BBQ Linen

Hello my lovelies!

It’s cold and it’s rainy here today.
It’s hard to believe that this is June when I look down at the jeans and jumper I’m wearing as I type.  I was wearing less in April!

Let’s look back to a warmer day, to proper summer weather when a cool linen dress is just the thing for a family bbq, they’ve been a lovely weekend tradition since our bubble buddying began. 

So here I am heading off to a bbq on a much drier and warmer day. 

It’s easy to keep cool in this coffee coloured linen dress ... with pockets!
Gotta love a dress with pockets, especially in retirement when I’m reliant on pockets, as my handbag engagement is rare.   And if it’s not cross-body or over the shoulder then it doesn’t happen.  Ever.

At first I used to fret over what to do with my hands without a handbag crutch.  Hands felt like me back in my single days at a function, flitting around the room searching for some kind soul to engage with.
But it’s surprising how quickly you regain your no-handbag “balance “ and find you CAN walk without the crutch.  What is essential is to get in the zone and walk with a sense of purpose and confidence.  Pretty much the same technique I used to walk alone into a room of mingling strangers.
Ditching handbags definitely requires some mental training!

Of course, when you’re working there is lot of daytime stuff to carry around and a bag is necessary.
But many of you working girls have had a taste of retirement life recently eh? In Lockdown, as pretty much in retirement, one doesn’t go out-out and so handbags are totally superfluous as there’s no need for one to carry bits and bobs anywhere.  So handbags are a double whammy no-no for me during this time.

Yes, pockets are the way forward for this retired gal, and the deeper the better.
Phone in one, tissue and lip balm in ‘tother.  Simples.

I packed a printed linen shirt layer for when the sun drops.   But I didn’t need it; even as the sun slipped behind the neighboring house the temperature was still comfortably warm.
Definitely not like today.  I want my summer back!

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My accessories are a sunhat, sunnies and yes, a chunky necklace - I’m wearing jewellery!
Jewellery has come out rarely during Lockdown but this day felt special enough to push the boat out. 

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My “handbag” essential was my mum’s old basket which I used to carry my hostess gifts: freshly baked bread and banana cake, and Prosecco of course.  There’s a limit to what those two pockets can handle!

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Where do you stand on handbags?
Do you love them?
Or do you find them rather superfluous and irritating these days?

A la perchoine, 

Mary x. 

#retirementdressing #over70style 

#over70fashion 

#over60style 

#agelessstyle #whatiwore #linendress #alexonshirt #linen shirt

The Cami And Jeans Staple

Hello my lovelies!

Today I’d like to share with you a retirement dressing summer staple. 

Cami and jeans. 

I was recreating this young Pinterest look for my contribution to the #herstyleourway challenge, when I realised what a staple it is in my retirement wardrobe. It’s comfortable and fresh and is a perfect way to zjoojsh up jeans for an out-out outing and I actually wear this “young” kind of thing a lot through spring and summer.  Do you?

So if you like this look, worn here on a lady who’s maybe in her early 20s, it can be still worn in our 70s, ladies.  But with these tweaks.  

1.  Distressed jeans can be largely ignored, they go against everything we were taught about dressing smartly as we became young ladies eh?  A little subtle distressing in the denim may be ok, but outright rips? They’re just not us, right?  

2.  A tummy tuck is best left to the youngsters so can be ignored too.  Though I tried one for the sake of my art!

3.  Hanging your cami loose works better for those (ME) who’ve eaten too many pies in their lifetime! 

4. Oh and BTW, don’t forget to add a sunhat if your greying hair reacts to harsh sunlight.  The sun is pretty brutal during this glorious summer we’re enjoying right now. 

5.  Add a cardi for cooler evening evenings. 

Who am I kidding?  Bung a cardi on EVERYTHING! Most of the time we oldies just want to cover our arms eh, no matter whether it’s chilly or El Skorchio out there!

Bunging a cardi on my cami and jeans made this an ideal outfit for slouching around on a lockdown evening.  And if I HAD been going out-out then the cardi would have been the perfect coverup for sitting outside enjoying an al fresco glass of wine whilst watching the sun set along on our west coast. 

(Who am I kidding again, I’d wear it just to cover up those flabby crepey skinned arms!!)

And bunging a cardi sounds like a quick and casual action but much thought goes into cardi selection, doesn’t it ladies? 

Even The Photographer With Fashion Views chipped in on this one.    He felt the balance was out of kilter with a 3/4 cardi.  His view was that the fluffy chunky style finished at the same length as the cami and was the one for the evening.   He was right of course. 

Apropos all this out-out malarkey, our restaurants and pubs serving food are open as of last Saturday. But with social distancing observance, of course. 

I’m not rushing to get out there, preferring to wait till the dust settles during this Stage 4 of our Lockdown Exit process.  I’ll wait to see if any cases pop up as a result of more mingling out in the community.

Have you been out-out yet?

A la perchoine,

Mary x.  

Monochrome Magic - Red

The final day of the #monochromemagicme challenge.  Festive red for a lunch with a girlfriend and what a good colour to finale with!

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My red components -

Dress, Dotty P, 2017

Cardi (and scarf), Zara, 2017

(Black heeled lace ups, Clark’s, 2015)

Glitter penguin earrings, a present some 15 years ago.

I’ve loved this challenge; styling just one colour is The final day of the #monochromemagicme challenge.  Festive red for a lunch with a girlfriend and what a good colour to finale with!

My red components -

Dress, Dotty P, 2017

Cardi (and scarf), Zara, 2017

(Black heeled lace ups, Clark’s, 2015)

Glitter penguin earrings, a present some 15 years ago.

I’ve loved this challenge; styling just one colour is simple but it encourages me to hunt around for pieces (some forgotten). And posting the results means I wear makeup each day too.  Quite a good discipline for a retiree!

Oh and add to the mix the fun “behind the scenes” with my clever challenge chums.

I hoped you enjoyed this series too and maybe feel inspired to inject a few days of easy monochrome dressing into the next few busy weeks.  Have fun!

A la perchoine,

Mary x. 

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 - 😱.

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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 

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,

How Retirement Looks

My Dream of How Retirement Would Look

Leading up to retirement I had a dream of how retirement would look.
Well, two actually.
And no surprise, both involved outfits.

One was me getting up at around 6 a.m. to perform a yoga routine outside on the patio on a summer's day, dressed in grey cami and yoga trousers from The White Company.

The other was me strolling down the High Street, later that morning and dressed in a white midi floaty dress, straw basket over my arm and looking blissful, content and radiant (because of dawn yoga discipline).

Neither have materialised.  Perhaps if I'd visualised this stuff years ago it may have been how my retirement looks now.  But I didn't and it doesn't.

But when reading the blog Rosy Outlook recently, a pic Kelly posted brought one of those retirement visions to mind once more.   This lovely blogger effortlessly wore a white dress and denim jacket and I thought, how difficult can it be to stroll through town in a simple summer dress, right?   And would it take much effort to occasionally get up early and glide around the garden in grey PJs?  For grey PJs are just a cheaper version of a yoga outfit, right?

So if not now, then when, thought I?   Let's get cracking with the dress, thought I (because that doesn't require me to get up a ridiculous o'clock 😊, thought I).


My Style Steal

OK, this dress is not the floaty number of my dreams but it's an off-white shorter style and more in the spirit of Kelly's (plus I don't have a floaty midi number!).

I paired it with my old 20 y.o. GAP jean jacket.  Of course.  Tell me, is there anything in this world that doesn't work with a jean jacket?

The dress is a slip dress, lined, linen and from M&S 15 + years ago.

Wedge espadrilles finish off my steal, and I am finding it a strain not to finish every outfit up with my cute Primark straw trilby right now, so that went on too.

Now, about that headband ... tips on tidying up this look would be appreciated!

So, outfit done and we headed for town.  We stopped off to do the Waitrose grocery shop, bumped into friends, had a coffee with them ... And completely forgot about the High Street shoot.  

And I call myself a blogger ...?!!

Here's my inspo, the lovely Kelly from ROSY OUTLOOK, HERE.

Doesn't she look super-feminine and summery?  

I stole most of the outfit, but tweaked the dress style to suit my age - I covered my knees and wore A-line as the lovely tiered frills just wouldn't work for an aging blogger!

It's OK to Steal Outside Your Age Group

I've been following Rosy Outlook for yonks.  When I first found myself pinning outfit after outfit, I did think it a bit strange that I was mad keen on the style of a pretty lady who's young enough to be my daughter granddaughter!  But I realised that Kelly encapsulates fundamentals that I like. 

She wears neutrals, and I'm drawn to neutrals.  

Her style is kept light-touch - she doesn't slavishly follow trends and keeps to her own style, choosing only those pieces that work for her.  So do I.

And those fundamentals make her highly stealable!

So I found myself working out steals but not in a copycat way, cos that really would be muttony!  I cherry-pick the elements that work for me.

Like I did last year, in this CORAL STEAL, HERE.

Kelly has stylish elegance in bucketloads, her style transcends age demographics.  So do pop across to her blog and check her style out for yourself.  Because it is possible to steal from younger style icons like Kelly by stealing the spirit rather than the substance of the outfit.  IMHO.  

Inspo Board

Here are a few more steal tweaks I've been thinking of lately.

Switch the shorts for jeans or a denim skirt, keep everything else.

Untuck the jeans and the blouse (hiding my mature lady tum!).

Wear a longer hemline to cover my ugly knees and choose a more tailored waistline, but keep the headband and peeptoes.

Oh the steal tweaks are endless ... 

Anyway, must crack on realising my retirement dream, next stop - grey PJs at dawn!

A la perchoine,

Mary x.