Winter Berries On!

Oh how pleased I am to sound like a broken record ... I have seriously 💕-ed our glorious Indian Summer!  And it was yet another warm and sunny day when I wore my berries (it's sooo much colder now 😥).

The sun was warm, the sky was blue,

And I chose to share my berries with you!

Yes, I know it's autumn when I see the first sight of winter berries.  And despite the warm day, I chose to put on my fave fauxs and my berry coated leggings went on for the first time this season.

Berry leggings on - now it's officially autumn in Pout World!  

They're from Next and AW17 but still on the website this season.  Well, why wouldn't they be when they are so fabulously comfy to wear?  Next isn't stupid!

I also spotted something very similar in Primark last week, half the price, but don't know if that makes them half the quality?  But the quality of these Next leggings is top notch and I'm still shell-shocked from the mileage I got out of them last winter, yet they washed a dream and came off the line like new.  And with a zero ironing requirement, I'm pretty much in love with my berries 💕.

I teamed them with a neat print berry top (M&S, £8.50).

I liked this look but why rest on my laurels ...

It's always a good idea to try some new looks with old clothes when you first take them out for the season.

So I tried my berries with the classics, denim jacket (Gap) and faux leather waterfall biker (Peacocks).

I was happy with both but The Photographer With Fashion Views preferred the biker look (well he would, wouldn't he - I'm guessing it's because it's double the leather ... "Tell me about it, Stud!" (do men EVER get over that Sandy moment?!)

It's like when I asked him to choose between Shakira and The Pussy Cat Dolls and he chose the latter, "because there's more of them" !

But hey I'm inconsistent, so I chose neither of the  jackets and instead opted for this supersoft Arran sweater (Primark AW18, £10).

And off I went on my morning constitutional.

But of course the jumper soon came off, it was amazingly hot for this time of year.  Have I mentioned our glorious Indian Summer?   Well, maybe not in the last few paragraphs!

This was the perfect outfit for the weather, for the activity ... and for me!

A la perchoine,

Mary.

Retirement Dressing AW18 - The Casual Shirt

Today I'm looking at casual shirts in retirement.  I'm not going to lie, I haven't been throwing myself into shirts too much in retirement, or even prior.  Back in the mid nineties I stopped wearing shirts in the office because, well, they invariably needed ironing and hey, life's too short; instead I turned to the lovely tops with elastane which needed none of that palaver.

So I find myself looking at an AW18 wardrobe which is pretty devoid of shirts generally.  And in my retirement, if any shirt is going to come to the fore, it had better be of the super-casual ilk, for I don't feel good in a crisp white or striped shirt.  Plus those need ironing 😰.

 Casual shirts in denim or flannel have been calling my name lately.  These casual-end shirts are proving a great solution for easy wear and layering as the temperatures drop just a degree or two (have I told you about our Indian Summer?!!) and make for a pretty good fit with life in retirement.  They provide a lighter, softer and versatile alternative to a cardi or jacket.  Plus these need mostly no ironing 😊.

And, just to throw some crazy stuff into the mix, I've found myself recently adding a couple of plaids to my repertoire, and I never thought I'd be doing that!

A loose covering layer AND zero ironing - just what is there not to like about the casual shirt!!


But without further waffle, I give you how I've been wearing my casual shirts lately, some looks worn previously and some inspo courtesy of Pinterest.



COWBOY/PLAID


Now

New plaid #1.  Primark.

New plaid #2, au naturel.  Primark.

Try it layered with a denim shirt.

Or over a white tee.

Ok, these are all tried and tested ways with a plaid but I'm a late arrival at the flannel shirt party!

Previously on the blog

M&S (bought ca. 2013)

Yup, BITD I was a one plaid gal (bought for a barn dance) so just the one "previously" here.

Inspo

DENIM



Now

H&M denim (bought 2000), au naturel.

And with a cardi layerlayer, should it cool any time soon!!

Previously on the blog

Levi denim (bought 1997).

From 1974, definitely pre-blog, and pre- pretty much everything !

But I just wanted a visual showing how denim shirts have been around a long time.

Inspo

I fancy trying this look before my last whities standing go into winter storage.  

Is your shirt style changing, maybe from smart to casual?

Do you even like denim and plaid shirts?!

I'd love to hear from you in the comments box below.

And whilst you're here, it would put a big beaming smile on my face if you follow/subscribe on my blog, MY INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT HERE and/or MY PINTEREST ACCOUNT HERE.

Thank you, my sweets 😀 💕 !!!

A la perchoine, 

Mary.

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.

Stuck in a Navy Groove

So what's been happening with me lately? 

Plantar fasciitis, that's what.  Heel and arch pain.  It hurts. Avoid it.  

I've worked out how I think I could have avoided it.

By not racing up hills during the literary festival here

And by not wearing these flat-foot loafers whilst racing.

But enough post-pain analysis.

On to the OOTD.  After swamping my little head with gingham and stripe, florals and birds, here , this little A-line pocketed affair popped into my Next trolley.  Serviceable, as my mum would have described it.  However, I'm having difficulty finding tops for this navy print skirt.  Worn here with a Next navy jersey top.

Next styles it with white.

I went for safety when choosing the navy print option.

This print is so pretty and with a little more colour option.  But it felt like a wild card.  So I played it safe.

On another day and again I wore the skirt with navy. 

 Turns out going for safety is a bit samey.  

 Navy camisole and linen mix cardi, both from Next last year.

So, Next styles it with white.  I team it with navy.  Repeatedly.

That's the limit of our imaginations.

How would you style I?  Can you see possibilities beyond mine and Next's limited collective imaginations?!

So, stuck in my navy groove, I added my boxy GAP denim jacket and took the outfit down to the beach for a post-prandial evening stroll.

Grandes Rocques and Cobo bays.  Beyond the bays, Cobo village.

It was still light when we arrived.   A few people strolled, stretching their legs like us.  A few families were packing up their beach-bbq paraphernalia.  It had been a glorious day.

The sun soon dipped below the horizon.

The departing sun left its pink glow calling card.

Then it was dusk.

I look at my best at dusk!

A la perchoine.