Feeling Lucky

I’m such a lucky girl. 

I’m lucky that I had an old but luxurious “fur” collar to add to my frock coat to give the look a bit of old-school glamour. 

And I’m lucky that the birthday presents keep on coming after my Big Birthday last month.  

Seems that’s one of the good things about a 70th birthday.  

Another is being lucky just to get there. 

Out for dinner with the girlies in all-black.

Frock coat, Zara, 2018
Coated jeans, Next, 2017
Pearl/diamond big jumper, Dotty P, current
Boots, Gabor, 2014-15

Are you feeling lucky too?

A la perchoine, 

Mary x 

What To Wear To Meet Racy

Sometimes an outfit can take a lot of effort to put together.

Sometimes it takes a bit of investment.

This is a tale of one such outfit.

It started with a car, (this post HERE will bring you up to speed!), and it ended with two cars, but that's a story simply too long for today.

My car search took a turn after that post.

My head was turned by a stylish soft top. At that moment, practical flew out the window and racy flew in.

My thoughts went into overdrive - I've harboured a Mercedes Convertible crush for 45+ years.

Now was the time to live the dream and have some fun!

Soooo, The Photographer googled me my dream.

I deliberated over what to wear to pick up my dream.  It was like going out on a first date and the outfit had to be pitched just right.  First impressions, and all that.

My thoughts were leaning towards casual but classy.  Car chic.

I said goodbye to practical.

And hello to fun!

I'd had an If Not Now, When? moment.

I felt it was my last opportunity to have some fun, to try out how racy feels, for if I didn't do it now, I probably never would.

Well, racy feels goooood. 

I thought I'd feel a bit of a poser in it.  But I don't.  Just good!

And it's 2nd Loved Terri !

Right, readers, what did I chose to wear for my date with my liberating bit of fun?

Navy bardot dress (tweaked), Dotty P; Bronze sandals and coloured beads (M&S)

Silk scarf (Accessorize)

To keep the open-top breeze off the exposed shoulders, d'ya think?

Nah!  For my head - for a girl just has to have a silk head scarf for her open top raciness, eh?!!

(Vronni, please note my messy attempt at headscarfing!)

Typically, buying a racy car is a classic mid-life crisis thing.  

75 is the new 50, so hey, I'm on target.

Have you had any If Not Now, When? experiences lately?  I'd love to hear.

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.

The Retirement Suit

Happy Mothering Sunday to all the wonderful mums on our precious planet.

You work tirelessly, you give unselfishly and you love unconditionally 

-  you deserve a good pampering, today and any day!

And I feel I've already had a good pampering with my new cardi.  It was love at first wear.  I am #overthemoonhappy with this new piece.

I am the picture of Happy Bunniness when I wear it!

Yesterday I introduced it to you, styled in top to toe berriness and my Happy Bunny face.

I continued excitedly,  trying various tops with the berry coated jeggings, knee boots and new cardi combo.

It looks fresh when layered with an ivory top from Next.

Feminine with a touch of lace from Dotty P.

And I happen to love leoprint with berry so this Next top was right up my strasse.

Returning to a more casual look, this time a grey longline cami and a low-slung belt, also from Peacocks (remember, esoteric colours = buy within the brand).

I thought this deserved a change of boot so I switched to grey suede anklies.

Can you see how much Happy Bunny is exuding from just one face?

Perhaps an air of cockiness?

You'd be right, I AM feeling cocky.  Smug.  For I started the day with one outfit and ended up with half a dozen!

I added just one piece to my wardrobe, the berry cardi.  I created five new outfits for my berry jeggings at the blink of the eye.  A small addition to your wardrobe can bring big changes to how you wear a certain piece.  And of course here I'm just tackling the berry jeans.  There are so many other outfits this cardi can spawn.  With biker jeans, with blue jeans.  With a black skirt, with a denim skirt.  Oh the permutations are perhaps not endless but there are certainly shedloads of 'em.

Yes, third piece trickery was at play today.  I'd realised that my berry jeggings didn't have their own third piece to create a "suit".   For as Janice of  The Vivienne Files (HERE) espouses, a same-coloured cardi creates a suit.  And a cardi-suit is perfect for the more casual retirement wardrobe as it creates a smarter cohesive look without the formality of a jacket.

So my suggestion to you is to look at a fave piece of clothing and think how many more outfits you can create with the addition of just one new piece, that vital third piece.  It truly is mindblowing! 

Have you discovered the usefulness of the cardi-suit? 

The retirement suit?

 I'd love to hear.

Thanks for popping in today.

Now, I'd be filled with happy bunniness if you subscribed to my blog.  I  love numbers and your subscription would make my little number that little bit bigger.  It'll cost you nothing!

And I love hearing from readers, it gets really matey when the comments pop up and I feel I'm not talking to the ether.

If you're a frequent reader but haven't commented, well, why not now?  It would bring joy to my day to hear from you!

A la perchoine.

Introducing The Third Piece

 OK, so it's that time of the season when panic sets in.  That time at the end of a season when I realise that the weather is morphing into the coming season and I haven't worn nearly enough of my favourite pieces from the closing season.

 Today was that day.

After we endured our Siberian winter then enjoyed a few gorgeously sunny days, all in the space of 7 days, it dawned on me that in a few weeks it will be far too warm to wear one of my fave pieces from AW18, the berry coated jeggings from Next. Nor my gorgeous berry boots from M&S.   Nor my grey woolly bardot jumper from Dotty P for that matter.  Cripes!!!

So I remedied that without delay and in one big wollop.  I wore them all together in one outfit with a berry cami underneath, and met up for coffee with TP and our mate.  The mate glanced at my garb and told me I looked like one of The Avengers*.  I told our mate I'd dressed for him.  I hadn't, of course, that was just me in flirty mode.

TP guffawed, perhaps because I don't do flirty so well these days 😕.  Darn it!

When dressing I'd realised that much as I loved the berry jeggings and boots, I could have got a lot more wear out of them if one vital piece was added to the mix. A third piece.  The piece that brings an outfit other.  In this case, a berry cardi.  

With a cardi of similar colour, I could introduce a whole load more pieces to this combo.  That would create a mind-blowing extra number of outfits from those two basics.

I'd been stalking a berry cardi at Peacocks for some time, perfect for my berry bits, but I didn't want to pay full whack.  I'm a pensioner, don't ya know?
My take on dressing these days is that it's worth spending money on core items of clothing in neutral colours that will endure through the years, through fashion and hair colour changes!  But for an injection of colour, it's not worth spending shedloads because chances are, I'll tire of them quicker than neutrals.

And as luck would have it, I'd spotted that "my" cardi had been reduced so after coffee I sneaked off to the shop and with discount and a voucher I bagged my berry beauty for £6!

I tried it on a home and it was love at first wear. I was excited to put it through its paces so  I tugged out a few tops from an overstuffed wardrobe   I judiciously selected a few suitable pieces.

Readers, I give you my third piece, styled in top to toe berriness.  Taadaaahhh!

Here, I teamed it with the longline cami that I'd bought from the same shop some weeks ago.  Remember my top tip, if you're dealing with esoteric colours, buy from the same range for a perfect colour match.  Otherwise, it just gets messy. 

I have to tell you that I am over the moon with this cardi.  It's the perfect colour for all my wardrobe's berriness, it hangs beautifully, it's a perfect length and the sleeves are nicely tight for the elbow roll up thing, which is my preferred way to wear knitwear.

If a pictorial dictionary needs a photo to depict "happy bunny" then use this one above, for that is me, an extremely happy bunny.

And that's where I have to press the pause button on this epic story as I had to break it down into two posts.  Yes peeps, I hear your sobs but it was really THAT big!  So why don't you pop back tomorrow and see for yourself what I achieved with the introduction of this third piece.

 It's worth the wait! 

So, dear readers, I'm wondering whether you're in panic mode too as you rush to wear your winter faves before the weather changes?

*Emma Peel, The Avengers

Yes, our friend has a vivid imagination!

A la perchoine.

The Lady Who Lunches Meets Lady Leoprint

The Outfit

There are some days when we just want to go back to basics.

Like black trousers.

Wimpy me just wants something warm around her legs when THE BEAST FROM THE EAST is a-visitin'  - skirts and dresses stay in the wardrobe.

Instead of my go-to coated biker jeans which my thoughts had first gone to for the evening's attire, I decided to go right back to basics with simple black trousers.  I haven't worn plain old trousers for an age.  Have you?

Add a camisole to create a black column, layer on a pop of cardi colour in wintry red and you have the makings of what I would describe as a Lady Who Lunches outfit.  Safe. Tried and tested, but it works.

I have to say the Lady Who Lunches staring back at me from the mirror did unnerve me slightly.  But The Photographer said she looked nice just as she was, with no knee jerk dressing required.  I should mention that at this point I had threatened to switch my classic black trousers for the Plan A coated biker jeans.  So I heeded TP's advice,  but gave a nod to my Lady Leoprint roots.

Well naturally something as sensible as a LWL outfit must at least have a bit of subdued edge, so I introduced a scarf and little bag in leoprint.  Lady Who Lunches Meets Lady Leoprint.  And only then was I was good to go.

And go I did, to meet up with my Sibs at a nearby hotel restaurant.

The Meet-Up

The hotel's foyer was attractively decorated, I'm guessing for a wedding reception.

I chucked my phone in the direction of The Photograper because I realised I'd left home without showing you my outerlayer.

It's this.  A black leather zipped and hooded coat from way back.  Maybe 20 years way back.

I'd stopped wearing it purely because its side pockets are positioned a bit too far back for my liking.  Simple solution -  I didn't put my hands in them last night.  Why on earth has it taken me two decades to work out that simple fix?!!

Bro missed this photoshoot.  Funny, that. 

Sis and I wore complimentary colours, without even having liaised beforehand!

Me in black, red and leoprint.  Sis in black, a pretty black print top which she topped with her pop of wintry red in the form of a scarf.

This isn't the first time we've turned up in complimentary outfits, like when we were

TWO YELLOW PEAS IN A POD (HERE).

That's sisters for you, eh.

Apropos prints, I really struggle to find any prints I like.  Sis, on the other hand, has a kanny knack of finding prints that I always like. Why do I never see these prints in the shops?

The Food Shots

And because I haven't posted any food shots for ages ...

Classic Prawn Cocktail

Eggs Florentine

Hungarian Goulasch - which our sweet Hungarian server
assured us was made authentically as she'd tested it.

Chicken Jalfrezi

Another classic, Toad in the Hole

And the classics continue with an Apple Crumble



Don't fret, not ALL those dishes were mine!

So in summary, my post today:
It's about the forgotten wardrobe hero, black trousers.

It's about classic column dressing. 

 It's about simple pops of cheering wintry colour.

It's about introducing a little leoprint edge to LWL outfits.

It's about how when looking at these pics I realise that black, red and a little bit of print really work well together.
It's about keeping my hands out of awkwardly place coat pockets.

And mostly it's about having a wonderful evening in the company of lovely family.

Hope your weekend is going well, keeping warm/cool and keeping in touch with those you love.

A la perchoine.