Skirting The UV

Hello dear friends, and I hope that is what we are because today I'm publishing a post that any pro blogger would bin.   Let's see if you can spot why; answers in the comments box please!

The other day I was noting how a simple switch of shoes can change an outfit.  You can read that post HERE.

Today, I'm looking at skirts.

I needed a longer sleeved top as the temperature has dropped in recent days to v. low 20s.  Yes,  I hear ya, brrr.

I wanted colour and was drawn to this M&S boatneck top in ... ultra violet!  

Yup, when I discovered my UV cardi (shown HERE) I found its mate (£7) lurking on a rail as I was leaving the store.  They were the only two UVs in the whole shop, so maybe brands take all this Pantone Colour of the Year hype with a pinch of salt. 

1.  East cotton lawn/lace panelled skirt.

Perhaps too much going on with the skirt, when it was the top I wanted to showcase.  And a bit irreverent to The Rule of Thirds perhaps?

2.  White, linen draw-string skirt, H&M.

Oh yes.  Instantly I was getting good vibes from this look.

Straw hat with leoprint fabric trim, M&S.

3. Beige drawstring linen skirt, M&Co.

The shape was fine, the neutral colour classy, but I wasn't getting "vibrant" from this combo, the adjective this UV top deserves.

So that was my choice of skirts and those were my thoughts.

What did I feel worked best?

My final choice was the white A-line.  My rationale:  

I felt the white made the UV colour pop.  

I felt that the simple line allowed the eye to focus on the pretty coloured top.

The differences in the change of skirts is perhaps subtle but a striking colour of top needs just the right backdrop to showcase it in all its glory and simple and white are the absolute musts for a strong colour in summer, like my vibrant UV gloriness here.

Did I make the right choice?  You tell me.

Do simple differences in bottoms make a substantial impact to your tops? You tell me.

And have you spotted my blooper yet?  You tell me!

Yup, it's over to you, readers.

A la perchoine.

Post note, 15.08.2018.

The Blooper Revealed

It's the wet patches on my right shoulder and down the front, best visible in the penultimate pic.  I must have stood under a hanging basket or something before the photo shoot and only spotted the splodges after I posted but I thought, what the heck, we're friends, so let's make a game out of my messiness!

Thanks for humouring me with your participation, x.

The First Skirt of Summer

Hi my dears, welcome to June!  

And a very happy Friday to you too.  Do you have much lined up for the weekend?    Unusually for me, mine's going to be wall-to-wall lovely things from lunchtime today through to Sunday evening.  #feelinggrateful.  No doubt there will be a few What To Wear dilemmas along the way but who's complaining about a few rummages in the wardrobe, eh? 😉

Rummaging started on Wednesday.

What to wear for TP's post op appointment?

I've recently been feeling that it was time to get out of the spring jeans.  It is summer after all.  So today was the day, dressing low-key smart and fresh for the surgeon visit plus a few bits and bobs along the way.

I slipped on a M&Co linen skirt, with Next print cami and linen cardi.

I tend to become mostly inseparable from my Clarks metallic toe flatties through the summer months and today was no exception.

There was no place to hide from the wind which was lashing my hair left, right and centre.

So once in town, I found myself some shelter.  A jeweller's shop.  TP was inside fixing our watch batteries.  I stopped to admire the window display.

The devil makes shopping opportunities for idle eyes.  Mine were eyeing the window display.

See what I have in my hand.  Yup a jeweller's bag.  More on that in another post.

The town was busy with visitors, though not from a cruise liner today as one had popped in earlier in the morning, seen the fog and skidaddled sharpish on to the next port.

We went for a coffee and the view from the café showed that fog still lurked.

But it was still a pleasing view, here seen from my table.

I got my coffee.

But a mini prawn salad appeared in front of me too!

I cannot believe how much salad the serving lady heaped on to my small plate.  I must have looked under-nourished 😏.  Or just plain hungry. 

And what about you readers?

Are you out of spring jeans?  Are you in skirts and pretty little dresses?

How about those of you in the southern hemisphere - is it feeling cool enough to wear jumpers and jackets yet?

I leave you with Town on a clearer day ...

and this - I've just found a new edit widget!

Oh, and TP's appointment with the surgeon?  He found something new to operate on 😷.  No emergency this time but he will need a few days in hospital sometime soon.  The two of them can't seem to stay away from each other  - bit of a bromance going on there?

A la perchoine.



A Week in OOTDs



Hi maties, hope you are well and enjoying your summer. 

I guess it's fair to say that we have been reeling from the unfolding news of the terrible tower block fire in London which has caused unimaginable pain and suffering to so many.  Words have failed me.  My heart goes out to all of those poor families.

Needless to say, I've kept off your screens for a few days.

I threw myself into something physical and the garden benefitted from my labours.  Other than gardening and day to day life, I've been meeting up with family and friends and frolicking around in rock pools and the cooling sea  For it has been hot! 

Each day was structured somewhat differently, depending on what was on the agenda.  Some days I had to dress for my gallivanting, then change into shorts or swimsuit for garden or beach.  On other days, the tidy up happened later in the day.  It's fair to say that each day involved some form of shortage, either with a camisole for gardening or popped over the swimsuit for the beach.  As you can imagine, both of these types of outfit are best kept off your screens, as me in working clothes or swimsuit is definitely categorised at the higher end of health risk to readers.

Do you find that a hot summer totally changes your approach to dressing?
I tend to change at least once during the day, as events unfold.

So, as I didn't feel much like posting OOTDs as the week took its course, I'm doing things a tad differently and giving you a recap of OOTDs - that were photographable!  The main thrust of what I wore was in some way working around my little white skirt, with a bit of variation, as per my intentions here. 



The week started quite tidily in red, white and blue.  My little white skirt with a Primark stripey top.  And off I went pressi shopping. 

By the time I got back,  it was much hotter so after all my rushing around I changed into a short sleeved t shirt (which I think is from Peacocks) and decided to have a bit of fun with the headscarf, go a bit ooh la la!  And yet even later, I changed into shorts and birkies and went off to work on the grape-vined pergola.  Lots of cutting back and stringing up.

For another day, I gave "whitey" a break and donned this stone linen skirt from M and Co.  Topped with a Peacocks khaki split shoulder top.

Here more casually with Peacocks cropped jeans and Birkies.  Looking at this pic, I  wonder why I thought it was a good idea to wear this necklace with the Birkies!

Here I decided to wear my £4 Primark Greenery top I recently bought in Southampton with DoubleCuz (she bought one too).  It was cool for the warm day.  Can't remember which shoes I wore - TP was in a rush!  That must have been a golf day.

This little cropped Woolovers silk and cotton grey cardi is already coming into its own in my summer wardrobe.  It's an ideal little summer cardi for taking out as a light layer.  Here I wore it with a Peacocks cold shoulder pink print top which I showed you some weeks ago.  I didn't take a shot without the cardi.  Another golf day, maybe?  Oh yes, I was meeting him for lunch later!

(I've attempted to shift location but I am finding it difficult to find a spot in the house which is uncluttered!  Outside is either too sunny or too windy)



A Next top, which I do so like wearing these past few summers.

I tried to identify shoes and accessories when I threw the capsule on my bed at the start of this little exercise and this helped enormously with daily dressing, especially when I was in and out of gardening or beach clothes.  I only went off message a few times with the odd scarf, jewellery or shoes as I dressed reactively to the warming weather.



Here I was wearing a long grey cami and shorts.  I shoved on the cardi and necklace, changed the shoes and I was good to nip out to the Post Office.  What a turnaround!

A pink modal top from Peacocks was added to the little white skirt and some pink Clarks sandals.

I think I chose this for a trip into town when TP was jeans-hunting.  The scarf never even got out of the house.  Sooo hot.  Do you find you're ditching even the flimsiest of scarves now?

And that's what I made out of the little capsule I threw on the bed when I heard that the sun was going to be shining.  And shine it has.  I find wearing little skirts, shorts or crops ideal for this time of the year, when a slight wind can make such a difference to the temperature on a little island like ours.  But what I did find was that by deciding on mainly white bottoms, with the stone exception, it gave me a good base to work from.  It also helped with shoe selection.

Now let's have a bit of fun.  We went out last night for a bite to eat with The Sibs.   I let TP determine what I would wearing by choosing his fave outfit from this draft post.  Can you guess which one it was that I left the house wearing?  Please leave your answer in the comments box below!

A la perchoine.