My Coastal Granny Travel Capsule

 Hello my lovelies. 

I’m still on holiday and enjoying digging into my Coastal Granny travel capsule. 

Here’s a feel for what I’ve been putting together from my suitcase so far. 

What I wore on my hols

The straw hat was absolutely essential as the first week of holidaying by the sea in Sussex was absolutely sweltering.  We hit a heatwave! Temperatures of up to 30c.  

A loose shirt was perfect to allow air to circulate around my boiling body. 

The shirt is old from Zara and is striped with embroidered birds in blue, black and mustard thread.  I’m not sure what kind of bird it is, it’s like an artist’s impression of what a beach bird looks like, but it certainly has a very coastal granny air about it.  

With thin white trousers it was a cool foil for the sweltering day. 

I wore the outfit for a meet up with cousins at Ashburnam 

Christian Trust, what a lovely atmosphere that place has. We ate a ploughmans lunch which was served with a massive cheese scone rather than bread.  Delish.

We then had a wander around the expansive and prettily laid out grounds. 

Although the day was hot, walking around the lake was cooling .  

Next day I strolled along the sea shore where the air again was cooler. 

The sand on this beach can only be seen at low tide.  This was high tide. 

There are some interesting seaside plants along the beach. 

This was early morning and already some had set up camp for the day. 

More plant clumps seen between the beach huts. 

Several hundred beach huts line the shore.  Half are privately owned and half are owned by the council and rented out. 

Quite idyllic, it put me in mind of the emoji 🏝 . 

That evening I went to a cousin for a lovely summer’s evening supper in the garden.  It was another cousin meet up.  This first leg of our holiday has been about cousins, as you will discover!

I wore a white linen shirt, bought from  H&M 20 years ago. 

To complete the classic coastal granny look I added a

string of pearls, a pressie from my family last Christmas, and double pearl earrings, a previous birthday pressie from them.  I’m a lucky girl to be draped in pearls!

So, white linen shirt, blue jeans and pearls.  Classic. 

I went Groove Dancing with a cousin. 

It’s silent disco dancing in the open air by the sea. A group of participants dance to music through headphones for an hour, much to the amusement of the passers by! 

(I’d packed comfy t shirt, tracksters and trainers as the dancercise was pretty-planned)

It was tremendous fun, though I used muscles I haven’t used in years and I’m paying for it now!

Now on another el skorchio of a day I went off piste and strayed away from the CG vibe.  

Grey t shirt and a nasturtium coloured skirt. 

I wore this because it was sooooo hot and this loose clothing drew me as it’s light. 

The grey beads are charity shopped.  The modal t shirt is from Next this year.  The skirt is actually a mini sun dress I bought from Primani 7 years ago.  It has a shirred top so I just pull the bodice down to my hips and called it a skirt!

I topped this casual outfit with TP’s hat. 

I chose this as the temp peaked at 30c again and the skirt and top are loose and cool.  

So it wasn’t a classic CG outfit but it is the kind of thing a granny living by the coast would wear on a very hot day.  Because that is what I did!

I took this outfit on an outing with a cousin to a country farm shop.  We enjoyed coffee and cheese scones in the tea shop.  

Although the outfit strayed from the archetypal CG style I did keep to the Something’s Gotta Give vibe. 

I did my Diane Keaton thing checking out the farm’s market stalls.  I didn’t bump into Keanu Reeves, sadly. 

 But I bought more cheese scones!

And pink gin!

All locally made. 

I’ll post more holiday outfits next week from our new base in Devon. 

And now I’d like to leave you with an added bonus to this post.  

Apparently the Coastal Grandma trend has hit Holland. 

My friend Marianne lives there.  She’d only heard of the CG thing when she read my last week’s post.

She was inspired to raid her wardrobe. 

Blue chambray shirt and white chinos, beach bag and straw hat. 

She draped a jumper around her neck, another element of CG dressing.  

A great start. 

Then she popped on a white shirt and scarf. 

Worn with light blue trousers and a coastal style bag. 

Didn’t she do well?!

Marianne’s verdict: “I love that look. Casual but elegant at the same time. Didn't realise that this style had a name until you mentioned it!!” 

It’s hit the Dutch newspapers too!

How have YOU been coping with the soaring temperatures in the UK, or elsewhere in the northern hemisphere?

For those in the southern hemisphere. I’m sure you’re enjoying the cooled air!

A la perchoine, 

Mary xxx. 

The Pout Goes Coastal Granny

Hello my lovelies!

I’ve been delving into the social media phenomenon that is Coastal Grandmother.  Or grandma.  Or granny. 

I first came across the concept in this Daily Telegraph article HERE in late May. 

I didn’t give it too much thought. 

Then when I stumbled on a post by the delightful Rena from FINE WHATEVER HERE I felt I needed to delve further. 

And delve I did. 

There’s so much on SM about it.  I won’t bore you with the detail, you can delve yourself if interested, but it’s all about a relaxed summer vibe in lifestyle, 

in dressing 

and home decor. 

Nancy Meyers has apparently got a lot to answer for!

She has spawned the look, primarily through my fave film of all time, Something’s Gotta Give, but also via similar films like It’s Complicated (my second favourite film).  So no surprise, I was already a big fan of the vibe!

My home already has a CG vibe to it.  And so does my wardrobe it would seem for I realized that I had all the prerequisite pieces in my wardrobe already for the Coastal Granny look. 

Duh.  No surprise there.  

I live on an island.  My home is near the coast.  I’m a granny.  

So of course I have all the pieces of the Coastal Granny jigsaw!

I have to say this whole experience has been sorta cathartic.

It’s like I’ve been recognized as who I really am.  

That I finally have a place on this world.  

It’s like coming home after a foray into the “fashionista” world wearing someone else’s clothing and uncomfortable footwear.  Fine on someone else, but not a dumpy beach granny. 

It’s like I’ve been playing away from home all these years. 

Ok. I’m getting a tad carried away with the analogies, but  it really was a Phew! experience. 

The timing was perfect too as I needed to do some granny packing for an upcoming holiday visiting family.  And rather than the usual dithering and panic about packing, this suitcase experience was a doddle. 

 I had a theme.  I had the visuals of what is de rigeur for CG dressing.  And my first port of call is coastal (and the second is near the coast) so I knew what to pack.  Kushti!

No dithering.  I packed Coastal Granny in a suitcase. 

I’ll post pics of what I wore in due course.  But right now  I’m on holiday and life is busy.  

But here’s a little taster of Coastal Granny. 

It starts with a sun dress, bien sur. 

And some coast. 

The promenade at Bexhill-On-Sea, Sussex 

I wore this sundress yesterday for a beachside al fresco lunch with cousins. 

A straw sun hat was more a necessity than a CG prop on such a hot day!

Blue and white is a theme in the coastal

Granny look, especially in home decor - so here I’m wearing Diane Keaton’s sitting room in Something’s Gotta Give !!!

But without Jack Nicholson draped over me!!!

Have YOU come across the coastal granny phenomenon yet? 

Is the whole aesthetic something you can identify with too?

A la perchoine’ 

Mary xxx.

Classic dressing - Skirts

Hello my lovelies. 

Today’s post is all about skirts, then and now. 

I like to look at styles I wore back in the day, and see if I still wear them and whether they stand the rest of time. 

So let’s get going!

Rabat, 1975 - a black floral print gored skirt, part of a two piece.  

Here I wore a black gored print skirt, part of a two piece - the second piece being a kimono style jacket. 

I loved this set and back in the day I did so enjoy breaking down the two pieces to mix with other tops or bottoms in my wardrobe. 

The nearest I’ve got to find this amazing print in 50 years is this. 

And of course I bought it because it reminded  me of

my 1975 print.  

But it’s not a skirt, so let’s move on. 

This is the nearest I’ve got to my black floral skirt in recent years.  Black and ecru print. 

Algeria, 1975 - a navy polka dot skirt (part of a two piece). 

My most recent navy skirt purchase was this floral affair a few years ago. 

Barcelona, 1974 - a green sort of patchwork floral print skirt.

It was softly pleated at the waist and was in a fabric that hung well. And  🎶 It had pockets!

And here is a floral skirt, a charity shop purchase a few years ago, worn with a white t and denim jacket. 

And more formally with a pink cardi and pointy loafers. 

This skirt is also softly pleated at the waist.  The fabric is a more robust cotton so is more voluminous that the softer fabric skirt of yore, but still has its own charm too.

Paris, 1987 - a black leather skirt. 

I still have this skirt, and it still fits - well, if I can get away with the back zip remaining open! 

A much safer option is this shorter black leather skirt I bought about 20 years ago - the zip closes!

It’s such a versatile piece. 

This skirt has spawned so many looks in the last two decades. 

 It’s been a real bargain when measured by its cost per wear. 

A less punchy hide is suede, here a lilac version. 

And this beige suede skirt has been another CPW success. 

So what sense can I make from these comparisons?

- Well, skirts are a versatile bottom to have in your wardrobe, that’s for sure.  

- An A-line skirt seems to stand the rest of time. 

- A black leather skirt never dates and can be worn for well over forty years - provided you don’t put on an ounce of weight around the waist!

- All of the vintage skirts shown could still be worn today (by a slimmer version of now-me), and not look dated.

From this little exercise I can see that buying a good quality skirt (A line or softly pleated or gored), at just below knee length, is a good sustainable investment.

And a hide skirt is an amazing CPW buy, for durability and longevity.  But I would recommend leather rather than suede as leather seems to improve with age and somehow seems more versatile, for it looks fabulous dressed down or up. 

Those are my thoughts on skirts.

What are yours?

A la perchoine,

Mary xxx.