Who's Copyin' Who?!

How soon are boots and opaques put away as spring leaps and bounds into our lives.

Winter was so brief, hardly worth buying clothes for. Spring is always such an inspiring time to refresh our wardrobes.  Which of course is what I did last year when I bought some jersey dress classics.

Here's my fave from 2016.

Dotty P; Pout.

See how I copied the look with nude heels and an ivory tassel pendant.  Most thorough.

Yes, Dotty P did a lovely line in bardot dresses, so I got moving on that little number here.

You will see it was not designed for the busty matron type who needs a robust (pun intended) under and over mechanism to make her look half decent.  So the bardot look didn't deter me.

I saw its potential and immediately had plans to make it bra friendly here, here. 

A bit of crafty petersham work and Robert est ton oncle.

I recently checked out Dotty P dresses again (with intention).

And see who's copying who now!

Just look what they've done to the navy bardot this year.  Yes, they've made it bra-friendly.

Dotty P, I am convinced your R&D team is reading my blog ... I hope my cheque is in the post.

 On to Next which I've noted sticks with a template for dresses and blouses.  If it works, keep making it in other fabrics, seems to be their sensible motto. 
Last year I bought a cute beachdress here and I wore it loads.
This year they have used that same beachdress template to cut this cute dress in (Pantone) green and purple.  I love the fabric, it sings out to me.  So it is on its way to me as I chat with you, dear reader.
I'm hoping its as much a keeper as last year's navy stripey affair.

But there were a few (!) Dotty P dresses that caught my eye but nothing screamed out "press button immediately lest this one gets sold out".   But Dotty P does some pretty good slashings of prices early on in summer, so here's the selection I'm stalking. 

Some cute day dresses.  Then below, a more fancy style.

Yes, there is an abundance of sleek flowery numbers - The Pout is invited to a June wedding and she's doing her research.  A little toning cardi would make a cute outfit out of any of these.
Though I will probably end up buying something gorgeous from Monsoon, my destination point for something a little more special.

Alternatively, I will wear the pink and purple silk affair that I have worn for summer weddings these past years!  I just think of what I paid for it 15 years ago for a summer ball (yes, another ball!) ... and stretch it to yet another wedding wearing.

And to round off the dresses, back to day to day and Dotty P's version of the green and purple.

So, yes, there is much research and planning behind the PP scenes at the moment.  And BTW, I checked out the Dotty P skirts that I featured a few posts previous - they were in the main either of study fabric and totally unsuitable for hot summer's days, or the fabric was limp.  There was nothing in between.  So, I'm on a different route skirt-wise.  Watch this space.  Please.

And finally, finishing off on what I thought was going to be a short post :-), I captured a snippet of spring with Birdsong in the ruettes.   I'm trying a couple of ways to post it.  I am hoping one of these works!

A la perchoine.

Dressing With Dresses

I ended my run on the imaginary dresses-only suitcase with my fave black dress.

I apologise for giving you the same dress "black-to-black"!   But, well, it's so easy to style this dress so I am drawn to it.  Again. And Again.

 

On this day my Black jersey Dotty P dress seemed just right for looking at old family photos with a cousin.

The elephant in the room - my Indian elephant pendant.

Clarks metallic toe flatties echo the goldiness of the pendant.

Job done!

How did I fare with my dresses-only "holiday suitcase"?

Well, I'm pleased I gave myself a dry-run to test it out. 

Let me share my thoughts with you.  Analysis, always analysis!

My suitcase wardrobe

I wore 5 dresses over a "holiday" of 8 days.

My dresses were day-or-evening interchangeable for my type of holiday.

They are more space-efficient in a carry-on suitcase.

My thoughts on dresses

Dresses offer simple, versatile styling.

Most everyday activities can be done comfortablely in a dress.

They're suitable for more occasions than I foresaw.

It's quicker to get ready each day.

Dresses are slimming, they skim and smooth the bodyline.

Dresses are more flattering than jeans for my body shape.

They hide my knees and most of my legs, just revealing nice bits.

Cool and comfortable, no pulling things up or down during day.

Packing dresses-only streamlines the suitcase.

The discipline encourages me to get more wear out of dresses.

I've never felt so consistently elegant.

I feel more womanly in a dress!

Does a dresses-only suitcase work for me?  Yes!

Would it work for you?  I'd love to hear!

Your Reward

And now, because you have been so patient with me and my girls-world dressey thing, here's a little thank you.  Some lovely roses.  Now, I can't send you all real roses - for starters, I couldn't afford to! 

So this is the best I can do. 

Roses.  From me to you.  Thank you for all being so kind.  And patient.

A la perchoine.

Kitted Out For Comfort

Hi peeps, thanks for popping in today.  As you may have picked up by now, I'm on a little mission to see how I fare plucking out daily from my imaginary dresses-only holiday suitcase.  I'm getting towards the end of my little dry-run.

Here's the dress you had a glimpse of here,  In about 3 seconds it can be changed form smartish to casual, so it's an immensely versatile dress.  In my view.

It's black jersey and from Dorothy Perkins, featured here and in the embryonic stage here.

Here this cheap-as-chips summer slip-on is worn here with a little ivory tassel necklace and Clarks flatties (close up here). 

This outfit would be fine for a dinner date ... or drinks with Top Cat and her hubby, which is why the tassel necklace was slipped on this evening.

And the little tassel certainly had the required effect.  Top Cat's comment when entering the hall was "Oh, I didn't realise we were dressing up for drinks".  What a result from just 3 seconds of effort!

And during the day for various errands, I wore the dress a tad more casually with oh-so-comfy Birkenstocks.  Such a comfortable dress.  And it hides my ugly knees a dream.

Now, let's talk comfy shoes, Top Cat had bought these sandals.  She couldn't remember if they are Jones or Clarks.  She was a bit vague having just returned from a troublesome tooth filling, so I'm a bit short on detail here.  No matter, I had to try them on and they are ultra-comfy.  Springy to walk on.  They have a bit of a platform and a wedge thing going on.  And they are just slightly sparkly pink!  These little flashy cushions of air could take you just about anywhere and everywhere this summer!

Stop Press.  I couldn't rest with such vagueness so I searched around.  Looks like they areFitFlop Lulu Shimmer Slides but sold through Jones The Bootmaker.

So, peeps, what's your take on ultra-comfy summer shoes and summer dresses - do you have anything tried and tested and tested that you really want to tell the world about?  Or share with me?!!

A la perchoine.

An Ab Fab Sort of Day

Get up.  Slip on dress. Be fabulous.



Jane at mymidlifefashion is making life far too easy.

The OOTD is a doddle.  No stressing about separates, colours, patterns.

As it was a dull day I just grabbed this navy Bardot again.  No stress about wearing the same dress twice in one week.  I'm on "holiday".  Living out of an imaginary dresses-only suitcase.

Maybe just take a nanosecond to chose a necklace, like this pink pseudo-Swarovski here.

Then throw over a pink cardi.

And taa-daah, but a moments work to get ready for daughter in law who's coming down from London later today for the weekend.

So, what do I with all this extra stress-free time?

How do I fill my day with fabulousness?

Well, I need to cook for DIL so let's put together a recipe ...

A Recipe

I browned some chicken breasts in olive oil and butter, then simmered them in chicken stock with some tarragon and garlic granules. 

I then placed the breasts in a baking dish to sit with some freshly chopped coriander over, whilst I cooked up some chopped walnuts in the stock in the pan, adding some white wine and a splash of brandy and some dried tarragon.

When that mix was nicely cooked down I added S&P and a pot of double cream (285ml), sploshed it over the chicken and placed it in the oven at about 190c for 25 mins.

But I needed a vegetable and there's not much in the house.

Hmmnn.  So, I also made a vegetable roast using what I had available (quarters of 2 onions, 2 long red peppers and 1 green bell pepper, mixed with olive oil, S&P and chopped coriander).  That's cooking in the oven for the same time.

Slice chicken.  Pour over sauce.  Serve with the vegetables new potatoes.  Smile fabulously.

And if that's not enough calories and cholesterol, then I will offer DIL an apple pie and cream.  M&S, of course, there's a limit to my fabulousness!

It's in the oven now as I'm typing.  I hope it comes out OK, as I've been making it up as I went along.  If it's OK, I'll post a photo at the bottom.  If it's not, you will know nothing about this as I will have deleted this recipe section :-).

Some time later.  Phew!  The recipe survived. And you get photos.  For it turned out OK.  Fabulous, even!

Now, what can I call it ...?  Any ideas? Absolutely Fabulous Chicken?

And just a footnote, I'm trying to clear out the chocka freezer, 

and also be aware of what I'm eating, post-holiday-indulgences.

So lunch was flaked peppered salmon salad. 

Apart from the coriander, salad stuff and the spuds, everything else today was from the freezer or store cupboard.

So, a pretty fabulous day, all round!

A la perchoine.



Mellow Yellow

Firstly, I'd like to wish all of my dear American readers

a very Happy Independence Day!

And a belated greeting to my Canadian readers, who celebrated Canada Day a few days ago.

Now, we haven't had a song for a while so ...

They call me Mellow Yellow,

Quite rightly.

And quite rightly indeed, as thanks to the sun and Donovan, I'm wearing Mellow Yellow today.

For at last we're getting a bit of true summer.  So I was finally able to pull this out of my imaginary dresses-only holiday suitcase today. 

The dress is old from Next but I note that Next is still using the same pattern this year with other fabrics.  Which is good because it is an ideal little summer dress.  It's made in a linen-blend fabric which is great because I get the mix of coolness with less crease than 100% linen.

Here I'm wearing it with my Clarks metallic-toed flatties, which makes it a perfect little number to wear for afternoon tea on a pretty garden lawn, or to wear whilst enjoying the early evening sun in a beach-side restaurant (and I have one in mind for tonight!)

Slipping on Birkenstocks changes it into the sort of dress you could wear to wander around a hot town on a Greece island, or as a cover-up on a beach in Blighty.

I just love the fresh yellow-based floral pattern.  Strange, I never used to think of me as being able to take yellow, but in the last few years I have been strangely drawn to it.  Which has made me very happy because this yellow dress really brightens up my attitude!

As I was about to go off for a walk along the prom pushing my aunt in her wheelchair, I slipped on my comfortable walkers, my Clarks sandals bought way back and still going strong.  The look is a bit schoolgirly but I was comfy.  And the M&S bobble-button cardi came too, just in case.

Now, I did toy with the idea of wearing this as the ultimate accessory,

as the yellow really went with the OOTD.

A plastic bag from Magasin in Copenhagen.

Fortunately that "toying" only lasted a nano-second!

Does colour or pattern influence how you feel?  Does it brighten up your day?  Your mood?

Does this dress print work for you?

Now I have to fess up to occasionally getting really moved by colour and print.  And I am about to share with you my all-time favourite. 

Taadaah!  Laura Ashley Emma Bloomsbury, Straw.  

I look at this and smile.  Every time.

I first fell for it when Laura Ashley brought it out about 30 years ago. 

I bought the waxed fabric and made a tablecloth.  Which I still cherish and use to this day.  For years I wished I'd bought the cotton fabric too, which was by then discontinued.

Then the lovely people at Laura Ashley re-issued the fabric a few years ago.  I snapped some up.  I planned to make something for the house but I am so glad that I didn't rush to do that.  For now, having realised I love yellow on me, I will be making something to wear. 

Maybe a simple shift dress.  Maybe a skirt and shell-top. 

I am excited at the prospect!

Wishing you a sunny and happy day, wherever you are.

A la perchoine.

Coffee-Dress

It's Sunday.  When I'm in Blighty, Sunday means coffee with the family.  

And for coffee, I chose a coffee-coloured dress from my imaginary dresses-only holiding suitcase.

Pretty appropriate, eh?

 Actually, the colour seems closer to frappuccino than coffee, but that would have made the title less appropriate and the play on tea-dress would have been lost so I am allowing myself some artistic license.  For I like having fun with my titles.

Back to the dress.  It has a sort of sunray seaming across the bust area, getting it to fit really nicely.

And unusually for a dress, it has roomy pockets.  And it's linen = creases. 

This picture seems to make the creases look worse than they really are.

I still have to get my head around linen and the creases thing.  It's seems to go against all we were taught about good dressing.  But there is no doubt that linen is cool and perfect for a summer's day.

I bought the dress last year, Italian, from a little boutique in the town here which has since closed.  Shame.

Yet again, it has been another day of get up, slip on dress.  No faffing matching the separates.  No pulling down of tops and hoisting up of jeans during the day.  Dresses fit so smoothly on the body.  Such a simple way of dressing.  And feminine - that's the look I am trying to achieve, anyway!

What's your take on dresses?

Are you wearing dresses this summer?  More in summer than winter, maybe?

You may be anti-dresses.  What do I know?!  I don't know much about you at all ...

 

And the cardi came too!  I wore it with my M&S snakeskin flatties and pink BHS cardi. 

Well, this is an English summer and the outing entails a brisk walk along the breezy prom.

We meet at a cute little café along the sea front. I made the effort to dress nicely, for we meet with my aunt who will be 97 next month! She likes a well-turned-out niece. 

The coffee meet-up is a family tradition.  Sometimes 5 generations meet up there on a Sunday morning! Today we were just 3 generations.

Do you have any family traditions?  Traditions so simple that it's not difficult to maintain them?  Like something as simple as meeting for a coffee once a week?

A la perchoine.