastrously on sizing and did absolutely nothing to enhance my shape.  Bag of potatoes came to mind.
No surprise, I returned it.

But search as I did, I found nothing better.  The Next jumper was the colour I was looking for (though sweet Susan H may argue that oatmeal is NOT a colour!).  The knit was quality and the style fundamentally suited my needs.  I just needed to avoid the bag of potatoes look (so not flattering).  So I braced myself for further disappointment and reordered, but this time two sizes down.



Yup, I got the sizing right this time.


I didn't want the uber baggy look - I have one of those in a chunkier knit.  I wanted sleek that could be dressed up or down.


It's first outing, Saturday's delivery of beauty advent calendars, was a delight.


Berry coated leggings tucked inside old Gabor chocolate leather boots, silk scarf (charitied) in colours toning to the leggings.
This was perfect for the calendar delivery, a coffee ... picking up a radiator valve - yes, this is retirement life lived to the max!


But maybe it needed a slight tweak for supper with The Sibs.


Well, all it needed was a delicate draping of silver jewellery, a tethering of the scarf and a change of boots.  I switched my runaround brown boots for something more up to date.  These berry boots (M&S AW17) are the exact shade as the coated leggings, so they elongate the leg (in illusion, not literally!).  The pointed toe further elongates.  (Stating the obvious, my short legs need all the lengthening trickery fashion can throw at them!).   Swapping my Brown boot chunky heel for a more on-trend cone heel finishes off my light touch evening tweaking.



Add a chunky knit wool  jacket from Zara and my work was done.  Daytime errand outfit to evening restaurant outfit was but a moment's work.


So that's my message, folks.  A long neutral jumper teamed with a rich colour like berry can take you from a smartish daytime look to a smartish evening look with the bare minimum of effort.  And I'm all about minimum effort!

And with a bold sizing choice, this Next jumper certainly ticks all the long neutral boxes.


Sizing is all over the place when it comes to this season's big jumpers.  I've learned from this little exercise that you've really got to play the field with sizing - be bold, be brave and experiment.  Don't give up, persevere and you will get the perfect big jumper you need to compliment your wardrobe and your shape.

With big jumpers, as with life, perseverance pays.



A la perchoine,
Mary.



23 comments:

  1. Love the dressed for the evening look and the boots do add length making you look taller. Personally I do not like to wear pointed shoes/boots I find them uncomfy on my toes (Wide feet) also the point lengthens the foot and I seem to be getting more clumsy and trip over the points lol. Love the casual smart of your outfit though. Jill x

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    1. Thanks Jill, and I do know what you mean! I have an old pair of pointy loafers that walk about 4 inches ahead of me and I stump my toes and walk like a clown! But these points are shallow and I walk as normal, so please don't rule out points yet, there's some out there with your name on them.
      Hugs my dear, x.

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  2. You are right that oatmeal is not a color, but you have styled this beautiful sweater perfectly! I love it with the berry color, and the evening outfit is just beautiful. Good job, my friend. You are inspiring me to look better in my everyday retirement activities, even though yours sound much more interesting...except for maybe getting your teeth cleaned and your tires changed. LOL

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    1. Haha, I hoped you'd pick up on that Susan! Yes, it's surprising what a change the posh boots brought to the outfit.
      Retirement is all about the mundane eh, but tarting myself up a bit makes the chore seem a little more pleasurable. I'm flattered that I'm inspiring you, and it works the other way round too .. Today I've been trying on posher than normal outfits for a Christmas meal tonight ... And I've taken photos of EVERY outfit!!!
      Hugs my sweet, x.

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  3. Loving the new oatmeal jumper outfit and with the Zara jacket....oh lala, ma cherie! The fact that oatmeal can be combined with almost any colour makes it so versatile which is my favourite word when it comes to clothing. I hope we will see some more great outfits featuring oatmeal jumper!

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    1. Thank you Dutchie, or should I say "merci, hollandaise"!!
      The jacket's been holed up in Sussex so I'm making up for lost time now. And that jumper is going to be on repeat on this blog, trust me, it's so versatile!!!
      Hugs my lovely, x.

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  4. Showcases your fab physique perfectly. Well done for scoring your perfect jumper. I'm intrigued to know which beauty advent calendar caught your eye.

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    1. Too kind, Gail!
      It's the M&S calendar. We had a few days of returning jeans for TP in November and managed to get 3 (Guernsey's quota was 35!!). I'm keeping one which is good as Day 3 and it's already coming up with exciting stuff! What about you? Hugs, x.

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  5. I've got the M&S as you know and up to day 4 all so far is useful. I had to look up how to use day 2 but it's a normal daytime eyecream. I'll have to Google again as not sure if for night too. Good on you persevering. Super styling as usual. Very much your look . Hugs twin x

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    1. Yes, I'm so impressed by the goodies so far. Haven't used any yet, have you? Thank you for your sweet words, twin, have a fab weekend, x.

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  6. It's a fab jumper and what a difference the two sizes makes! A lovely look all round. Love your Zara coat, too and your kitchen!
    xxxxxx

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    1. Oh Vronni, it was the difference between marquee and jumper! The Zara coat is a corker! Thanks for liking the kitchen, it needs a repaint but I won't be doing that this side of Christmas. Hugs, x.

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  7. You are looking so sleek and demure!! I love the maroon pop and festive vibe this outfit gives off! HUGS!

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    1. Love sleek, giggling at demure!!! Thanks, glad you like the maroon and I can see what you mean about the festive vibe. Thanks, and hugs too, x.

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  8. This jumper was worth the wait! It looks smashing on you - so sleek and sexy you continue to age in reverse my friend. Those berry coated pants are stunning on you and the scarf ties it all together beautifully!!! No sack of potatoes for Lady Leoprint!
    xo,
    Kellyann

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    1. Some things are worth the wait, indeed, and in fact I'm enjoying some more sleek and sexy as I type, wearing that same jumper! Those berries were inspired by you, sweetie, I was smitten when I saw your Spanx ! Hugs, my sweet lady, wishing you a magical weekend, x.

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  9. Love love the sweater on you Mary! I am going to start saying "jumper myself". hey, I am part English! I loved your description of a "sack of potatoes" to the first sweater... there is no such resemblance! I love the cozy knit on you and those berry tones are so fab on you with your complexion! Looking great!
    thanks for linking!
    jess xx
    www.elegantlydressedandstylish.com

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    1. Awww thanks, sweet Jess, and I love that I'm bringing out the englishness in you!!!eng
      Hugs, x.

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  10. Love your jumper and how you styled it. I can imagine it is is a colour that goes with everything :)

    Thanks so much for sharing your post with us at Creative Mondays. Have a lovely Sunday and I hope you can join us tomorrow.

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    1. Thanks my sweet and oops, I'm not great at linking up at the moment, Christmas is sorta taking over my life!!
      Hugs, x.

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  11. It does look super snuggly and a perfect fit too. A lot of the knitwear this year is so oversized. I look forward to seeing other ways to wear Mary xx

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    1. Thanks Laurie, and that's exactly it, there's so much baggy jumperage around this season and on those below 5'6" they look like sack dresses - remember those? No, I think you may be too young to remember that early 60s fad!
      Hugs, x.

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  12. Mary, You look so great, love the jumper and trousers.
    Your smile lights up every photo, thanks for making me happy x

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