Thieving Thriday! The Suit Heist

See what I did there?  Thieving Thriday?  A portmanteau merging Thursday and Friday together creates one post for both days, and thus brings me up to day (sic!) with my days?!!!

So today, instead of thieving from another blogger, Pinterest, or a Madeleine catalogue, I'm thieving from my own wardrobe today.  Thieving from a suit to be more precise.

When searching in my archives recently I stumbled upon a whole range of smart summer wear that I used to wear, BITD, when I worked for a living.  Each time I come across these stashes I haven't the heart to move them on.  I still like them, I like the colours, I like the styles.  But they're just too posh for the life I lead now, retirement life.

So it made sense to try to incorporate some of the items into my retirement life.  A few items in various shades of aqua caught my eye.

Here's how I got on.

It started with a suit.  An East two-piece - is it me or does that sound very '50s.

A two-piece, that's what my mum would call this duo.

An aqua linen two-piece suit.  Great as businesswear, I wore it loads in the noughties summers but now, not so much.  Well, actually not at all!

Got a suit YOU don't wear?

So when I stumbled upon this two-piece I thought hey, I have quite a lot of these posh suits that get absolutely zilch wear in the teensies, but I cannot bear to throw them away.  So why not repurpose them?  And the repurposing turned out to be so simple.

Thieve from the suit !!

Thieve the jacket to wear with jeans, blue or white, either will work.

This instantly brings the jacket down to the level that is my pensioner life today.  Casual, and mostly (hopefully!) smart casual.

Then let's move on to the jacket's twin.  The dress. The label said 'dry clean only'.  I washed it.  It didn't die.  It may have lightened a shade, but I'm splitting the suit so ain't no biggie!

It's a rather lovely lined sheath dress.  Thieved away from the jacket, it still needs bringing down a notch further to make it a dress I can wear day-to-day.  So I added low-wedge pink sandals and a pink necklace.

Aqua is yet another colour that my gorgeous silk butterfly scarf compliments perfectly.  

Pout Tip: Remember, if you're investing in a scarf, choose one that has pattern, one that has as many of your fave colours in the pattern as is artistically possible - you will then find that this single scarf compliments most of your outfits.

Keeping with the smart casual look I desired, I switched to another pair of low-heel sandals, this time in metallic leather.

I added turquoise jewellery; on reflection, it should have been metallic too.

My recent Woolovers purchase in embellished aqua provides a co-ordinated coverup for this time of year.

For a slightly posher casual look, I switched to a chunkier necklace and Adesso taupe high wedged heels.

But keep the two pieces apart to avoid slipping back into posh!

The addition of the jacket returns the look to special occasion posh, not a day-to-day  retirement look but fine for a summer wedding or a meet-up with the Queen at Buck House - I don't think she'd kick me out wearing this little two-piece, do you ?!!

Try it out for yourself.

So, my dears, the purpose of this post today is this.  If you have posh combos that you love, like suits, two-pieces, whatever, and you can't bear to throw them out because you they still give you joy each time you see them, then 

- Think about how you can split them to make each individual piece more casual for the life you lead now.

- Then think about bringing the tempo down on each piece - a jacket worn with jeans and maybe a complementary scarf, a fitted dress worn with lower heels, chunkier jewellery.

2nd Love your poshwear !

A la perchoine.

TOMORROW: pop back to find out where I took my aqua linen sheath!

Monday Mode, Belatedly

Yesterday was my last play date of the school hols.  The weather was glorious.  I went to the beach and frolicked the day away in the sea and the rocks and the sand.

Then, after a shower to rid my hair of the salt water and sand, I went out to dinner with girlfriends.  It was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

So please don't judge me for missing a post yesterday, I had lots of fun and I feel refreshed and I'm sure that is what you and I want for our Pout, eh?


And now, as you know why I was AWOL yesterday, I give you Monday's post, but on a Tuesday.

I've had a couple of outings with The Photographer lately and I was determined that, as we are having a return of glorious summer weather, dresses were going to be an absolute must for date nights.

I bought this Next dress a few years ago.  I liked its pink grey and black print and knew it would be perfectly wearable for posher nights out.  So then why oh why didn't I wear it?!

I think it was something to do with the length which I found a tad on the short side.  Fast forward a couple of years on this blog and wa-heey, I find that I've experienced hemline-creep.  This length is now perfectly acceptable, IMHO.

Another reason for this slow-starter was cardiganage.  What to wear with it?

So when I decided to bite the bullet and pull this dress out of the bag (quite literally!) I immediately thought of my little grey shortie as a perfect partner to the dress.  A shorter length balances the fitted style of the dress.  IMHO.

Cardi - Woolovers summer sale, 2017, grey,  £12. 



With a bold statement print, very little jewellery is called for.  A Wink leather bracelet, Claudia Bradby double pearl earrings, both in grey, and Bob's your uncle!  The shoes can be taupe, can be grey, it all depends on the outfit I wear them with and where my head is at.  Today, my Adesso heels were grey.

A little clutch/cross body in taupe from TK Maxx completed my date night outfit.

And there you have it.  Nothing wrong with the dress.  All it took was a little training via this blog to prepare my mind for this hemline.  And when I wore, I thought "Hemline too short?  Pahh, stuff and nonsense!".

Do you find sometimes that clothing plays mind games?  That your perception of an item of clothing changes over a while, so that when you decide to give it another whirl, magically if feels just right?  It's like hanging around in the archives for a few years somehow changes the piece's attitude?  Or those few years change YOUR attitude?

This little outfit was taken to La Reunion, probably TP's fave restaurant.

 

Sancerre, bien sur.

This tomato salad deserves a mention.  Delicious!  The dressing was laced with pesto which created a truly full flavour.  The miniscule cubes of feta created an acidic bite against the sweetness of the tomatoes.

Chicken with broad beans;

 turbot with samphire;

Pout with empty glass!

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.