2017 Flashback, #1 - The Wedding Outfit

Well, the big night is looming before us.  I'm going to be enjoying an extremely low key New Year's Eve with The Photographer.  V. relaxed with party nibbles and a glass or two of bubbles, maybe a film.  Do you have plans?  PJs or partying?

I've been in a reflective mood this week, sharing with you some of the blog's more popular posts.

Is it just coincidence that two posts featured items from Roman Originals? My jumpsuit and the grey lace number featured (here).  Another pretty RO was my last dress of summer (here).
Here's my togging up process for the wedding of some dear friends back in the summer.

4 June 2017

The following is a post of epic proportions.  So sit yourself down with a cuppa and indulge yourself with today's read.

Taadaah!

My Wedding Outfit Finalist

Grey lace dress, Roman Originals here; Artigiano ivory silk/linen jacket from Back In The Day, Adesso heels, also BITD and my ivory beaded clutch ... last worn for MY WEDDING!

The Contenders

Let's cast our minds back to just a short while ago, when I had resigned myself to wearing my lovely silk pink/mauve/orange mix "wedding dress" here for another decade but giving it a teensies twist.

Then along came Laurie and I was sidetracked (but in a very nice way!) by her feature of a gorgeous navy and white dress from Roman Originals.  I'd not come across the brand and inspired by the super-smart dress and the lovely Leslie's styling of it, I hit the website.  And of course, I was tempted to test the brand for myself!

I first started with a grey/pink side-ruched dress.  I also ordered a little chiffon shrug which I thought would be useful with my starting point, the pink silk dress.

I liked the cut of this dress as the ruching seemed to do nice things to the tummy area.  The length was also just right.  Most dresses these past few years have just been too short for me, and I am classed as "petite" - in height, anyway!  The hemlines hover around my ugly knees and bringing them unwanted attention.

I tried it with my M&S white linen jacket.  Then with my cropped grey silk/cotton Woolovers grey cropped cardi which had also arrived.

I liked both these looks but the cardi look would probably be the most worn.  But for a smart restaurant meal or summer party, not for a wedding, in my view.

This was a similar style in mauves but the cut was too boxy for my shape, good length though.  So, a naaah.

Then, I announced to The Photographer that the next try-on might be The One.

 And it was.  I loved it!

Grey was so perfect, for the bride and I have had a running joke on the colour (more on that in the later!) so the dress could be worn in her honour.

I tried the dress with the grey cardi as a potential ensemble for the wedding.  Felt good but I wanted something a little zappier.  I love pink and grey, as you probably know, so I thought about wearing my pink beaded pashmina and pink shoes (more on that later too!).  But it would have involved sourcing a grey clutch and that would be a sidetrack too far.

G

Now this was a surprise when I downloaded the photos.

I really liked the grey with the Monsoon silk dress.  It really did tone down all that profusion of pinkishness.

And the chiffon shrug just didn't work.   It seemed to scream out "hey, look at my boobies!"



 But my head had been turned by the Roman Originals grey lacy number.

So after the pink silk Monsoon affair having been my go-to wedding dress for the noughties, I think I have found me a new go-to, more in keeping with the teensies.

The side-dangling label was snipped off and it was official.  

Meet my new go-to Wedding Dress.  Thank you soooo much, Laurie.

But this little dress won't be exclusively reserved for weddings.  I think it can go to so many other places, like smart dinners (hint, hint, TP!) 

Now, the dress length was just about acceptable for this ugly-kneed lady, but I saw that the 1 inch hem was edge-stitched to prevent fraying.  So I unpicked the hem and that gained me a little more knee cover.  The little bare-lace hemline also echoed the bare-lace short sleeves, so in effect I think I had added the final design feature this lovely dress deserved.

I added a simple string of pearls and that seemed just the level of jewellery required for this lacy dress.

 I first added my ivory wedding bag to the cardi outfit and tried to convince The Photographer With Fashion Views that it discretely echoed the ivory of the string of pearls around my neck.  He was having none of it and he announced "That bag doesn't go!"

I ran upstairs for this vintage bag I've had for years.  It has a grey background and is strewn with sludgy green beads.  It has an lovely silver clasp which expands to open the bag.  I love it, so did he.

But we both agreed that I'd have to hunt around for some Greenery jewellery and that really was diverting my focus in a very dangerous direction, seeing as the wedding was by now just a day away.

However, I have mentally stored this look and I think I have just the jewellery to try this.  Somewhere.

The Wedding Day Outfit

And then on to the wedding day.  I was ready remarkably early. Uncharacteristically so.   

So what does the devil do with idle hands.  Yes, he got me experimenting with pearls, much to the annoyance of The Photographer, who thought he was getting an easy ride up to that point!

I grabbed my 1973 chunky pearls and played around. 

 But I had to agree with The Photographer With Fashion Views, all the dress required was a simple strand of pearls.

So that is where I ended.  Some pearl and diamond earrings and pearl braceletage and I was done.

Oh apart from showing you the lovely v-back.  And a white bird thing perched on my head!

And dear reader, having travelled this long, arduous and quite traumatic journey together, we have finally reached the culmination of our efforts. 

Me leaving the house in my grey lace and ivory Wedding Outfit.

The Credits

But, of course, in true celeb style, I wouldn't have got out the door without my stylist.

I give you The Photographer With Fashion Views in his Wedding Outfit.

He chose his smartly cut Rohan dark charcoal suit and made quite an exciting decision not to wear a tie.  I think it gives him quite the James Bond look, via Daniel Craig.  I therefore asked him to do the male model thing with the cuff fiddling.   He didn't know what the heck I was talking about!

 So that took a lot of direction until we got to something that gave the impression that he had done this so many times before.  It took almost as long as it took me to get to my Wedding Outfit choice.

I would also like to thank the lovely readers who gave me their views and ideas.  It has been a truly wonderful experience having girl friends to call on for their outfit thoughts.

I would like to thank Janice of The Vivienne Files for being on the same wavelength as me - pink, mauve and orange shouldn't work together, but they do.

And I would like to thank Laurie for coaxing me in the direction of a whole new cache of smashing dresses.

The Wrap-Up

I think the outfit was pitched just right for a 2017 wedding.  I received compliments on the dress, from strangers, and even from The Photographer!

The Wedding

The couple looked so happy, they are truly perfect for each other.  Their gorgeous little son had a whale of a time throughout the day and behaved himself perfectly.

The bride wore an absolutely fabulous dress in cream lace, she looked soooo beautiful.

The wedding was fabulous, such a happy day with some poignant moments.  The day was captured by an amazing photographer.  

The ceremony and reception meal were held in a castle by the sea on a perfect summer's day, with dancing in the evening in a gallery with beamed vaulted ceiling garlanded with flowers.

 The ceremony itself was outdoors with a backdrop of twinkling water, skudding sailing yachts, a P&O flagship cruise liner, and our lovely neighbouring islands.  There was even a French naval frigate dashing around - I don't know how the bride had arranged that!

Then the bride's imminent arrival was announced.  Bubbles started flying in the air, courtesy of the couple's cute son's bubble gun!

I should tell you at this point that bride has teased me over the years about me frequently turning up in grey.  So much so that she used to bet on it.  I wore a grey lace dress in her honour.  The bridesmaids arrived at the ceremony wearing, yup, lovely grey lace dresses!  And pink wraps!!

And I should also tell you at this point that the bride is French.  So as soon as the bride walked down the aisle to the opening bars of Le Marseillaise, followed by The Beatles' Love, love, love  harmonies in All You Need Is Love, yes, I cracked.  I laughed, I swayed to the music and I blubbed all in the space of a few seconds.  I instantly "got" the humour of mixing the French bride, her anthem and rom com.  So clever.

2017 Flashback, #5 - The Jumpsuit

Hi darlings, I hope your Christmas went just how you dreamed it would. I spent the day with loved ones and I had the most special time, certainly the stuff of my dreams. 

But just where has 2017 gone?  It feels like it's flown by, New surprise really as speeding trim seems to be one of life's little gifts bestowed rather cruelly on the old.  And as the calendar counts us through to the end of December, I thought it would be nice to look back to the most popular posts of this year.  

My post on jumpsuits (here) inspired some to share their experiences of this challenging piece of clothing.  I'm sharing it again with you today.

6th September 2017

Hello, my dear readers.  Just thought I'd touch base with you to check in with my jump suit try on, whilst I busy myself making some sense of my many cruise pics.  It's a full report so get yourself a cup of tea!

You may recall me being lured recently by a certain little black jumpsuit here, the intention being to wear it on my cruise.

When it arrived, I excitedly put it through its paces, for a jumpsuit had not touched my skin in 30-odd years.  My previous one-and-only was what can loosely be described as a Sting-inspired blue boiler suit.  I think I felt closer to my idol each time I wore it.  So that was often, then!

What am I looking for in a jumpsuit in the teensies?

Well, here's my 6 step testing.

1.  Fabric-hang.  

I think the first port of call with a jumpsuit is that the fabric must be cool but heavy enough to hang well, smoothly sliding over the curves bumps.  

Tick.

2. Simplicity.   

It's line and colour/pattern must give me versatility.  This is black and a very simple cut, so a good vehicle to change mood with accessories.  It's the epitome of a blank canvas.

Tick.

I was a-feared it may sag at the waist and I go a-tumbling on a hem snag.   So here I added a plaited Peacocks belt; it blended with the gold trim and the jumpsuit itself.

And though it comes with its own adornment, it's not a permanent fixture.

Allow me to talk you through this gold trim. I don't want to be constrained by the one look the gold trim dictates.  I'd decided it needed DIY if it was a keeper.  

Well, the clever Roman Originals peeps had already done that for me; the trim is attached to lobster claws which fit discretely on ribbon hooks under the neckline folds.  Oh how I love that little touch!

3. All-season suitability.  

I added to the mix an evening version of my cardi staple, a little black jersey shrug.  It creates a nice line for chillier evenings.  I say evenings but I reckon with the right accessories I could wear it day-time too.

Tick.

I played around with a second belt.  Just look at my concentration!

This v. old (30 years?) black soft leather studded tie belt seemed to blend in better than the plaited belt.  Doesn't break the line.  What do you think?

And what did The Photographer think? Well, of course by this stage I was hearing his negative  "sack tied in the middle" grumblings, the worst fashion faux pas in his universe; I chose to ignore this.

But then, without fanfare to attract his attention triumphant gloating, I slipped it off.

4. Shapely line.

So, without a belt.  The elasticated waist (perfect for a gluttonous cruise!) is firm enough to hold up on its own and the suit looks sleeker this way, yet shapely. 

OK, you just may have been right this one time, TP!

Tick.

5. An accessory playground.

I played around with turquoise and silver jewellery. 

It would be a great vehicle for scarves, belts, cardis, overshirts and jackets.  Oh, my mind is a-whir with the playmates I can find for it!

Simply put, it's a black jumpsuit - it can play with any thing and any colour, including itself for a chic Left Bank look.

Heavens, I can see it accessorised with wellies, headscarf and corgis - it's fit for a queen on her Sandringham break!

So that's a big royal Tick!

6. Little room accessibility.

It's paramount that a jumpsuit passes this stage in the testing!

Well, after putting it through its clinical paces in the Pout Laboratory with a few ons-and-offs, I gave it the keeper rubber stamping.

So I wore it on my cruise for our posh night.  

The real test eventually arrived.  I needed "to go" in the casino.  Well, that was the perfect, albeit not typical, place to see how this baby performed.  The loo cubicle was generous in size.

 I managed to unzip with ease in that generous space, without a cry-out for sister's help. 

And you know, although my rolled-down jumpsuit didn't quite hit the floor tiles, I wouldn't have minded if it had, so clean and shiny were the facilities.

Re-zipping wasn't a biggie, even with the inflexibility of age, 

though the elegant fabric-covered button at the neckline was a tad laborious and tiresome without help.

And off, I went, back to the roulette table ... to watch!

So, despite irritating button work, that experience was as good as it can be for a jumpsuit, so accessibility too is a relieving Tick.

And that, my dears, is my black jumpsuit testing  - A Big Fat Jumpsuit Tick!

What do you think?

A la perchoine.

The Last Dress of Summer

Hello my darling peeps.  Hope you are well and hurricane-free.

A few days ago I squeezed in possibly my last summer dress of summer.  Sad, weepy face.

For Sunday lunch I wore my Roman Originals dress for the first time.

I think I'm in a state of panic.  The seasons switched from summer to autumn so abruptly that I didn't quite enjoy all the summeriness I had planned.

So many dresses, unworn.  Thus every time we get a sunny day, I sling on something summery.  And this was a summery day.

I like this Roman Originals dress.  It's pretty, the fabric hangs well and it's lined.

It's a slip over the head and walk out the door jobbie.

I added my Adesso heels and a little bag I picked up recently in Primani.  It's roomy whilst still neat and it goes so well with my fave summer shoes.  (I'm a matchy gal.)

I mentioned summer weather but hey, it's September, so a girl needs a cardi.  Woolovers.

Good to go.  Before the weather changes!

We sauntered down to the nearby beachside restaurant.

Nice views from our table.  They always seem to give us a window table.  Not complaining!

The Photographer fancied a posh meal so we came here.  These past couple of weeks have been a major headache (long story) and he needed to get away from it all for an hour or two.

So we tucked into some nice fresh, summery food.

We sipped wine and sat back and enjoyed the view.  And chatted.  It's funny how sometimes one can clear the mind of all other matters and focus on what needs to be discussed, away from home. Do you sometimes need to take a few hours distancing yourself from troubling matters, in order to talk them through more clearly?

I think that may just have been my last chance at a summer dress this year though.

The upside of summer's fleeting is this, harvesting the summer's garden fruits.  Here, little peaches and big pears.

And I didn't forget I set you a little puzzle a few posts ago.  Here's the solution.

Move one side of the glass to opposite side, at a right angle, then move the "bottom" of the glass to form a new bottom for the new turned-over glass.  Hope you worked it out.  Me and my cruise mates didn't!   And if you didn't work it out for yourself, you won't from my 'solution' - it reads as total gobbledygook!

Have you tried any Roman Originals dresses?

And have you worn your last dress of summer yet, ladies?

A la perchoine.