Getting My Happy Face On

Hello my lovelies!

Who’s a happy girl? 

That’s the look of a girl who’s about to go out on her first date night in four months. 

And The Photographer seemed just as happy about it as me.  Here chatting to our drinks waiter just a few feet away from me - more on that later. . 

Mind you, La Reunion IS his favorite restaurant so maybe it was the excellent food and service in an excellent beachside location that was putting a smile on this face and not merely going out with me!

I accessorized a black dress with brown bag and shoes and threw over a orangey coral cardi.  I noted that I would never have worn brown with this black dress back in the day.  Times change eh. 

I wore probably my fave necklace of all time.  It’s made out of belt rivets and is incredibly heavy.  It’s always guaranteed to get comments, it’s that sort of necklace.  And I picked it up at a jumble sale about 25 years ago. 

Wearing it always makes me feel happy. 

Yup I was so happy I even attempted a pout!

I tried a demure look. 

But soon switched back to my date night default happy face!

The dress I chose for the night is old, 2005.  It’s a perfect summer-casual LBD.   I bought it on a day trip to Sark, a neighbouring vehicle-free island.  Our Bailiwick islands (Sark, Herm and Alderney) are now freely open to Guernsey residents again. 

This black linen shift dress has same-coloured embroidery along the hem line.  And long slits both sides - more on that later too!

I’d been estranged from this dress but was reunited with it in recent weeks when I discovered it and a few other treasures when I chanced to look in a bin bag on a high shelf in a little-used wardrobe.  Instead of finding old raggedy decorating clothes I’d thought for years were in there, I found some choice pieces that could decorate ME!  Amongst the many treasures in the bag was this old fave dress, along with another fave from 1986 (which I wore for our Liberation Day recently SEE HERE) and the brown linen suit trousers that I wore last weekSEE HERE .  What a bonanza that was!  Can you imagine what a Happy Face I had that day!

However, what didn’t make me so happy was forgetting about the side slits this dress has, as it's been maybe 15 years since I’d worn it.  

I rediscovered the slits when sitting down on a low sofa for pre-dinner drinks in the posh restaurant.  Yup it was a full ten minutes before I realised I’d been sitting cross-legged showing most of a cellulite-ridden chunky right thigh.  And the waiter had been serving drinks, taking the food order and just about everything else standing a few feet away from said eye sore.  

Ouch!

Has that happened to you?

A la perchoine,

Mary x. 

Summer’s LBD - Umpteen Ways

Hello my lovelies, how are you?

Hope all is as well as can be expected and hoped for. 

Here, life at this time of year is full and fun and you find me in my summer holding pattern, fitting in blogs where I can.

So  lets talk about summer LBDs today.

 I do like an LBD.  For ease of wear and an instant fix of style and elegance with little effort required.  My type of outfit.  I've posted on LBDs many times and through the seasons, like 

HERE in summers-lbd

HERE, in -its-all-about-shoe

in summers past.

I recently stumbled upon a wonderful stash of old businesswear bought in the summer of 2002.   Stuff I don't really wear in retirement but which I cannot bear to part with is as I love each single piece and each single piece cost me a bloomin' small fortune, back in my former life.   Naturally in amongst the pile the carefully stored choice pieces was an LBD.

And thus I was reunited with this simple but stylish black linen lined sheath/shift dress from East.  I set upon seeing how I could wear it in retirement with some more casual styling, something I would never have done when I was wearing it solidly through my working summers.  Back then it was teamed with stilettos, little jackets and real jewellery. 

So here's the more casual makeover I gave my summer LBD.

Tan accessories always tone down an LBD and bring a casual vibe to the piece.

I would say this was my favourite and most successful styling, so if you want to close down this page now, please do, my work is done!

 

Little gold sandals and bag are fine tor a dinner date, but not really how I want to make this dress work for me in the life I lead now.

Sludgy tones in this silk scarf make it a wearable option for my now.

Noooo, a gauzy gold shawl and sandals does NOT make this dress casual!!!

Yes, you're back on track, Pout - a summer hat and silver sandals DO lend a casual vibe to the LBD.

OK I just couldn't resist this ... a 60s headscarf!  I see this as a Jackie Onassis sightseeing look, do you?

A pout is a good accessory ,,, but NOT that gold bag, Pout!

This is where I need to be.  Tan tan tan.  And hats. 

And yes, this hat below worked too.

And ivory and red work so well with the LBD for a Lady Who Lunches look.

I bought the little ivory crochet hat in San Francisco whilst on a business trip and on a July day when the weather changed the weather from rainy to hot in a few short hours.  So it's exactly 20 years old.  🎶 Happy birthday 🎵, little hat!

TP's view on the hat?  "It looks like you have a pancake on your head."  But I think he's wrong, do you too?  It's cute.

So to casualise a summer LBD, I can see that tan is the big winner here.  Summer hats and sandals work.  Straw bags work.

Adding a scarf always works, IMHO.

And back to that 60s headscarf  - it works, if you're into ageing film star glamour!

By this time the poor photographer had been through a huge amount of accessory changes, and "the carrot" I have him was that he could choose what I wore that evening.  So when he saw the addition of a white print linen shirt from my 2002 stash he said ...

"That's what I want you to wear for our dinner date!"  But on reflection I guess he may have thought this would stop the interminable accessorising and his snapping duty would end so maybe this wasn't really his fave, just an easy get out of jail card!

And on that bombshell, let's summarise what can be done with a summer linen LBD.

On its own, worn simply with no jewellery and silver sandals, creates easy casual elegance.

      

Hat with black polka trim, tan bag and wedge espadrilles works.

Oh change of mind, this is my fave look - now aren't you glad you stayed with me?!!

   

Biting on sunglasses creates more Hollywood glamour but that is not the point of this little exercise!

Throwing a wild card into the beauty parade, an embellished cardi and toning glitzy belt is a nice look and is something I'd wear on amother date night, but it's slightly outside of my casualising the LBD remit, so let's move swiftly on.

Yes I did go a little totally off-piste with diaphanous shawls.

And yes, headscarves were a step outside my remit too,

but I think I mostly stayed on track and achieved what I set out to do.  Work a posher LBD into my summer-casual wardrobe.

How are you on summer LBDs?

Do they fit into your more casual lifestyle?

What time do you have to make businesswear retirementwear?

A la perchoine,

Mary x,

Thieving Thursday - Summer's LBD

Hello my lovelies.

Let's keep things nice and simple today.  Like with an LBD.





I felt inspired to slip on a Little Black Dress for a date night.

It's such a simple thing to do, slip on an LBD and feel comfortable wherever you are and whatever the weather.

Like Ashley, who was my inspo for my LBD in summer today.

Yes, wondering what to wear, I'd stumbled upon Le Stylo Rouge, HERE wearing her LBD and I was reminded how simply stylish the LBD can be, all year round.  This lovely young lady has styled her loose LBD in a young and modern way, with a statement necklace and sports shoes - sneakers.  

We called them pumps BITD, then they became trainers, and now heavens knows what they're called in the UK!  But whatever the name of the footwear, this sweetie is looking so good in her loose and airy dress, perfect for late summer.

And that's the beauty of an LBD.  Suitable for all ages.  Suitable for all seasons.

Mine is a mid-calf Dotty P jersey dress (it looks longer in pics).  I cinched it in at the "waist" and wore heels.

The Woolovers beaded cardi is the aqua version of the cardi I wore in my last WIW Wednesday post.  Yes, I couldn't resist the 2fer deal!

So, that's how I'm wearing my LBD in late summer.

Here's another LBD I wore last week, in ribbed jersey and styled with a lacy scarf.

And here are other summer LBDs from previous years.

The same old Dotty P dress, last year. 

Here the look is more similar to my Ashley's styling, without the belt.

Again from last year's post, a Next linen LBD, with and without the belt.

You can see from the pics that the look changes with the simple addition of a belt.  So if you're looking for a quick variation to your LBD, simply add a belt and see how it changes not only your silhouette but also the mood of the dress.



I find myself drawn towards LBDs through the summer, but especially this time of the season, when the days are a little chillier and the nights are drawing in.  An LBD in August just sorta feels right.

Now why don't you pop along to Ashley's blog following the link above and see some of her clever stylings.

A la perchoine.