My Other Wardrobe

I recently had a break in East Sussex.
It's where my Other Wardrobe is housed. 

One drawback in leaving a wardrobe behind is the shock (nice surprise) when you discover your trousers are too big!

There wasn't enough cardiganage in the wardrobe to save this baggy trousers look.  

Trouble is, they're virtually new M&S chinos and otherwise very nice, but this is what happens when you buy something, don't wear it for a few years and in the meantine, you go and lose some weight.  Nice problem to have.  First world problem, I hear ya.

Today's Lesson


The Problem

But what I learned from this experience has been so useful.
I learned that I have little idea of what is lurking in Other Wardrobe.

It results in me discovering that things no longer fit.

It also results in me packing a full travel capsule each time I visit.
And it results in me wearing the travel capsule because, well, I've gone through the angst of packing (my FOP).  Then lugged a small case on and off aircrafts, in and out of trains, up and down airport and train station stairs ...
You get the picture eh?!  Otherwise wasted effort, and the heavier that little carry on, the higher the potential for multiple nail breaks.  Yikes, that's serious - why place precious nails in a position of high risk?!!!


The Solution

on Baggy Trouser Day I came up with a strategy.  I tried on everything in Other Wardrobe ... and PHOTOGRAPHED every, single. thing.

Now the plan is to look at the photos before travelling, work out a virtual capsule ... and at the airport I will have nothing to declare but my genius!


Have you ever done this?  Photographed everything in your wardrobe?


The Outcome

It was an interesting exercise.  I rediscovered things.  I discovered things that went well with others and more jeans that were totally unwearable (baggy).  And I discovered wardrobe gaps.

Yes, I discovered that my very cautious Other Wardrobe filled mostly with neutrals had been neutralised to an almost somnabalistic state and desperately needed a shot of adrenalin.  Colour.  So next day I bought myself a red top and head scarf.  And the day after I wore it on a very rainy

 day ...

and the red was just the brightness the gloomy day needed.

(The Swedish prawn sarnie brightened the day too!)

The Epilogue

So what a good exercise.  I now know what I've got in Other Wardrobe and what I need.  And what no longer fits - 

- those baggy trousers !

Oh and I brought the baggy trousers home to take them in.  I'll show you my work v.soon.

So how's about it ladies?  

Do you want a photographic log of what you have in your wardrobe?  

Maybe you've already done it?  Maybe you have another method of keeping an overview of what you have and what you need? 

Maybe you run a periodic try-on to check what fits and what needs donating?

 I'd love to hear if you have a system for wardrobe control.

And do YOU adjust or donate baggy trousers?

A la perchoine,
Mary x.

The 12 Piece Travel Capsule Exposé !!

Hi peeps, I've travelled to the UK for a few weeks' break.
So what does any self-respecting blogger do?  Yup, here comes the travel case post!

I travelled in black jeans and jumper, ivory sleeveless top, ecru jacardi and leoprint scarf, black boots.

Now here's a fun story.  On arrival at London Gatwick, I found myself lurking outside the mens' toilets, as you do (calm down, I was waiting for The Photographer!).  A lady came towards me and we spotted immediately that we were wearing the same coat. So we smiled in recognition of this coincidence as she walked past, then she turned back and we started chatting. Turns out the jacardi is on sale and my pretty Irish new BFF had bought the grey version too (which I was torn over when buying my ecru version).
Funny how a piece of clothing gets complete strangers chatting together like old friends.

 The thing about this jacardi, as I call it, is that it's quite distinctive.  As well as the airport anecdote, I walked into my double cousin's kitchen the other day.  She looked at me and instantly said "Zara!  Looked at it at the airport shop back in November, wish I'd bought it." 
It's a sort of once-seen-never-forgotten piece.

So, fired by the carrot my BFF had dangled, a sale price of 13 Euro, I went on to the Zara website.  No sign of it, so it must be sold out already.  Sorry peeps, but no surprise really.  But there may be some left "physically" in a Zara store near you ...

But, I digress, bigly (sic).  In my little carry-on I packed this little lot.

Grey and white jumpers, grey cardi, pink and leoprint sleeveless tops, black and grey jersey tops,black cami, grey jeans; down coat (bagged up and out of shot), scarf, brown boots, snakeprint flatties, beret and gloves, just in case it gets chilly, notebook, spare specs and filofax as, evidently, I haven't yet left the 90s - and you should see the size of my mobile!


So that's 12 capsule items, in blogger-accounting.

And my Wild Card - the item you can bung in at the last minute without counting it per blogger-accounting.  It's the black pink and taupe splodgy jersey top.  I threw it in because it's coming up for its 4th summer and I have worn it 0 times.  So I am challenging myself to wear it this holiday.
Wish me luck!

So that's Exposé No. 1, the truth behind the "12" piece travel capsule.


Here's some of what I've been wearing so far.  The first reveal is a bit of a shocker actually. 

Shocker, you ask?  Well, here's the first wearing of a M&S tie top, bought recently in the sales.

Grey jersey.  Long sleeves.  High neck.  What's to shock?

Well, it was how I tied the knot at the bottom.  Without looking in the mirror I tied a simple knot, with the ends dangling.  You will have to use you're imagination at this point, for I've now popped the photo in my bloopers file.

 I went out for the day wearing the top. The. Whole. Day.

Only when downloading the photos for this post did I spot that the tie arrangement looked a bit, errr, embarrassing! 

Why oh why did I not check myself out in the mirror?!  There ensued Tiegate (and that's putting it genteelly!).  TP now tells me he'd given me the heads up when photographing.  He delicately suggested I might want to "re-tie" as it was "bunched up".  Too subtle for me.  Maybe he should have asked which side I "dressed".

No matter, as I did what I always do - I ignored him.  To my detriment, it now seems.

And the top's no longer on their website so I can't see how it's supposed to be tied, decently.  Anyone else having problems with tie tops?  

That's Exposé No. 2, nuff said on that one - so moving swiftly on ...

And here I'm wearing a pretty reserved mix but I must point out the beads.  I hit my fave charity shop in Battle on Saturday and found three necklaces that mix perfectly with what I've brought over.  £1 a-piece.  Bargain!

And finally ...

Although I bring a core capsule over with me when I come to Sussex, I do also have what I call a "visiting wardrobe" that I can tapp (sic) into.  The visiting wardrobe came about by an unfortunate event a few years ago.  TP was held at the NHS' pleasure - not HM's, I am pleased to say!

We were over for a few weeks and I had packed an appropriate travel capsule.  But TP ended up unexpectedly in hospital for a few weeks, poor thing,  And he then convalesced for a few more weeks.  By which time, we'd moved from late summer into early autumn. 

What's a girl to do?  I hit the shops in the area!  Primark, M&S, Next  ...

I picked up some disparate items, like undies and socks, a few tops, some boots and outerwear. 

You get the picture - I'm an opportunist!

Quite understandably I hadn't packed these things for what started out as a 2 week August holiday and ended up as a mid-October departure.  

Simply put, I'd packed for the wrong trip.

I tell you all of this in the spirit of transparency and openness.  For although I show you my little carry-on's contents, this wasn't in it ...

Another rogue item will pop up in my next post too, whilst I'm fessing up ... and probably in many more posts to come!

You see, I don't always restrict myself to my 12 piece.  I augment.

And that, dear reader, is Exposé No. 3.

So on those blogger's travel capsule bombshells, I bid you adieu,

A la perchoine.

Sussex Style

Hello, dear reader.  I've been AWOL for a few days.  Have you missed me? 
I thought I'd just check in with a few pics of Pout Life of late.  I've been on a long weekend trip to Sussex, which started on Saturday with my previous blog, when I sported plaid with pearls for travelling.

Shortly after arrival, we were sitting round the table in my cousin Top Cat's kitchen, enjoying a super meal with rellies.  Oh what fun we had!  Unfortunately, I was given a bottomless wine glass, I always seem to get that glass when I visit TC!

Meet my lovely cousin from Guernsey (seen with me here during our Sunday walk along the promenade, meeting up with the family for morning coffee).  Coz came over with us for this special trip to Sussex.

We are double cousins.  So double the trouble when we are together!

Under the Uniqlo parka I wore this comfy combo.

Woolovers light stone cardi worn over M&S black and white jersey top and jeans. 

Comfy Gabor nubuck ankle boots finished off the day's rig-out.

For Monday's sombre occasion, I respectfully wore my recently resurrected black jersey Alexon dress.  25 years old - I think it's safe to call it vintage, no?

I finished it off with chunky pearl earrings and necklace and Clarks chunky heels.  All worn on my chunky body!

Today I dressed more brightly. For starters, I wore a skirt!  Not just any skirt, an M&S black pencil skirt.  The skirt equivalent of Oakham or Lochmuir, whatever that is, worn with a Woolovers cashmere/merino longline V-neck in my fave colour right now, Old Lady Lavender.

A tartan scarf from Peacocks kept my Old Lady neck snug - I've been a bit throaty, probably due to the dramatic change in temperatures recently.

So with these cooler temps I'm so pleased I travelled with my Uniqlo parka.  The skirt peeps below the puffa - not sure if that's a good look, but I was going grocery shopping so did I care?!

No I did not because I was kept so beautifully snug in this little baby. 

Now, today is a special day for me, but it has been made even more special by meeting this lady.

Meet Paula.  Isn't she super-stylish?!

I saw her gliding elegantly through the M&S café.   That's a nice top, thought I.   Petrol blue, I think.  And what a graceful, elegant body she has, I noted.  Oh, and what gorgeous hair!

In the space of about 3 seconds I was clocking just a few of the attributes which this super stylish lady has in abundance.

And then she sat next to me.  And then she started talking to me! 

The subject of chocolate started up the conversation.  It wasn't long before I was asking her about her superbly fitting tunic top (M&S last year, FYI), worn with some super stretch leggings; her gorgeous hair (reaches her waist); and then we were engaged in a full-blown conversation which covered a whole range of different areas.  She was so engaging and so easy to chat to.

 

Paula was truly inspirational.  She made the world a better place during the time we lingered over our coffees.  After a short while, I could no longer contain myself - I politely asked if I could take photos of her for the old Pout blog.  I felt you would think it rude if I had not shared this super lady's style with you.

So, thank you, Paula, you made my special day that much more special by breezing into the M&S café when you did.  I hope you pop in to my humble blog some time soon, and maybe even drop a little comment in the box below. 

So back home tomorrow, maties.  We'll speak soon.

A la perchoine.



Sad, Then Happy - Deux

Good day to you, sweet reader.  Hope you are well.

We are enjoying some beautifully sunny autumn days. That makes me happy.

 

 

So the other day I got togged up for a bit of an outdoors mooch.

 

 

 

I wore Black M&S jeans, black Woolovers cashmere/merino v-tunic, Next animal print blouse and the old trusty Primark scarf.  M&S snake print flatties.

 

 

 

The outfit made me happy.

 

 

 And, off I went a-mooching - without a jacket!  I went for a walk into town to check out its offerings. This area of the south east coast enjoys microclimate-type weather.  No surprise then that this seaside town is a popular retirement spot.

 

My walk revealed that the town is rich in Italian restaurants, cafes and icecream parlours.  The lion's share of its non-eatery business is made up of charity shops and funeral parlours ...

  

 

and a shop selling a Harley-style wheel chair.

My thoughts drifted; could this be where my Pout will lead me in a later stage of Pensionerhood?

 

And that made me a tad edgy.

 

 

 

So the following day, I leapt youthfully (crawled geriatrically) out of bed and did a thorough inventory of the contents of the freezer and food cupboards.  Must focus on something good.  I detailed the contents, BB dates and where they're stored.  

I created an organised starting point for meal planning.

And that made me happy again.

 

That's life, eh?  One can only strive and hope for more happys in life than the more sad stuff. 

 

 

 

A la perchoine.



My Jade And Grey Dividend

Hi maties, thanks for dropping in.

I'm now in Sussex enjoying Phase 2 of my trip to the mainland (England).  I'm back in photos download world and busy downloading some pics of my trip to Devon for you but I thought I'd just fill in the gap whilst I do this with a little postcard from Sussex.

Let's talk about clothes. 

I'm doing really well with my 12-piece capsule travel wardrobe.  It's served me well so far.

Today's choice: my grey Peacock jeans, grey Next camisole, M&S jade cardi and snakeskin flatties.

Here topped with an M&S scarf in a mix of jade, dark and light grey and blue.

Now, I am loving this fresh, cheerful outfit.  During the selection process for my travel case in and-then-panic-deux, I discovered this combo.  I had never before thought to put the jade cardi with the light grey "column".  Duh springs to mind when writing this!  And I only discovered this gem combo because I tried on everything and played the mix n match game before making my final selection for packing.  The hidden dividend from my new approach to packing must surely be that undiscovered little combos can sometimes just jump out at you. 

Is this the dividend carrot what I need to discipline me to follow my new process next time I pack ,,,?

But back to Sussex and today's outfit.  I took it for a walk along the beach.  The water was very grey and a bit wild.  No surprise that swimmers were not around today.

Windy and a big drop in temperature but I'm facing the elements and putting on a brave face.

And forcing out a smile, just for you dear reader. 

So my reward for braving the elements today was to take myself off to M&S for a mooch around the autumn stock.  No purchases but I've come away with a few ideas lurking in this windswept fluffy head of mine.

A la perchoine.

=

A Dive Into Herstmonceaux Castle

Come Dive with me into Herstmonceaux Castle.

During my recent holiday, I did a fair bit of sightseeing.  Something I love about Sussex is that the county oozes history and little treasures.  Like this one here.
But it's not really a castle - a valley site is not where you would choose to put one.  Apparently.  It is a 15th century moated fortified house, originally the home of the Ffiennes family.  But its known as a castle, so let's just call it that!

The front façade is original.

It's one of the earliest examples of a red brick built building in England.  The skill of brick making was lost in England after the Romans departed, then brought back by knights returning from the 100 years war.

The back of the castle, re-built by various owners over the centuries.

The castle is now owned by Queen’s University, Canada, having been bequeathed to it by a wealthy Canadian philanthropist, Bader, who originally bought it for his Sussex-born wife.
This may interest to my Canadian visitors.
Today, it operates as an International Study Centre so is not furnished in period style.

Much of the internal woodwork is architectural salvage from other stately homes around the country.
The staircase on the left is medieval.  Returning travellers brought Dutch and French influences to English interiors.

Fine fireplaces are dotted around the castle.

The castle was used by smugglers in centuries past, and kept safe from unwanted prying eyes by stories of ghosts haunting some of its rooms.

A depiction of the ghost of the headless drummer boy.

 The castle is built around a quadrangle.  An example of the fine ceilings to be seen.

Passing the very large modern sun dial and through a fine summerhouse ...

... visitors can wander through formal gardens, remedial herb gardens, and a Zimbabwean sculpture garden.  Eclectic, huh?Massive old chestnuts line a walkway.

The Royal Observatory at Herstmonceaux shares the drive to the castle.

Greenwich Mean Time was devised in the 18th century as an aid to mariners and is the base line for all time globally.  London pollution eventually caused the unit to move from Greenwich to Sussex's cleaner skies.  It housed reflecting and refracting telescopes in its green domes.  In 1990, the work was moved to Cambridge.  It is now the Observatory Science Centre.

Thank you for joining me on this Dive.  I hope you enjoyed hearing of this little piece of English history. 

I certainly did.

A la perchoine.