A Life Less Tailored

Hello, my dearies.  How's your belly off for spots?

Don't fret, I'm not going all medical on you, it's an old greeting from the North of England.  Dunno why that sprang to mind. Maybe it's because my head's in a bit of a mess.  I'm facing a dichotomy, dear reader.   Potentially, you may be too, so I'm sharing with you today.

It's this.

When I go shopping, I find myself drawn to

and

or even

Tailored. Business wear.  But I don't lead that life now.

This is what I should be gravitating towards if, indeed, I need a jacket at all.  Slouchy, to posh up jeans.  But slouchy doesn't excite me the way tailored does.  Oh I love even the sound of that word!

Then we have the supposed slightly less tailored jackets.

Something Chanel-like.

Or military.  I love military but it doesn't love me, sadly.

But it loved my cousin! During our Southampton Zara scavenge she bagged herself the jacket, a blush top and these gorgeous floral trousers.  We wanted a look at them back at the hotel. She looked amazing, even during this quick throw-on in the foyer!

She's younger and still whizz-kidding it.  I'm guessing she still moves in the world of business meetings and corporate entertaining so I can see this jacket fitting into her life just perfectly.

You see, my dear reader, I realised when walking around Zara that my head is still wanting to dress the old me.  The old working me.

These days, if I'm thinking "jacket", it should be preceded by "biker", for retirement life is more biker than business.   I should be getting excited when I see this.  But no, I want neat, tailored.

Perhaps I should not be thinking jackets at all.  I'm retired, therefore my eyes should be lingering over Zara's slouchy cardis and not dreamily dressing Business Pout, she no longer exists.  Yet I found myself wandering around Zara's, mentally dressing myself in a tailored mustard frock coat, perfect for the me of 10 years ago.

And what about evening wear?  I have a special occasion event popping up next month and I believe my jumpsuit is going to jump into my suitcase again.   My no-longer-tanned arms need cover.  Again, I think cover and I think tailored jacket.

I fell for this embroidered jacket.

But the reality is that I should be thinking along the lines of an embellished cardi.

See what I mean about a dichotomy? Whatever part of the brain makes outfit decisions is doing me no favours, it is seriously lagging behind where I am, right here, right now.

And so it continues ...

I was drawn to Zara's frilled shirts.  There were many!

But hey, I think I may just be making a breakthrough here.

For I came out of the store with this far more practical embroidered stripe.  More everyday casual.  A shirt that requires NO IRONING.  Good lifestyle choice, Pout!

Have I finally got it?  That my life is casual?  It has been for some years.  Have I finally caught up with where I am?

No!  For I fell at the next hurdle. I would like a new winter dress.  But my mind wandered ...

... right back to tailored, in dress form!   Event poshwear.  Love this 1940s vibe.

But this is where I should be heading.  A sweater dress.  And maybe a cardi is about as posh as I need to get with dresses and cover.

And don't talk to me about shoes!

I need new ankle boots.  My faithful Gabor nubucks of 4-5 years are starting to look a bit oldbucks.

So I went a-boot-browzin'.

Immediately I am drawn to something like this ...

... heels.  1940s style again.   V. smart.

Or these.

But my brain should be steering me to chunky heels.

At the very least, steering me to a heel like this.

Or more realistically, these warm flatties.

But no, I want those 1940s heeled booties, which will be so impractical for the stomping sort of retirement life I lead these days.

My issue seems to be that I am not transitioning well from classy corporate to relaxed retirement.  Even after all these years.  Is this a taste of the Brexit transition?! 

Maybe I should just go with what I like and stand out from the crowd in my differentness.  Is tailored a look that fits in with a life less corporate?  Is tailored my natural style, my signature look?  Should I listen to my inner tailored lady?

Or should I love the life I'm in and dress in my feared smart casual, something I struggle to "get" even after some years of A Life Less Tailored.

  So, dear reader, my dichotomy: do I dress for the life I have ... or the life I no longer have?!

How have you fared during the transition from workplace wear to retirement wear?

Do you find yourself dressing the Old You?

And now, a song.

Stephen Stills wrote this one with other things in mind but my take is to accept the "now" in life, work with what you've got.  I've found the song somehow calming over the years and calm is what I need until I crack this transitioning from corporate to retirement wear, from tailored to slouchy.  So I give you ...

Love the One You're With

And to paraphrase Stephen's message, "If you can't live in the life you dress, dress the life you're in".

A la perchoine.

Photo credits: Zara, H&M, Ellos, Woolovers, Gabor, Cotton Traders, John Lewis, Poshmark.

Dressing The Pout Masterclass - 2. The Gilet

Hi dearies, I'm giving myself another Masterclass today. 

The smart-casual gilet.

Let's start with a grey Woolovers side-button cashmere/merino.  Yes, most of The Pout's roads lead to Woolovers!

I've noted that a fair few American bloggers (like the lovely Amy here)  layer for warmth with what they call vests - what we call gilets or waistcoats, or even sleeveless jackets!   Whatever the name, American ladies wear them so stylishly.  I use my gilets for hearty walking.  But Americans rock the look in a more smart casual direction.  So I wanted to try it out.

But I'm busty.  Top heavy.  So how is a thick layer of wadding around my big area going to work?

Well let's see.  I added my brown M&S down gilet and Next scarf.  I realised that this was not one of my better looks.

So why? Let's do a quick analysis.

1. I am busty, so a thick quilted boxy vest thingey is only going to puff out, Michelin-style, my Big Top area.  Or Balcony, as one lovely Canadian blogger puts it.
2. A boxy shape dangles from my protruding Balcony.  It's like I'm wearing a Mae West, but not in a "come up and see me sometime" sort of way!
3. I didn't follow the "thirds dressing rule" here, clearly a big misdemeanor.
And 4., the short length creates a square shape, which accentuates the squareness of my torso.

So a gilet is fine if I want just warmth without looking my best.

So ditch the gilet, it doesn't work for my chunky body.  Keep it for off-camera walks only! Let's start again, see what I need to do.

1.  Less bulky scarf (East).
2.  Thinner fabric.   The Cotton Traders navy quilted jacket provides warmth, but isn't puffed-up quilted.
3.  Add length. This jacket has a longer, rectangular line.   The line skims over the Balcony rather than hanging like a box-like.  

I think this look is more flattering, but still provides the same degree of warmth.  What do you think?

So, dear readers, I give you today's Master Class in dressing a busty lady for warmth.  A gilet is fantastic for a stateside smart casual look but if you're top heavy, the look is not photo-worthy!
Amy looks fabulous in hers.  I look Michelinesque!

 Are you a bit top heavy?  How do you work with it?
Do you camo it?  Or do you use it as an asset?!!

 Next time I'll address another problematic part of my body shape.  Oh, so much to choose from!

A la perchoine.



Khaki and Navy, Honestly Created

Anna's challenge was Wear Khaki and Navy. 

She's cast out a few challenges recently.  Like wearing shorts - that one took me way out of my comfort zone.  And, you know what. I discovered that I loved them and stayed in them for the rest of the summer.  They had to be prised off me come September!   

And sometimes due to time constraints. I've had to use my creativity (I've cheated!) with other challenges, as I did for her white-t-shirt-and-jeans where I posted a 35 year old photo of me wearing the ensemble.

But his time round, dear reader, I have put together an honest and legitimate offering for Anna's Khaki and Navy challenge.  OK, I had to shop a visiting wardrobe, but I got there.

Allow me to set the scene.  I was meeting up with a cousin and her hubby for lunch in the town.  I decided that I would wear black jeans with an ivory drape top and a grey edge to edge cardi.  But first I'll just try on the Khaki and Navy, do a quick photo shoot, tick the challenge box and then change into my chosen lunch outfit spread out on the bed.

So I give you a khaki Primani wrap top with Next navy (ish) jeans and M&S snake print flatties.

Now this feels OK.  Where can I take this?

Why not sling on a navy Primani slouch cardi.   Yup, that works.

OK, now we're cooking.  How about switching the jeans for some Primani navy chinos and switch the cardi for a neater navy one courtesy of M&S; gives me a slightly more smart look.  Nude heels from Debenhams.  Yup, that looks rather OK.  Rather smart casual.

Oh and I'm walking to lunch, along the sea front, so let's try on a scarf picking out the colours. 

How about a stone-coloured wool jacket from Cotton Traders, and switch back to some flatties as walking is on the agenda.

Look who's got a grump on!

Hmmnn.  Not sure if I want a jacket, I feel a bit frumpy.  Ditch that idea.  It's a lovely day.  Don't need a jacket anyway, just that little M&S cardi which I can sling off in the restaurant (and I did, the day was sooo hot).

So you can see what happened.  Along the way I decided that I actually liked the outfit I was playing around with.  It was perfect for a lunch with family. 

I ditched my planned outfit and left the house in Khaki and Navy.

I had a new outfit that I hadn't thought to put together before.  So thank you, Anna.

And Anna's challenges are all about that.  Participating gets you to think about new combos that you can put together from your wardrobe.  Clothes that you have, worn in a different way.  Clothes that you have maybe never worn come out to play.  Clothes that you were maybe thinking of consigning to the charity shop suddenly get a new lease of life.

Now at this point, it's only fair to fess up.  When I heard of the challenge and struggled to find something khaki, I did at some early point think naughty. "How can I cheat?".  Bad Pout. 

You see, this outfit sprang to mind from my post here.

The shirt and top are khaki.  Perfect.  The shorts, well, they are denim, but they are blue.

But you know, I'm really very pleased that I took the honest route because the little exercise gave me a perfect little lunch outfit. 

Maybe you'd like to try a challenge.  How about this one?  It's not stretching things too far, eh?

Just stretching your imagination a tad.

We do sometimes get drawn into our own rigid boxes of dressing, our own idea of what we should wear and once it becomes habit it sometimes stays that way.  And hey presto, you find yourself wearing your own "uniform".  But to open your eyes to new ideas, new combos, gives you so much more mileage, more leverage from your wardrobe.  And it is a great perk-up.  Because I think you can see from my face that I was (mostly) having a lot of fun during the process.

A la perchoine.





Digging Deep and Getting Messy.

Woolovers navy cashmere/merino V-neck and Clarks bootees, but this time with a couple of blasts from the past: M&S jeggings, v. old; under the V-neck is a Monsoon ecru silk shirt, 20+ years old.

This is a good time to mention that my blog clearly isn't intended to get you out there shopping!

I have been posting everyday clothes, none new.  One of my missions via this blog is to encourage me to dig deep into the archives to identify old, sometimes prehistoric, items of clothing that I couldn't bear to part with when I retired, and then integrate them with more recent buys to make outfits that fit my new life.

Maybe through my posts I can in some small way inspire you to do the same, should you wish to.

And for my morning constitutional, I topped that little lot with a quite old navy quilted jacket from Cotton Traders similar here.

Back home to a BIG warming soup, pretty much the same as last's weeks but with a few additions.

It's a huge chunk of my 5-a-day; I can relax now, any other veg consumed today will be a bonus!





Later, windswept, after coffee with a friend. 

So, I dug deep for that Monsoon shirt.  I dug deeper for this M&S navy pure new wool jacket (from a skirt suit), vintage ca. 1997-8! 

I kept it as it's good quality, still looks like new, and, get this, the tag says "Made in England" so it's definitely a keeper! Possibly a museum piece?!

And finally, just wanted to show you me trying out how I think "girls seem to wear shirts these days", showing a bit of shirt down the bottom ... fit of naughty-girl-giggles as my "photographer" told me I looked very untidy.

Did I get the look right?  Or am I just a bit messy?

A la perchoine.

Fear of Packing

We woke up today to a lake at the bottom of the garden which is no surprise as we've "enjoyed" constant torrential rain, hailstorms and storm-force winds for days, though today the wind has finally dropped.  

This weather got me thinking of warmer times, holidays past and clement weather ahead.

Now, for me the downside of travel is - queue Jaws music - packing; I have packaphobia. 
Our 15kgs and 20kgs allowances for flight carry-on and hold and luggage respectively and is bad news for one (me) who likes plenty of dressing options, so packing needs serious consideration. 

  

My packing process? I start with a list, make amendments, then a total re-write before packing, whittling down, re-packing.  You get the picture. I fear it.   So I was relieved to read that there are others like me out there in the bloggisphere and help is but a google away. e.g. here with 

this lady

These sites bring succour to those who share my condition.

My packing isn't as scientific as that lovely lady's but there is method to it. I photograph the final packing spread out on the floor, then I endeavour to take daily photos of what I actually wear, followed by a review whilst sorting out the snaps on return. 
It's become apparent that the same core items crop up day on day, they are my workhorses; aspirational stuff packed doesn't see any more action than when I schlepp it round in the suitcase.  So nowadays I pack the identified workhorses.  End of.  Fin de.
E.g., it's early summer, Denmark and mainland UK, 3.5 weeks.  I packed layers as I've previously experienced snow there in June!  But it was beautifully warm.  The workhorses?

M&S cut-offs, Woolovers French Navy cardi and top; Next pumps, crochet taupe/white bag, grey/navy mix silk scarf bought 35 years ago in Copenhagen - I took it back to its "roots", the store (Magasin) from which it was bought!

L: M&S jeggings, The White Company taupe top, Navy Woolovers cotton/silk cardi, Next pumps;

R: M&S beige cut offs, beige Alexon longline top, Woolovers French Navy cardi, Clarks sandals (very comfy).

M&S black jeggings, grey cotton/silk cardi and top from Woolovers, comfy Ecco Sandals (bought there), the old grey/navy silk scarf tied as a head bandau.

A close-up of the scarf; mix-and-match bracelets from Accessorize a couple of years ago.

L:Black Next modal top over black t-shirt, coral M&S cut-offs (6-7th summer!), black Ecco sandals.  R: M&S Limited Collection modal t-shirt, Cotton Traders white cut-offs, same sandals;

the scarf is the grey/beige/black silk sister of the yonks-old Tie Rack scarf which I showed in My First Time Blog - therre, now you have met that little family!

Fairly pedestrian outfits, fitting for a lady in her 60s :-), but these were my mix-and-match workhorses for 3 weeks. 
Packing will be a doddle this year!

And during a 3 week trip to sizzling France, the photographic evidence is that I wore a variation on this throughout.

East layered cotton lawn skirt (ca. 2004, so light, it's a summer travel must-pack),
White Company vest in taupe, and that little crochet bag.

Same skirt and same bag (bien sur) with a multi-coloured jersey dress which I tuck up and use as a long vesttop (£3 charity shop find from 2004 another summer must-pack).

I'm embarrassed to add that we drove on that holiday and I filled our boot with a shocking amount of clothes and shoes (because I could).  And I seem to have worn one skirt, two tops and one pair of sandals!

So, nothing exciting or uber-stylish but the point of this rather long rambling is that if you do a bit of holiday photo analysis, perhaps you too will discover that you wear just a few items on a mix-and-match basis, so pack that and all the fancy stuff can stay at home!

If you have managed to stay awake after all my ramblings, well done you!

A la perchoine.