One That Got Away - The Elasticated Waist Dress

The Elasticated Waist Dress

Here’s another  that got away. 

The elasticated waist dress.  Its raison d’etre, the ruched expandable middle, is not particularly attractive and needs covering with a belt, IMHO.  And if a dress can’t hold its own without tweaks and accessories then it’s not worthy of entry into my wardrobe. 

But a lovely dress on the right body shape.  And a forgiving friend when faced with the full Christmas 🎄 dinner 🥘 blow out.  But it’s not for the fuller figure.  Apparently.

Can’t remember my personal stylist’s exact words but it was probably something along the lines of “sack of potatoes 🥔 tied in the middle “ ... it usually is !

So, do you have something totally forgiving that is your comfortable go-to on Christmas Day?

A la perchoine, 

Mary x. 

And that concludes this mini series of ones that got away.  I’d been avoiding certain trends that I felt weren’t quite ME.  But I decided to give them all a go and even tried them a second time, to check if I’d changed my view from the initial try-on.  But it turns out none were keepers.  

Though the pleated skirt was one that I’m a tempted to give another go. 

Did you enjoy my shorter posts?  My bite-size posts?

Were they something you could slip easily into your busy day?

One That Got Away - Snakeprint

I mean ... draping a reptile around one’s body ?!!!

I’m definitely not a fan of snakes.  (Not my favourite) uncle teased  scared  absolutely terrified me with a slow worm when I was very, very  young and I will NEVER forget that experience.  He did lots of other things to scare us as kids, not very nice really.

Anyway, think you’ve got it - snakes and me will never be best buddies. 

So you can imagine my revulsion when snakeprint dresses appeared on the scene. 

I’ve been turning an uncomfortable eye away from this trend as the idea of being draped in snakes made me feel a bit icky, a bit Indiana Jones in that temple - 😱.

.

But recently I manned up and gave it  a go.  And if I saw passed the print and focused on the dress itself then the snakeprint dress looked ok if tweaked with a chunky brown belt to cinch in the waist.  On its own it was a loose bag of scary reptiles.  Agreed?

Tweaking this dress was mandatory, perhaps to deflect my mind from the print Itself.

So, this was one trend that got away. .

What’s your view on snakeprint?  Good?  Or icky?

A la perchoine, 

Mary x 

One That Got Away - The Christmas Jumper

Welcome to December, peeps - 🕯 🎄 🎅 !!! .

But now, let’s go dashing through the snow to One That Got Away. 

Today’s offering is .. 

The Christmas Jumper.

I succumbed to the trend for seasonal sweaters.  

This grey wool jumper was surprisingly flattering and the fun sequined reindeer wasn’t in-your-face garish.  Actually, I liked it.  A lot.  And so did The Photographer.

But I worked out that there’s a max. six week slot to wear a Christmas jumper.  And in reality they probably just get worn on Christmas Day   Something so short-lived doesn’t sync with the parsimony of a retirement wardrobe.

So the Christmas jumper was another trend that got away.

A la perchoine.

Mary x 

One That Got Away - The Pleated Skirt

Here’s one trend I’ve been resisting for yonks - the pleated skirt.

I wore a beige one when I was about 12-13 and I’ve felt that replicating an early teens look was one mutton step too far!

Add to that dilemma my observation my thought that I’d feel a bit WI in it and you will understand why I’ve sat on the fence through this trend. 

Until now!

For the cause I gave the skirt a go.  Well several gos really as I tried on four.  Three were just too unflattering around the waistline*, and this one was almost Goldilocks.  I say almost as although the waistline area is ok, it is rather long. And I didn’t feel frumpy because the fabric has a soft sheen to it.  

Yes,  it was almost a keeper because it hung well and the berry colour would fit sooo well into my wardrobe. 

But I struggle to wear the skirts I already have right now - retirement is so casual that I’m mostly in variations of jeans most days.  

Yes, skirts CAN be worn in retirement, but one tends to get involved in ad hoc messy work in the house and garden at any point through the day and one has to be work-ready at all times eh?!

So this is one that got away ... but I AM toying with the idea of reordering it 😉 because, just look ...

... it goes perfectly with my boots!!!

A la perchoine,

Mary x. 

* Laurie has a good tip - size up with pleated skirts, and after my try on I can see this makes so much sense. 

You can find this clever lady on vanityandmestyle HERE

One That Got Away - The Boho Dress

Hi Peeps, are you jingling all the way to December?!

Are you ahead of the Christmas game or are you happy to let things happen at their own speed?

I try so hard to be the former and so I can report that my cards are ordered, the Christmas decs are down from the loft and I picked up the tree today.  Not doing badly so far, I guess.

But trying to get on top of things makes life busy eh?  I’m struggling to read all the blogs I’d like to read and to find time to leave comments.  And I’m sure time is an issue for you too.  Soooo, I thought I’d have a go at doing something I thought of yonks  ago but didn’t quite get round to doing.  But if not now, when life is busy then when eh?

Because ... Taadaaaah!! I’m going to have a bash at attempting short but more frequent posts!!  Shorter posts are perhaps easier to scan through and leave a quick comment on, as they don’t go off in all directions, as my posts mostly do!!

Please let me know what you think of this new format 

First off, I’ve created a little series called One That Got Away.   It’s about giving trends a go and finding  that just aren’t for me, whether that be because they don’t suit my shape, I think they’ll be short lived and I don’t want to waste pensioner pennies on them, or maybe I just don’t like them!

Here’s my first try on - the Boho.  Seems that if you want a new dress right now, it better be boho or you’re going home empty handed cos that all there is in the shops and online !

This truth hit me when I was looking for a dress for my big birthday recently. 

Verdict on the boho dress?  It’s sooo not for me! 

Dresses have to suit your body shape because there is nowhere to hide with a dress.  No layers to add. no side tucks to distract.  It’s just you and the dress. 

This shape created, well, a zero shape on me.   Maybe a belt could have saved this one.  But it didn’t.  So I had to let this one go. 

This dress style would look good on someone taller and more willowy than me. 

Are you wearing boho dresses?

A la perchoine,

Mary x